Humphrys genealogy

Genealogy research by Mark Humphrys.


My wife's ancestors - Ædie - Contents


The Ædie townhouse, The Green, Aberdeen



Ædie's House.
See full size. See wider but smaller.
From Silver City Vault.


  
Sometime before 1604, Andrew Ædie built a townhouse on The Green, S of St.Nicholas' church, Aberdeen town centre.
Aberdeen City Council says the house that stood for many years was this original house built by Andrew. It says: "One carved stone in a dormer window of the house bore the initials AE and CG standing for Andrew Aedie and Christian Guthrie"

David Ædie either built a new house or made modifications to his father's house:
[Munro, 1887] says the Ædie house in The Green that was still standing in 1887 was built in 1633 by Andrew's son David Ædie.
Munro said the house bore the inscription "D. Æ. 1633".
However [Morgan, 2004] says David did not build a new house but made modifications in 1633 to his father's house.

David was killed in 1644.
His son George Ædie (died 1657) presumably inherited it.
His son George Ædie lived there. He died after 1684.

The house was called "Ædie's House" or "Ædie's Lodging".
The street from the house up to St.Nicholas' church was called "Ædie's Wynd". (A "wynd" is a lane.)
Later the N part of Ædie's Wynd became known as "Back Wynd".

Stolen children, 1740s:
In around the 1740s there was a trade in Aberdeen in abducting children and selling them to the Americas as indentured servants.
[Munro, 1887] says that to the Ædie house was attached a "barn" where stolen children were kept before being shipped to the Americas.
This is where Peter Williamson was held after being abducted in 1743.

The Ædie house still stood at the time of [Munro, 1887].
It was demolished in 1914.
The site is now an empty lot.





Extract from Aberdeen map of 1661.
"n" is the laneway "Ædie's Wynd".
"p" is The Green.



Close-up of Ædie's Wynd ("n") and The Green ("p")
[Munro, 1887] says Ædie's House once formed the corner house of Ædie's Wynd, which would make it the corner house here.



Ædie's House in this section of Aberdeen map of 1866-67.
The house is at the foot of Back Wynd Stairs.
Union St above, The Green below.



Ædie's House.
From Silver City Vault.
See larger but cropped version. From here.



Ædie's House visible on LHS of 1907 postcard.
See full size. From University of St Andrews.
See other version. From here.



Ædie's House.
See full size.
From The Miscellany of the Third Spalding Club, Volume II (1940).
From Figures used in Excavations at Aberdeen's Carmelite Friary, 1980-1994.



Site of Ædie's House (empty lot to RHS of steps).
The stairs go up to Union St.
A trace of the E wall of Ædie's House is still visible today - the roof outline and internal fireplaces.
Click to rotate.
From Google street view.



Plaque at the S end of Back Wynd (see street view) noting that it used to be called Ædie's Wynd.
Photo 2013. From here. Creative Commons.




References



Sources yet to be consulted

  

Donation Drive

Please donate to support this site. I have spent a great deal of time and money on this research. Research involves travel and many expenses. Some research "things to do" are not done for years, because I do not have the money to do them.
Please Donate Here to support the ongoing research and to keep this website free.

Help       Conventions       Abbreviations       How to read the trees

Privacy policy       Adoption policy       Image re-use policy       New 250 G VPS server.