George Robertson - a resident of Justice Street following a theft near Old Deer

There is a certain irony in the fact that George Robertson lived at a couple of addresses on Justice Street in Aberdeen in the months immediately following his release from prison on licence in February 1876. From this date until July 1877 the Register of Returned Convicts for Aberdeen (see image at foot of page) reveals that he reported to the police on a monthly basis and that during this time he also lived at addresses at 11 Longacre, a street that no longer exists but which ran adjacent to the east side of Marischal College, and at 61 Broad Street.

Situated just off the Castlegate, Justice Street was a busy thoroughfare and, as the entry from the Post Office Directory for 1876-77 below shows, at the time George Robertson was resident there it was home to a population with a diverse range of occupations.

Map Reproduced by permission of the National Library of Scotland

Ordnance Survey

Aberdeenshire LXXV.11 (Old Machar, Greyfriars, St Clements, East, West, North & South)

Published 1869

https://maps.nls.uk/index.html

The crime for which George Robertson was sentenced to seven years' penal servitude was committed not in Aberdeen but on the road that leads between Old Deer and Maud. As the Dundee Courier of the 10th September 1870 reported:

George Robertson was charged with theft, in so far as on the 20th July, on the road leading from Old Deer to New Maud, he stole from the person of Alexander Mutch junr., New Deer, a bank note for £5. Five previous convictions for theft were recorded against the prisoner. He pleaded not guilty and a jury was empanelled. He was defended by Mr. Begg. After evidence had been led, the jury unanimously found the prisoner guilty as libelled. Lord Cowan gave the sentence of the court - seven years' penal servitude.

With George Robertson being a fairly common name, it has been impossible to identify our man with any degree of certainty on any of the census returns for 1861, 1871 or 1881. However, we do know from another newspaper report that prior to his trial George was held in prison at Peterhead and that the offence took place at the Aikey Fair market near Old Deer.