So @DavidDobie2 found this fascinating advert for a roup (Scots for auction) of leases in North-East Scotland, mostly in Botriphnie, where many of his ancestors come from. #AncestryHour /1
He asked the right question - why were all these leases being auctioned at the same time? #AncestryHour /2
The obvious answer was some form of "improvement", possibly even a clearance. But how to prove if that was the case? #AncestryHour /3
Unfortunately, Banff Sheriff Court extract decrees don't survive as far back as 1843, so that was a non-starter. There are however minute books in that period, although they're catalogued as Decreet and extract decreet books (series NRS SC2/8). #AncestryHour /4
Minute books provide very limited information - usually only a date and the names (often only surnames) of the Pursuer and the Defender - the parties to the case. Sometimes there's a semi-cryptic reference to the type of case. #AncestryHour /5
One case caught my attention - 25 March 1842 Duff v Moggach (R) - the R stands for Decreet or Removing, in other words an eviction notice. Moggach is David's ancestral surname so this is useful. #AncestryHour /6 
Although there's not a register of decrees for this period, the "processes" (the documents led in court as evidence) do survive. Unfortunately they're not fully catalogued, and there are five boxes just for that year for Banff Sheriff Court (NRS SC2/9/392-396). #AncestryHour /7
I didn't have time to check the Moggach case, but is there any other way to work out if these crofts were cleared? #AncestryHour /8
Well further on in that minute book, there are a series of references to a Duff seeking to evict tenants. (NRS SC2/8/13). #AncestryHour /9
Perhaps significantly, each of the defenders' surnames appear in David's original advert of the roup (see first tweet). So even with the minimal information in the minute book, it looks like a reasonable conclusion that these tenants did not want leave. #AncestryHour /10
Obviously it would be sensible to check the processes for more details, but it goes to show that even small pieces of information combined can tell a bigger picture, and looking at the wider context of our ancestors can shed light on what they experienced. #AncestryHour /10 /End
