Fascinating 19th Century custody records have been released - including graverobbers and a man banged up for 'annoying his mother'. A 12-year-old who irritated passersby by playing marbles was spared jail, but a beggar who used a pet porcupine to tout for cash was locked up for more than a week.
Bigamy was sentenced with a three-month prison sentence - while a 15-year-old who stole two apples was locked up for two months. National Records of Scotland archivists trawled prison records to compile the bizarre insight into historic sentences.
Body snatchers charged with 'violating the sepulchres of the dead' were handed six months hard labour, with one man serving nine months. The men 'resurrected' the corpses of two adults and a young child from Lasswade Kirkyard, Midlothian, in 1829 to sell to scientists.
Others involved in the crime were not prosecuted. The new records from National Records of Scotland collectively cover a period of over 50 years from 1798 to 1853. The log for Bridewell Prison, Edinburgh, spans 40 years and 40,000 entries while Peth Prison was first to be digitised.
Archivist Stefanie Dempster from National Records of Scotland which runs the ScotlandsPeople website said: “These remarkable records are a fantastic resource for social researchers and those researching their own family tree. Alongside many petty thefts and incidents of drunken behaviour, we see crimes that were of their time, like snatching corpses from graveyards to sell to surgeons teaching anatomy.
“The harsh lives lived by many are clear from cases like that of a woman who had requested the magistrate send her to prison with the records stating the reason ‘being lame’. These records offer a glimpse at the grittier side of life in early 19th century Scotland."
- 1806 - Edinburgh Bridewell - Mary Perrie 31 Sent by the magistrate at her own request, being lame. Sentenced to 30 days
- 1822 - Edinburgh Bridewell - Grifina Viniere, 28 - Begging and showing a porcupine. Sentenced to eight days.
- 1829 - Edinburgh Bridewell - John Kerr, 34 - Violating the sepulchres of the dead. Sentenced to nine months hard labour
- 1829 - Edinburgh Bridewell - James Barclay, 39 - Violating the sepulchres of the dead. Sentenced to six months hard labour
- 1829 - Edinburgh Bridewell - George Cameron, 40 = Violating the sepulchres of the dead. Sentenced to six months hard labour
- 1840 - Edinburgh Bridewell - Christopher Baxter, 15 - Theft of two apples. Sentenced to 60 days
- 1841 - Edinburgh (Calton) - Thomas Gegg, 15 - Theft of a gouda cheese weighing 12lbs. Not given
- 1842 - Edinburgh (Calton) - Alison Mackerron, 31 & child - Vagrancy. Not given
- 1846 - Edinburgh (Calton) - William Inglis, 17 - Theft of one small turnip. Not given
- 1846 - Edinburgh (Calton) - James Craig,12 - For playing a game called marbles to the annoyance of the public. Not given.
- 1847 = Edinburgh (Calton) - John Dow 18 - Leaving on Clerk Street two horses and a cart longer than the time prescribed by law. Not given.
- 1848 Edinburgh (Calton) - James Cumming, 45 - Attending and addressing seditious meetings afterwords restricted to sedition. Local Chartist movement leader James Cumming was dismissed from trial following a legal challenge and freed from the jail.
- 1848 Largs - Agnes Savage, 12 - Thift one souren one Pound and 7 shillings and 6 pence From the Shope of John patton [sic]. 20 days
- 1851 Edinburgh (Calton) - Adam Bishop, 23 - Annoying his mother. Sentenced to one day
- 1854 Largs - Joseph Fleming. 43 (approx. - Bigamy. Sentenced to nine months
