-
"Survey return from Adam White"
Harray, Orkney.
1850.
RCP/COL/4/8/168
Adam White was a church minister in Harray.
Harray was a united parish with Birsay on the mainland of Orkney. In 1861, the population of the whole parish was 2593. For information on the whole parish, see the entry for Birsay.
[[Addressee]]
The Revd
Adam White
Harray
Kirkwall
[[Survey]]
QUERIES
1. How many Medical Men practice within the Parish of Harray?
There are none resident in the Parish. Those who practise when called on are Mr. George Garson Surgeon Stromness & Mr. John Bremner Surgeon, Kirkwall, the one eight miles, the other ten miles distant from the Parish.
2. The Names and Addresses of these.
See Query 1. Besides these, there are other medical men resident in these towns. vs Drs Duquid & Logie in Kirkwall &c
3. Has the number increased or diminished of late years?
They have increased in Kirkwall
4. Have any left the Parish since you became connected with it? If so, for what reasons?
None
5. Is there any complaint among the people of inadequacy in the supply of Medical aid?
They feel much the expense of having to send so far for medical advice- indeed they seldom do send unless urged by myself to do so.
6. Do you know of any cases of protracted suffering, or of injury by Accident, such as might have been alleviated had proper advice been at hand?
There are no cases of the kind occur in which I am not applied to & though I never studied professionally yet from considerable practise in administering medicine of which I find it necessary to have a constant1 supply, & bleeding2 [1 word illegible] when necessary & [1 word illegible] on medical advice being piecemeal in urgent cases I believe little inconvenience is generally felt. The nearer residence of a Medical man would to myself personally be a great relief. But how to support him as he ought to be I really know not.
7. To what extent is the deficiency of qualified Practitioners made up by the efforts of other parties?
[No text]3
8. Does your experience enable you to suggest any measure – of general applicability – such as would be likely to relieve to some extent the evils (if they exist) of deficiency in the supply of Medical aid?
[no text]4
9. What Heritors5 are resident, either generally or occasionally, in your Parish?
There are a number of small Heritors resident, but none of their Properties exceed ten or twelve Pounds of yearly value
[[Additional Text]]
2nd December 1850
Adam White Minr
Free Church
Harray
Explanatory notes:
1. Continues into next box.
2. Bleeding, or bloodletting, is the withdrawal of blood from a patient to prevent or cure illness and disease. This was a common medical practice in the 1800s, dating back to antiquity, and was often carried out by unlicensed healers as well as qualified physicians.
3. Contains the continuation of answer to query 6.
4. Contains the continuation of answer to query 6.
5. A heritor was a landowner, under Scots Law, whose holdings were sizeable enough for them to be liable for the payment of public burdens such as Poor Law rates, road and bridge assessments and the church minister’s stipend.
Remote & Rural Remedies
