Footdee Ancestors

Pilots Returns for Aberdeen 1854-1910
Researched and recorded by Alex Rogers

As many of my family were Footdee pilots (at the port of Aberdeen ) I am interested in finding out more about them and their way of life. My research led me to the parliamentary papers of 1854, where there are returns for pilotage of all the British ports - including the names and ages of the registered pilots and their assistants. I have identified several family and possible family members here - and thought it would be useful to those who do not have access to the Guildhall Library in London to make the transcripts available on the internet. All of these transcripts were from the Guildhall Library, Manuscripts section, Manuscript Reference 30189.
Please note that the ages are not always accurate - as you trace the pilots through the years you will see some variances from year to year. The records are transcribed as they are, spelling mistakes and date discrepancies as recorded - but I have made notes where I think the records are wrong. The dates are however a very useful indication of the birth year of the men. This was also obviously a very strongly family-orientated profession in Aberdeen , as the same family names keep occurring, and I think most of the same surnames were related to each other.

Guildhall ref 30189 Vol. 17 - 1870 Aberdeen Pilot's Return

8 Feb 1871 - Captain Pilot William Clark

Assistant's Name		Age last Birthday
George	Allan	65
John	Allan	45
William	Allan	30
Alexander	Baxter	51
John	Baxter	33
Andrew	Fowler	51
John	Mitchell	37
William	Morrice	40
Kenneth	Robertson	67
Thomas	Walker	23

Guildhall ref 30189 Vol. 16 - 1869 Aberdeen Pilot's Return

25 Feb 1870 - Captain Pilot William Clarke

Pilot's Name		Age last Birthday
Alexander	Allan	35
Anthony	Baxter	50
John	Cail	48
Alexander	Fowler	54
George	Fowler	48
William	Guyan	42
John	Guyan	37
John	Main	34
William	Morrice	50
James	Morrice	43
George	Morrice	37
James	Morrice	36
Alexander	Paterson	34
William	Patterson	32
James	Robertson	49
William	Smith	65
William	Smith	63
Charles	Smith	59
Alexander	Smith	42
John	Walker	30

Assistant's Name		Age last Birthday
George	Allan	64
William	Allan	29
Alexander	Baxter	50
John	Baxter	32
Andrew	Fowler	50
John	Mitchell	36
Kenneth	Robertson	66
John	Smith	33
William	Walker	28
Thomas	Walker	22

Guildhall ref 30189 Vol. 15 - 1868 Aberdeen Pilot's Return

Pilot's Name		Age last Birthday
Alexander	Allan	34
Anthony	Baxter	49
John	Cail	47
Alexander	Fowler	53
George	Fowler	47
John	Fowler	31
William	Guyan	41
John	Guyan	36
John	Main	33
William	Morrice	49
George	Morrice	36
James	Morrice	35
Alexander	Noble	30
Alexander	Paterson	33
James	Robertson	48
William	Smith	64
William	Smith	62
Charles	Smith	58
Alexander	Smith	41
John	Walker	29

Assistant's Name		Age last Birthday
George	Allan	63
William	Allan	28
Alexander	Baxter	49
John	Baxter	31
Andrew	Fowler	49
Alexander	Guyan	36
John	Mitchell	35
Kenneth	Robertson	65
John	Smith	32
William	Walker	27

Guildhall ref 30189 Vol. 14 - 1867 Aberdeen Pilot's Return

1 June 1868 - Captain Pilot William Clarke

Pilot's Name		Age last Birthday
Alexander	Allan	33
Anthony	Baxter	48
John	Cair	46
Alexander	Fowler	52
George	Fowler	46
William	Guyan	46
John	Guyan	35
Alexander	Guyan	35
John	Main	32
William	Morrice	48
George	Morrice	35
James	Morrice	34
Alexander	Morrice	28
Alexander	Noble	29
James	Robertson	47
Alexander	Salmon	32
William	Smith	63
William	Smith	61
Charles	Smith	57
Alexander	Smith	40
John	Walker	28

Assistant's Name		Age last Birthday
George	Allan	62
William	Allan	27
Alexander	Baxter	48
John	Baxter	30
Andrew	Fowler	48
John	Fowler	30
John	Mitchell	34
John	Morrice	44
George	Morrice	23
Kenneth	Robertson	64
John	Smith	32
John	Smith	31
William	Walker	26

