How the residents were researched

That almost all of this information has been found through computer searches from my desk in my Albany Street house is extraordinary. Without the marvel of Google I could never have tracked so many unexpected links. I appreciate, however, that Google searches rely on many librarians and others, who energetically and unselfishly digitise their archival material, and make it freely available. My thanks to all my unknowing, and unpaid, researchers and archivists. In addition, a little investigations took place via the census returns, genealogy websites, and at the National Library of Scotland. Also, the digitised Scotsman newspaper, available via the Edinburgh City Libraries website, has provided valuable material.

As this is a public site and not created for commercial gain, I hope that if I have inadvertently used material or images that breach a copyright, the copyright holder will be understanding. However, if any copyright holder has a concern, please contact me via email and I will resolve the issue. Email: albanystreetedinburgh@gmail.com

I also would be pleased to receive any related additional information or corrections.

Key to the research were the invaluable Edinburgh Post Office Street Directories that exist from 1773 through to 1975. Long before I began this research I came across the life of the man who was the first to put together a street directory, and was fascinated. Sadly he has no links to Albany Street, but I cannot resist sharing a brief history of his remarkable life here. Peter Williamson, also known as ‘Indian Peter’, was born just outside Aberdeen in 1730. Kidnapped by Aberdeen councillors when a boy, he was shipped to America and sold to a farmer. Freed at eighteen, he was captured by Cherokee Indians and made to act as a ‘beast of burden’ (the inspiration for the film ‘A Man Called Horse’). He then escaped and joined the British Army fighting the French in Canada, only to be taken prisoner and shipped back to Portsmouth. In England, desperate for cash, he sold his journal about America and his life, which included the names of the councillors responsible for his boyhood kidnapping, and the book became a best seller. On returning to Aberdeen the councillors he had named expelled from the city, so in Edinburgh he sued them for having arranged his childhood kidnapping. He won the case and with the damages opened a famous inn in the High Street where he often appeared dressed in a Cherokee costume. In 1773, he launched an early postal system with four uniformed postmen whose hats read ‘Penny Post’ and were numbered 1, 4, 8 and 16 to make the business look bigger.

From 1804 to about 1810, the Street Directories are unclear on addresses. Some residents are recorded as living in Albany Row, and others in Albany Street or Albany Street West; and not all have a listed house number. Furthermore, the first houses to be given numbers on the South side were numbered 1, 2, 3 consecutively, and similarly those on the North side, with such addresses as 3 Albany Street North. To add to this early confusion, the first residents to live in in Abercromby Place (around 1809/10), also were recorded as living at Albany Street West.By 1811, the numbering had changed to that we have today and as a number of the first residents were still living in the street, I have been able to work out which houses belonged to whom.

While the Post Office Street Directories give an indication of when the individual was resident in the house, the residency years stated may be out by a year or two. The directories normally only listed the main resident, and while research and census information (each ten years from 1841 to 1901) has provided names of some wives, children and visitors, clearly there were many other residents not traced. Also, as many houses became lodging houses at some point, only long-standing lodgers were recorded in the Street Directories. However, the census records have provided the names of lodgers for that day each ten years, and others who lodged in Albany Street have been found by chance from the research.

Having discovered each resident's name, and in many cases profession, from the Street Directories, the next phase was to discover what further could be unearthed about the individual. This was far from straightforward as in the 19th century the first son/daughter was often given the same forename as their father/mother (and thus the same as their grandfather/grandmother), and many names were relatively common. On a number of occasions I was enthralled by an individual, only to discover after further research that the person was not the Albany Street resident. One such, that brought particular amusement, was when researching Robert Spiers (Number 30). I came across an article from the Ipswich Journal dated March 1793, that conjured up an intriguing possibility: ‘Roberspierre, a very eminent member of the National Convention of France is a native of this island; his real name is Robert Spiers; he was brought up in the printing business, in which his father and grandfather were well known in Edinburgh.’ Sadly, my excitement was short-lived, as although Roberspierre was a lawyer like many of the residents in Albany Street, his birth and life were wholly French. I can only presume the Ipswich Journal’s article was printed to be read on April the First. I have restrained myself from any similar Aprilfoolery.

By cross-referencing, and lucky finds, I traced almost everyone, and in the majority of cases, was able to learn a significant amount about the individual and their family. However, in spite of careful checking, one or two cases of mistaken identity could remain.

For now, the site is limited to the 19th century. I have traced quite a lot of information on residents for the 20th century but there are many gaps, especially from the 1940s on. More and more of the houses were divided up into flats or offices, with many occupants residing or working in the street relatively briefly. The city street directories became less comprehensive and ended in 1974 (being replaced by telephone directories), and there is no census information publicly available after 1901. Any information on residents in the latter part of the 20th century welcome.

A number of books that were useful for background were:

A History of Everyday Life in Scotland 1800 -1900 by Trevor Griffiths and Graeme Morton

Edinburgh the Golden Age by Mary Cosh

The Gentleman’s Daughter by Amanda Vickery.

And two contemporary accounts of life in Edinburgh in the early 1800s:

Personal Recollections, from Early Life to Old Age by Mary (Fairfax) Somerville

Memoirs of a Highland Lady by Elizabeth Grant