FERNIE, WILLIAM [SSNE 7555]
Text source
William Fernie was a Scottish burgess of Nyköping in the early seventeenth century.
In June 1616 another Scot, John Weir (noted as Hans Wijr, Edinburgh merchant), came before the Stockholm magistrates reminding them of a transaction of the previous year. On 3 November 1615 Cornelius Jönsson, skipper in Flensburg, was delivered 23 shippounds and 5 (specie symbol) of iron bar, which Jönsson then freighted to Edinburgh on Weir's and another merchant, Thomas Ingels (noted as Tomas Engelssch) there. In the meantime, William Fernie, burgess and inhabitant of Nyköping and David Ramsay, a Scottish merchant, were summoned and on Jönsson's request, provided a document in Scots (opå skåske språk) which Jönsson, being illiterate, had marked and testified to. The document was read out in court (!) and translated (! who by?!). The upshot of this exchange was that Jönsson was obliged to deliver the said iron and should, at first open water that year, deliver other wares in compensation. John Weir had, in the meantime, had 'lent' Jönsson 6 iron bars at his own expense, which Jönsson (or his descendants) was now obliged to pay Weir (or his descendants) for before Pentecost 1616, whether in iron or cash. Jönsson had died in the meantime and Weir was now seeking to approach Jönsson's descendants for payment and wanted William Fernie to be questioned about the matter.
Sources: Stockholms stads och Norrmalms stads Tänkeböker, vol. IX, 1616-1617 (Stockholm, 1968), pp. 86-7. Minute, 17 June 1616; Steve Murdoch, Network North: Scottish Kin, Commercial and Covert Associations in Northern Europe, 1603-1746 (Brill, Leiden, 2006), p.140.
'Jönsson icke hafuer sielff kunnet schrifue, hwarföre hafue de kallat där ofwer till wittne Wellam Fernj borgere och jnwhånere uthj Nyköpingh och Dawidh Ramsij skotske köpmän, huilka effter be:de Cornelij begären hafue stält i hans nampn enn handskrifft opå skåtske sprak, then han medh sitt wänlige märkie hafuer förtäknat och bekräfftiget’.
Scots language.
Service record
- SWEDEN, NYKOPING
- Arrived 1615-11-03
- Departed 1616-06-17
- Capacity MERCHANT BURGESS, purpose COMMERCE, TRADE, MERCANTILE