Guildhall ref 30189 Vol. 13 - 1866 Aberdeen Pilot's Return

4 June 1867 - Captain Pilot William Clarke

Pilot's Name		Age last Birthday
Alexander	Allan	32
Anthony	Baxter	47
John	Cair	45
Alexander	Fowler	51
George	Fowler	45
William	Guyan	45
John	Guyan	34
John	Main	31
Alexander	Morrice	60
Alexander	Morrice	53
William	Morrice	47
George	Morrice	34
James	Morrice	33
Alexander	Morrice	27
James	Robertson	46
William	Smith	62
William	Smith	60
Charles	Smith	56
Alexander	Smith	39
John	Walker	27

Assistant's Name		Age last Birthday
George	Allan	61
William	Allan	26
Alexander	Baxter	47
John	Baxter	29
Andrew	Fowler	47
John	Mitchell	33
John	Morrice	43
George	Morrice	22
Kenneth	Robertson	63
John	Smith	31

Guildhall ref 30189 Vol. 12 - 1865 Aberdeen Pilot's Return

The Pilots mentioned in Parliamentary Paper, No. 243 of 1865, p.71, are still acting. Omit the names of George Allan and William Smith and add that of John Smith, aged 30

6 April 1866 - Captain Pilot Alexander Gauld

(The following table is my extrapolation based on the above figures - AJR)

Pilot's Name		Age last Birthday
Alexander	Allan	31
John	Caie	44
Alexander	Fowler	50
George	Fowler	44
William	Guyan	41
John	Guyan	33
John	Main	30
Alexander	Morrice	59
Alexander	Morrice	52
William	Morrice	46
John	Morrice	41
George	Morrice	33
Alexander	Paterson	30
James	Robertson	45
William	Smith	59
Charles	Smith	55
Alexander	Smith	38
John	Smith	30
William	Smith	30

Assistant's Name		Age last Birthday
William	Allan	65
Alexander	Baxter	46
Anthony	Baxter	46
Andrew	Fowler	46
Robert	Hunter	38
John	Mitchell	32
James	Morrice	32
Alexander	Morrice	26
Kenneth	Robertson	62
John	Walker	26

Guildhall ref 30189 Vol. 11 - 1864 Aberdeen Pilot's Return

5 June 1865 - Captain Pilot Alexander Gauld

Pilot's Name		Age last Birthday
George	Allan	59
Alexander	Allan	30
John	Caie	43
Alexander	Fowler	49
George	Fowler	43
William	Guyan	40
John	Guyan	32
John	Main	29
Alexander	Morrice	58
Alexander	Morrice	51
William	Morrice	45
John	Morrice	40
George	Morrice	32
Alexander	Paterson	29
James	Robertson	44
William	Smith	60
William	Smith	58
Charles	Smith	54
Alexander	Smith	37
William	Smith	29

Assistant's Name		Age last Birthday
William	Allan	64
Alexander	Baxter	45
Anthony	Baxter	45
Andrew	Fowler	45
Robert	Hunter	37
John	Mitchell	31
James	Morrice	31
Alexander	Morrice	25
Kenneth	Robertson	61
John	Walker	25

Guildhall ref 30189 Vol. 10 - 1863 Aberdeen Pilot's Return

The Pilots mentioned in Parliamentary Paper, No. 264 of 1863, p.93, are still acting

Captain Pilot Alexander Gauld

The table below is thus an extrapolation of the previous figures - AJR

Pilot's Name		Age last Birthday
George	Allan	58
Alexander	Allan	29
George	Baxter	52
John	Cail	42
Alexander	Fowler	48
George	Fowler	42
William	Guyan	39
John	Main	28
Alexander	Morrice	50
William	Morrice	44
John	Morrice	39
Pearson	Morrice	31
George	Morrice	31
Alexander	Paterson	28
James	Robertson	43
William	Smith	59
William	Smith	57
Alexander	Smith	36
William	Smith	28

Assistant's Name		Age last Birthday
William	Allan	63
Alexander	Baxter	44
Andrew	Fowler	44
John	Guyan	31
Robert	Hunter	36
John	Mitchell	30
Alexander	Morrice	57
James	Morrice	30
Robert	Morrice	29
Kenneth	Robertson	60

Guildhall ref 30189 Vol. 9 - 1862 Aberdeen Pilot's Return

Dated 28 May 1863 - Captain Pilot Alexander Gould

Pilot's Name		Age last Birthday
George	Allan	57
Alexander	Allan	28
George	Baxter	51
John	Cail *	41
Alexander	Fowler	47
George	Fowler	41
William	Guyan	38
John	Main	27
Alexander	Morrice	49
William	Morrice	43
John	Morrice	38
Pearson	Morrice	30
George	Morrice	30
Alexander	Paterson	27
James	Robertson	42
William	Smith	58
William	Smith	56
Alexander	Smith	35
William	Smith	27

* Should be Caie

Assistant's Name		Age last Birthday
William	Allan	62
Alexander	Baxter	43
Robert	Hunter	35
James	Morrice	29
Andrew	Fowler	43
John	Guyan	30
Alexander	Morrice	56
John	Mitchell	29
Robert	Morrice	28
Kenneth	Robertson	59

Note - the ages do not follow from last year's so either they are inaccurate or were taken at a different time.

