Whan a body that haed guids an geir an land dee’d, it wis the ordnar custom tae gaither thegither ither heritors fae thareawa tae mak up an assize sae that thay cuid decide whither the appearant heir or heirs wis the richtfae anes. Aince the assize haed gree’d thay wad pit oot a retour or return, tae the chauncery in Embra, or tae the burgh or shirra coort, that declared that the heir or heirs wis the richtfae anes an the coort wad gie oot a wrutten brieve tae confirm. At the stert o the 19t century aw the retours that haed won ower fae the 1540’s until 1699 wis indexed an pit thegither in a muckle prent wark an this can been seen in maist register-hooses the day or coft as a CD. Fae 1700 the retours wis indexed ilka ten year, an syne yearly, unner the name o indexes o services o heirs an set furth as prent buiks. Again, thir indexes can be fund in the register-hooses or as CDs. For ony body that haes forebears that held land or ither richts the indexes o retours an services can be a guid source for findin the oreeginal papers an for trackin doun the names o ither kin an hoo thay war sib tae the fowk serred as heirs. Gin ye canna find a forebear amang thir centrified indexes, ye micht want tae tak a swatch o services o heirs held amang shirra coort an burgh coort papers, tho maist o thae papers haesna been indexed an ye’ll hae tae read throu meenit buiks, whaur thay can be fund.

Aince a body haed been retoured heir thay cuid tak whit law papers thay haed an, thegither wi a bailie appyntit for the day, gae tae the hoose, grund or land thay haed inherit, an get sasine. Tae be seised in land or richts wis tae be pit in full legal ownership. In aulder times the bailie wad tak the heir tae the grund or subject, alang wi witnesses, an gie intae his or her hauns stane an syle fae the land tae shaw that thay noo held it. The wrutten sasine wad mak mention o the date sasine wis gien, the names o the bailie and witnesses, whit subject or richts it wis bein seised, an record the boonds an names o neeborin owners o land or ony ither papers sib tae the haunling. Ye’ll can find sasines in sindry kinds o register in Scotland, sic as the notars’s protocol buiks, but the heidmaist source is the register o sasines itsel that runs fae 1599 tae 1609 an fae 1617 onwards. The war a general register o sasines keepit in Embra, an shire registers o sasines, an fowk cuid inrow doobles o thair sasines in either. Fae the 1670’s burghs stertit keepin registers o sasines forby. This means that a body micht hae tae raik throu a wheen sources an maist sasines haesna been indexed.

It wis common for burgesses an ither fowk in the burghs tae get sasine til a tenement or yaird, or for fowk in the landward tae own twa-three acres, faur mair common nor a body micht jalouse. An some fowk micht’a been seised in an annualrent or intress due fae an estate or hooses bi wey o a wad or pledge in pairt peyment for a lend o siller thay haed made til anither. Sae richts tae rentals cuid be held for mony years even whan a subject wis sellt on an chenged hauns. This wis kent as a burden on the estate an cuid be redeemed bi the owner for peyment o the loan. Sae even whaur ye think yer forebear didna own a hoose or land ye micht want tae check the sasines in case he or she ever lent oot siller an wis seised in richts as a pledge.

Whaur fowk in Scotland gaed intil a jynt business or haunling wi ithers thay war kent as portioners an affen thay cuid be seised jyntly in parteeclar richts, sic as ship owners haudin shares in a vessel. Whaur the tenants o a big estate, sic as auld kirk lands, haed got feu chairters an noo owned thair pairts, thay war kent as portioners an-aw.