List of farmers and landowners invited to a day's ploughing at Changue

Found in the  Stevenson  family  bible, this  list of  parties  invited  to a  day's ploughing at Changue in  January 1868, marking  John  Stevenson's( 1828 - 1893) new  tenancy. This  was a  tradition in  farming  circles -  part  social  occasion   and  part   necessity  to  help bring  the  work  forward  on a  new holding, since perhaps the new tenant still didn't  have  access  to  the  farm  steading. The  lease  of  Changue was to  the cropping  land  from 28th November  1867 (the  November  erm ) , and  the   house   steading  and  grassland  at  the  following  May  term  ( 28.5.1868). Seventy ploughs turned up! 

The  list  provides  an  interesting snapshot  of who held  the  farms  in  the  local  district at  a  single point  in  time, and as  might  be  expected, although many  family  connections  survived into the  latter  half  of  the 20th century  (some  even  into  the  21st) there is barely one left.