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In search of James Croll: archives, genealogy, publications and other resources

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 December 2021

Kevin J. EDWARDS*
Affiliation:
Departments of Geography & Environment and Archaeology, School of Geosciences, University of Aberdeen, Elphinstone Road, Aberdeen, AB24 3UF, UK. McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research and Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
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Abstract

Source materials for investigating the life of James Croll are examined and collated. This is organised around the topics of: Croll's Autobiographical sketch and the Memoir of his life and work, both contained within the volume produced by James Campbell Irons; publications by Croll; aspects of his genealogy; manuscript sources in publicly accessible archives and in private ownership; and other published sources.

Information

Type
Articles
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is anOpenAccess article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Royal Society of Edinburgh
Figure 0

Figure 1 Extended family chart for James Croll and his wife Isabella Macdonald. James Croll's position within the chart is accentuated by shading. Note that Isabella Macdonald appears twice (middle row, left) – as James's wife and as a member of the Macdonald family – as does Janet Ellis, his mother (second row down, to left and in the centre). Abbreviations: b = baptismal or birth date; m = marriage date; d = death or burial date. As is always the case with such records, it is important to note that it has not been possible to verify all links.

Figure 1

Figure 2 The face (top) and back (bottom) of the Croll family headstone in Cargill churchyard with transcriptions (photos: K. J. Edwards).

Figure 2

Figure 3 James Croll's inscription to Charles Wyville Thomson in a copy of Climate and time (in the writer's possession). The book was acknowledged in a letter sent to Croll by Thomson from HMS Challenger, Ascension Island, on 2 April 1876.

Figure 3

Figure 4 James Campbell Irons's inscription to Father Arthur Henry Bertrand Wilberforce in a copy of Autobiographical sketch of James Croll (in the writer's possession).