Guildhall ref 30189 Vol. 8 - 1861 Aberdeen Pilot's Return

The Pilots mentioned in Parliamentary Paper, No. 243 of 1861, p.85, are still acting
Dated 19 April 1862 - Captain Pilot Alexander Gould
The table below is my extrapolation of the figures from the year before - AJR

Pilot's Name		Age last Birthday
George	Allan	57
Alexander	Allan	28
George	Baxter	51
Alexander	Fowler	47
George	Fowler	41
William	Guyan	38
Alexander	Main	69
Alexander	Morrice	56
Alexander	Morrice	49
John	Morrice	37
Pearson	Morrice	30
James	Morris *	29
Alexander	Noble	24
Alexander	Paterson	27
James	Robertson	42
William	Smith	58
Charles	Smith	52
Andrew	Smith	52
Alexander	Smith	35
William	Smith	26

* Morris should almost definitely be Morrice

Assistant's Name		Age last Birthday
William	Allan	62
Anthony	Baxter	45
John	Caie	41
John	Caie	36
Andrew	Fowler	43
John	Guyan	30
John	Main	27
John	Mitchell	29
William	Morrice	42
Kenneth	Robertson	59

Guildhall ref 30189 Vol. 7 - 1860 Aberdeen Pilot's Return

Dated 29/3/1861 - Captain Pilot Alexander Gould (sic)

Pilot's Name		Age last Birthday
George	Allan	56
Alexander	Allan	27
George	Baxter	50
Alexander	Fowler	46
George	Fowler	40
William	Guyan	37
Alexander	Main	68
Alexander	Morrice	55
Alexander	Morrice	48
John	Morrice	36
Pearson	Morrice	29
James	Morris *	28
Alexander	Noble	23
Alexander	Paterson	26
James	Robertson	41
William	Smith	57
Charles	Smith	51
Andrew	Smith	51
Alexander	Smith	34
William	Smith	25

Assistant's Name		Age last Birthday
William	Allan	61
Anthony	Baxter	44
John	Caie	40
John	Caie	35
Andrew	Fowler	42
John	Guyan	29
John	Main	26
John	Mitchell	28
William	Morrice	41
Kenneth	Robertson	58

Guildhall ref 30189 Vol. 6 - 1859 Aberdeen Pilot's Return

The Pilots mentioned in Parliamentary Paper, No. 244 of 1859, p.88, are still acting

Dated 14 April 1860 - Captain Pilot Alexander Gauld

The table below is from my extrapolation of the preceding figures

Pilot's Name		Age last Birthday
George	Allan	55
Alexander	Alleen *	26
George	Baxter	49
Alexander	Baxter	36
Alexander	Fowler	45
George	Fowler	39
William	Guyon	36
Robert	Hunter	33
Alexander	Main	67
Alexander	Morrice	54
Alexander	Morrice	47
Pearson	Morrice	28
James	Morrice	27
Alexander	Paterson	25
James	Robertson	40
William	Smith	56
Charles	Smith	50
Andrew	Smith	50
Alexander	Smith	33
William	Smith	24

* Alleen should be Allan

Assistant's Name		Age last Birthday
William	Allan	60
Andrew	Baxter	43
John	Brands	42
John	Caie	39
John	Caie	34
Andrew	Fowler	41
John	Guyan	28
John	Main	25
John	Mitchell	27
Kenneth	Robertson	57

Guildhall ref 30189 Vol. 5 - 1858 Aberdeen Pilot's Return

Dated 29/4/1859 - Captain Pilot Alexander Gauld

Pilot's Name		Age last Birthday
George	Allan	54
Alexander	Alleen	25
George	Baxter	48
Alexander	Baxter	35
Alexander	Fowler	44
George	Fowler	38
William	Guyon	35
Robert	Hunter	32
Alexander	Main	66
Alexander	Morrice	53
Alexander	Morrice	46
Pearson	Morrice	27
James	Morrice	26
Alexander	Paterson	24
James	Robertson	39
William	Smith	55
Charles	Smith	49
Andrew	Smith	49
Alexander	Smith	32
William	Smith	23

