This is just the beginning! Our collection holds over 300 years of history, including rare newspapers, obituaries, marriage records, birth records, and so much more—most of which you won’t find anywhere else!
Edinburgh surgeon on trial for murder of farm hand in 1864
A long-remembered 1864 High Court of Justiciary case in Edinburgh centered on surgeon William Smith who was tried for the murder of William McDonald, a farm servant, in Burnside. Testimony covered the shooting scene, prior meetings, and contested theories of death by suicide versus homicide, with insurance policies tying Smith to the victim’s life.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Edinburgh
William Smith
McDonald
Annals of Crime
High Court of Justiciary
Lord Cowan
Lord Handyside
Kirkton
St. Fergus
Aberdeenshire
William McDonald
Burnside
Robert McDonald
William
Agnes
Fergus
Mary Blessor
Dr Smith
the Cartwright’s
Dy Smith
Te Smith
Alexander Moir
Charles McDonald
Longside
de Smith
Alexander Stewart
Willam Fraser
Janes Smith
Sheriff's Offcer
Peterhead
Tzez
James Hutchinson
Northern Insurance Company
Smith
Henry Dickie
Caledonian Insurance Company
Smaith
Alexander Robertson
Union Insuranne Company
Dy Comrie
Rrebert McDonald
Eing
James Pirie
William Milne
Milne
James Robertson
Martha Cadger
Safid
Inffy
Oray