SCOS Project Awarded Omohundro Institute Fellowship
The project team has won a Digital Collections Fellowship from the Omohundro Institute to digitize American- and Atlantic-centered cases held at the University of Edinburgh.
Why This Project
Eight years of expert cataloging, tens of thousands of documents, and the arithmetic that forced a new method — the project's statement essay, told through one 1803 Dundee lawsuit.
The Bakers of Dundee Are Findable Now: Why This Project
In 1803 the bakers of Dundee sued their own town council over a mill monopoly. For two centuries their Information — twenty pages of dense letterpress, argued by George Joseph Bell — sat in a bound volume, findable only by someone who already knew to look for it. It is findable now: by the bakers' name, by the law of thirlage, by the mills of Dundee on a map, by every person and place its pages mention. This essay is about why that took new methods — and why we believe those methods matter beyond this archive.
Computational Methods
Open-weight models, human judgment, and provenance at every step: how the archive's computational work is held to an archival standard.
Searching the Archive
Four ways in — full-text search across the papers, the map of the court's world, the network of people and causes, and a machine-readable endpoint for computational research.
The 2026 Modernization
What changed in 2026: the dispersed corpus united across three institutions, every printed page machine-readable, and new ways into the collection.
Alexander Kenneth Mackenzie v. Sir Hector Mackenzie of Gairloch, Baronet — Answers, 13 Nov 1798
Citation
Archibald Campbell Jr., Lord Succoth, 2nd Baronet of Succoth, "Answers For Sir Hector Mackenzie of Gairloch, Baronet, To The Petition for Alexander Kenneth Mackenzie, second Son of the deceased Alexander Mackenzie of the Stamp-Office London, thereafter Tacksman of Canonside," 13 Nov 1798
, Scottish Court of Session Digital Archive Project. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Law Library, 2015-2019.
Related Case Materials
Unto The Right Honourable, The Lords of Council and Session, The Petition of Sir Hector Mackenzie of Gairloch, Baronet
Answers For Alexander Kenneth Mackenzie, Second Son of the deceased Alexander Mackenzie, formerly of the Stamp-Office London, thereafter Tacksman of Cononside, To The Petition of Sir Hector Mackenzie of Gairloch, Baronet
Unto The Right Honourable The Lords of Council and Session, The Petition of Alexander Kenneth Mackenzie, Second Son of the deceased Alexander Mackenzie, formerly of the Stamp-Office, London, thereafter Tacksman of Cononside
Answers For Sir Hector Mackenzie of Gairloch, Baronet, To The Petition for Alexander Kenneth Mackenzie, second Son of the deceased Alexander Mackenzie of the Stamp-Office London, thereafter Tacksman of Canonside
Mackenzie v. An Inner-House Interlocutor — Petition, 24 Jan 1798 [2]
Citation
John Clerk, Lord Eldin, "Unto The Right Honourable The Lords of Council and Session, The Petition of Alexander Kenneth Mackenzie, Second Son of the deceased Alexander Mackenzie, formerly of the Stamp-Office, London, thereafter Tacksman of Cononside," 24 Jan 1798
, Scottish Court of Session Digital Archive Project. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Law Library, 2015-2019.
Related Case Materials
Unto The Right Honourable, The Lords of Council and Session, The Petition of Sir Hector Mackenzie of Gairloch, Baronet
Answers For Alexander Kenneth Mackenzie, Second Son of the deceased Alexander Mackenzie, formerly of the Stamp-Office London, thereafter Tacksman of Cononside, To The Petition of Sir Hector Mackenzie of Gairloch, Baronet
Unto The Right Honourable The Lords of Council and Session, The Petition of Alexander Kenneth Mackenzie, Second Son of the deceased Alexander Mackenzie, formerly of the Stamp-Office, London, thereafter Tacksman of Cononside
Answers For Sir Hector Mackenzie of Gairloch, Baronet, To The Petition for Alexander Kenneth Mackenzie, second Son of the deceased Alexander Mackenzie of the Stamp-Office London, thereafter Tacksman of Canonside
Alexander Kenneth Mackenzie v. Sir Hector Mackenzie of Gairloch, Baronet — Answers, 6 Apr 1797
Citation
David Williamson Robertson Ewart, of Balgray, "Answers For Alexander Kenneth Mackenzie, Second Son of the deceased Alexander Mackenzie, formerly of the Stamp-Office London, thereafter Tacksman of Cononside, To The Petition of Sir Hector Mackenzie of Gairloch, Baronet," 6 Apr 1797
, Scottish Court of Session Digital Archive Project. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Law Library, 2015-2019.
Related Case Materials
Unto The Right Honourable, The Lords of Council and Session, The Petition of Sir Hector Mackenzie of Gairloch, Baronet
Answers For Alexander Kenneth Mackenzie, Second Son of the deceased Alexander Mackenzie, formerly of the Stamp-Office London, thereafter Tacksman of Cononside, To The Petition of Sir Hector Mackenzie of Gairloch, Baronet
Unto The Right Honourable The Lords of Council and Session, The Petition of Alexander Kenneth Mackenzie, Second Son of the deceased Alexander Mackenzie, formerly of the Stamp-Office, London, thereafter Tacksman of Cononside
Answers For Sir Hector Mackenzie of Gairloch, Baronet, To The Petition for Alexander Kenneth Mackenzie, second Son of the deceased Alexander Mackenzie of the Stamp-Office London, thereafter Tacksman of Canonside
Petition 1797
Citation
Archibald Campbell Jr., Lord Succoth, 2nd Baronet of Succoth, "Unto The Right Honourable, The Lords of Council and Session, The Petition of Sir Hector Mackenzie of Gairloch, Baronet," 17 Jan 1797
, Scottish Court of Session Digital Archive Project. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Law Library, 2015-2019.
Related Case Materials
Unto The Right Honourable, The Lords of Council and Session, The Petition of Sir Hector Mackenzie of Gairloch, Baronet
Answers For Alexander Kenneth Mackenzie, Second Son of the deceased Alexander Mackenzie, formerly of the Stamp-Office London, thereafter Tacksman of Cononside, To The Petition of Sir Hector Mackenzie of Gairloch, Baronet
Unto The Right Honourable The Lords of Council and Session, The Petition of Alexander Kenneth Mackenzie, Second Son of the deceased Alexander Mackenzie, formerly of the Stamp-Office, London, thereafter Tacksman of Cononside
Answers For Sir Hector Mackenzie of Gairloch, Baronet, To The Petition for Alexander Kenneth Mackenzie, second Son of the deceased Alexander Mackenzie of the Stamp-Office London, thereafter Tacksman of Canonside