Assistant's Name		Age last Birthday
William	Allan	59
Anthony	Baxter	42
John	Brands	41
John	Caie	38
John	Caie	33
Andrew	Fowler	40
John	Guyan	27
John	Main	24
John	Mitchell	26
Kenneth	Robertson	56

Guildhall ref 30189 Vol. 4 - 1857 Aberdeen Pilot's Return

Dated 27/3/1858 - Captain Pilot Alexander Gauld

Pilot's Name		Age last Birthday
George	Allan	53
Alexander	Allan	24
George	Baxter	47
Alexander	Baxter	34
John	Brands	40
Alexander	Fowler	43
George	Fowler	37
William	Guyan	34
Robert	Hunter	31
Alexander	Main	65
Alexander	Morrice	52
Alexander	Morrice	45
Pearson	Morrice	26
James	Morrice	25
Alexander	Paterson	23
James	Robertson	38
William	Smith	54
Charles	Smith	48
Andrew	Smith	48
Alexander	Smith	31

Assistant's Name		Age last Birthday
William	Allan	58
Anthony	Banter *	41
John	Caie **	32
Andrew	Fowler	39
Alexander	Guyan	38
John	Guyan	26
John	Main	23
John	Mitchell	25
Robert	Morrice	26
Kenneth	Robertson	55

* Should be Anthony Baxter I think

1856 Return of Pilots for Aberdeen

Source - Guildhall Library - Manuscript Section - Reference 30189 Vol. III

NAMES and AGES of all PILOTS etc acting for the above Port

George	Allan	52
Alexander	Allan	23
George	Baxter	46
Alexander	Baxter	33
John	Brands	39
Alexander	Fowler	42
George	Fowler	36
William	Guyan	33
Robert	Hunter	30
Alexander	Main	64
Andrew	Main	52
Alexander	Morrice	51
Alexander	Morrice	44
John	Morrice	34
James	Robertson	37
Charles	Smith	47

Names of the Assistants employed by the Licensed Pilots of the Port:

William	Allan	57
Andrew	Fowler	38
John	Guyan	25
John	Masson	26
George	Morrice	26
Pearson	Morrice	25
Kenneth	Robertson	54
William	Smith	26

1855 Return of Pilots for Aberdeen

Source - Guildhall Library - Manuscript Section - Reference 30189 Vol. II

Return of the NAMES and AGES of all PILOTS and ASSISTANTS Licensed or Authorised to act by the Harbour Commissioners of Aberdeen and of all Pilots of Assistants acting mediately or immediately under such Commissioners, whether so Licensed or not, with the service for which each Pilot or Assistant is Licensed, for the Year ending 31 December 1855.

The following Pilots and Assistants have since ceased to act as such:

George	Caie	50
John	Forbes	38
Alexander	Guyan	43
William	Main	50
William	Main	51
John	Mitchell	26

The following Pilots have been Licensed and Apprentices taken since the date of the previous Parliamentary Return.

Pilot's Name		Age last Birthday	Whether Licensed or Authorised	Service for which Authorised to Act	Apprentices?
Andrew	Main	46	Yes	Pilotage of the Port or Harbour of Aberdeen	See Below
Alexander	Morrice	48
John	Morrice	26

Assistant's Name		Age last Birthday	Whether Licensed or Authorised	Service for which Authorised to Act	Apprentices?
George	Morrice	30	Employed by the Licenced Pilots of the Port	Pilotage of the Port or Harbour of Aberdeen	None
Person*	Morrice	26
John	Masson	20

* "Person" should be Pearson, I think - AJR

Parliamentary Papers - Return of Pilots 1854 - Aberdeen

Source - Guildhall Library - Manuscript Section - Reference 30189 Vol. I

Pilot's Name		Age last Birthday	Whether Licensed or Authorised	Service for which Authorised to Act	Apprentices?
William	Allan	48	Yes	Pilotage of the Port or Harbour of Aberdeen	None
George	Allan	45
Alexander	Baxter	32
John	Brands	38
George	Caie	50
John	Forbes	38
Alexander	Fowler	40
George	Fowler	30
Alexander	Guyan	43
William	Guyan	33
Robert	Hunter	30
Alexander	Main	56
William	Main	50
Alexander	Morrice	44
James	Robertson	35
Charles	Smith	41

Assistant's Name		Age last Birthday	Whether Licensed or Authorised	Service for which Authorised to Act	Apprentices?
Alexander	Allan	22	Employed by the Licensed Pilots of the Port	Pilotage of the Port or Harbour of Aberdeen	None
George	Baxter	33
William	Baxter	35
Andrew	Fowler	36
John	Guyan	28
William	Main	51
John	Mitchell	26
Kenneth	Robertson	48