Country Code
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GB
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Repository Code
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800001
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Repository
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Private
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Reference
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NRAS4239
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Title
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Brander Dunbar of Pitgaveny
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Dates
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1529-1969
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Access Status
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Restricted
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Access Conditions
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These records are held privately. All enquiries should be addressed to: The Registrar National Register of Archives for Scotland HM General Register House Princes Street Edinburgh EH1 3YY
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Description
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The majority of the papers in this collection document the lives of the people associated with Pitgaveny from 1765-1969. Throughout that period the house was never sold, being in the hands of either a Brander or a Dunbar Brander / Brander Dunbar. Papers earlier than 1765 relate to Branders and Dunbars and other families, notably Brodie, Grant and Gordon, of various locations in and around Elgin (e.g Thunderton and Burgie), Moray and the Highlands. The late 18th century papers contain evidence of the sales of Pitgaveny and Kinneddar (and the work of these estates) to James and Alexander Brander respectively (e.g. sasines, searches for incumbrances, inventories and minutes of sale). There is also considerable evidence of the business transactions of their company, Brander & Co, in the form of business letters, ledgers, cash books, accounts, ships' manifests, bills of lading and note and copy books. Alexander Brander's life as merchant and sheriff in London is documented in letters, copy books and bills.
There are letters to the Branders from Lieutenant William Brand in India (1772-1777), Charles Gordon in China (1773-1776), General Robert Gordon in Bombay (1773-1776) and Lieutenant Thomas Dunbar in America (1776-1779). There are also papers relating to the East India Company (1773-1774).
The 19th century papers cover John Brander's time as laird of Pitgaveny and his involvement in the local Drainie Volunteer Regiment of the Napoleonic Wars period.
Marriages from 1700-1876 are documented in the Pitgaveny collection as are wills and executories dating from 1756-1953. The work of the estate continues throughout the 19th and into the late 20th century and is documented by feu charters (Lossiemouth and Branderburgh in the main), bonds, leases, dispositions, tacks and discharges.
Margaret Alicia Dunbar, daughter of Lady Dunbar of Northfield, was a prodigious letter writer as her mother's collection of mid-19th century letters proves. Once married to William Stables, Lord Cawdor's factor, Margaret lived at Cawdor Castle near Nairn. Margaret's brother, Captain James Brander Dunbar-Brander (listed as James Dunbar Brander to distinguish him from his son) wrote letters home to her from his posting in India with the Madras Cavalry.
The greatest contributor to this collection was James Brander Dunbar who recorded the events of his life in diaries, letters home, to the press, to public bodies and private individuals, and in manuscript form. Thus there are in this collection first hand accounts of schooling at Dalvreck and Rugby, big game hunting in Africa, the second Boer War and the Siege of Kimberley, the Great War, the home guard in Moray in WWII, entanglement with bureaucracy and the life and times of the Pitgaveny estate and its laird for the greater part of the twentieth century.
The Pitgaveny collection also holds information on topics such as; Spynie Loch and the concerted attempts at its drainage; the coming of the North of Scotland Railway line between Elgin and Lossiemouth; the foundation of Branderburgh; the granting of fishing rights and detailed records of decades of tree planting (specifically Scots Pine) at Pitgaveny.
To complement the records and official and personal letters, the collection also holds newspapers (predominantly from the turn of the 20th century), books and pamphlets on topics from South and East Africa to religion in Moray, maps (inc. the North of Scotland and WW I British army in France & Belgium), photographs of persons both known and unknown, and ephemeral items such as dinner invitations, menus, Christmas cards and newspaper cuttings.
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Level
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Fonds
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Extent
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141 boxes
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Admin
History
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Pitgaveny lies 2 miles NE of Elgin and is in the parish of St Andrews Lhanbryd in the county of Moray.
John Brander of Bogsie, merchant in Elgin in the early part of the 18th century, had four children by his first wife, Margaret Allan. By the later half of the century his two eldest sons, Alexander (1731-1794) and James (?1732-1781) had made their fortune shipping oranges, lemons and wine from Lisbon to London. Alexander was living in London and had been appointed a sheriff of Middlesex. In April 1765, James, merchant in Lisbon, purchased the lands of Pitgaveny from Alexander Brebner of Portsoy.
Ten years later, in 1775, Alexander Brander bought the neighbouring estate of Kinneddar and Aikenhead from the Earl of Fife.
On the completion of Pitgaveny House in 1776, James Brander left Portugal for Scotland. On his death, he was succeeded by his son John Brander (1760-1826). John and his uncle embarked upon the task of draining the Loch of Spynie in order to increase the area and quality of their agricultural lands. Alexander died leaving no issue and John inherited Kinneddar and Aikenhead in 1794. The resulting estate was known as 'Pitgaveny and Kinneddar', this being shortened simply to 'Pitgaveny' over the years.
On the death of John Brander in 1826 Pitgaveny was inherited by his son James Brander (? 1791-1854). James had a distinguished military career, attaining the rank of Colonel and taking part in the Napoleonic campaigns on the continent in the early part of the 19th century. He feued the land and drew up the plans for the creation of Branderburgh at Lossiemouth and was the chairman of the company that built the new harbour. His sister Mary Brander (d 1869) became Lady Dunbar on her marriage to Sir Archibald Dunbar of Northfield (d 1847) and she took the additional surname of Brander when she inherited Pitgaveny in 1854, thus Lady Dunbar Brander. Mary's elder son, James Brander Dunbar-Brander, (1825-1902), succeeded her in 1869. James attained the rank of army Captain having served in India in the Madras Cavalry and in the Crimean War. He was succeeded by his elder son, also called James, in 1902. James Brander Dunbar (1875-1969) upheld the family tradition of serving king and country and saw action in the second Boer War and the Great War, also achieving the rank of Captain. His stalking exploits in Scotland provided John Buchan with the inspiration for his character 'John Macnab'.
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Related Material
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see also survey NRAS1544. Replaces NRAS78.
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