DEMPSTER

Anciently an arbitrator or officer of justice in the Scottish courts.

Arthur, William (1857) An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names. New York: Sheldon, Blakeman. Public Domain.

DEMPSTER. A judge ; the ofllcer of a court who pronounces doom. A-Sax. dcman, to judge. Jamieson. The Isle of Man is divided into two districts, over each of which a deemster still presides. Before the Union, there was an officer in the Scottish senate called the Dempster of Parliament, probably corresponding with the English " Speaker." This office was hereditary in the ancient family of Dempster of Auchterless, and hence their surname. In the old M.S. poem called Cursor Mundi, quoted by Halliweil, we read : —

Lower, Mark A (1860) Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom. London: J.R. Smith. Public Domain.