A woman is appealing for help tracing a stash of documents found in a treasure chest linking her family to some of the UK’s most famous historical figures.
Carol Brand recently stumbled upon a newspaper story from 2013 in which Dundee man Richard Brown told of finding documents in the chest that he said had been “gathering dust” in his attic.
The information in it linked two Dundee families, the Thoms and Jobsons, to influential and powerful figures such as Robert Burns, Queen Elizabeth I and Sir Walter Scott.
At the time of the find, Mr Brown said he had inherited the chest more than 30 years ago after his aunt Jean Bell died.
Carol, 58, said her mother’s family were related to Jean Bell’s husband William.
The chest contained genealogical histories, correspondence and newspaper cuttings.
The information confirms the links to the painter Henry Jobson-Bell, and even includes a document from 1826 showing the family’s ties to Sir Richard de Jobson, knight and falconer to Queen Elizabeth I.
Carol said: “These documents could tell us a lot more about our links. It’s so exciting. I had no idea they existed.
“If we can track down Mr Brown then it would be such a huge help in understanding more about these incredible roots that we have.”
