James Robertson (surveyor)

[2] He was born on the island of Yell in the Shetland Islands north of mainland Scotland, the youngest of ten children to John Robertson, a relatively wealthy merchant.

In 1796 he successfully lobbied the House of Assembly to commission him for three years to map the entire island.

However, he obtained a successful commission from local landowners to map Aberdeenshire.

But the commissioning group were less than happy with the result, which was proven to have multiple omissions.

Robertson went to court in Edinburgh's High Court to receive the agreed payment but the issue remained unresolved at the point of his death in Edinburgh, on 15 January 1829.