Help with Scotland Ancestry Research

This evening, I am presenting a list of Scottish related websites which may prove of help in searching family history:

• www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk online source of parish register, civil registration and census records.
• www.scottishdocuments.com 520,00 Scottish wills and testaments (1500-1901)
• www.scan.org.uk-an electronic catalogue to the holding of more than 50 Scottish archives.
• http://edina.ac.uk/stat-acc-scot/description.shtml accounts of Scottish places during the 18th and 19th centuries.
• www.dsl.ac.uk/dsl electronic editions of the two major historical dictionaries of the Scots language.

Help With Ancestry Research Glasgow

This evening, I am provide more information to assist persons researching personal ancestry. Local authority records can be of help, in particular:

• Valuation rolls will provide information on on owners of property and their tenants back to 1855.
• Plans of schools and registers of students joining and leaving.
• Police or burgh courts will pick up offenders back to the 16th century.
• Poor Law records from the 1840s to 1930.
• City Jail records and bail bond registers.
• Records of businesses.

All the foregoing is, of course, in addition to the main ScotlandsPeople website.

Happy hunting!!

Glasgow's Lost Generation

This evening, I am providing some information on a website which covers the tens of thousands of Scottish men who lost everything in the horrors of the First World War. This Channel 4 website affords access to individuals and/or specific First World War memorials. Ancestors can be traced through war stories of the deceased. The West of Scotland was particularly harshly affected by the deaths in the trenches.

Stanley MacQuisten Ancestry Glasgow Scotland

This afternoon, I am presenting an image of a tombstone from Glasgow's Eastwood Old Cemetery.

This records the death of Stanley MacQuisten, husband of Eva Belle Castle, on Jan 22nd 1952. The deceased was domiciled at Bridge of Weir.

Eva Belle Castle Ancestry Glasgow

This evening, I am presenting an image of a grave-marker from Glasgow's Eastwood Old Cemetery.

This is somewhat unusual as it records the death of Eva Belle Castle from San Francisco, California who died at Bearsden, Glasgow on Sept 11th 1938. Eva was the wife of Stanley MacQuisten.

Annie Shakeshaft Ancestry Glasgow Scotland

This evening, I am posting an image of a tombstone form Glasgow's Southern Necropolis, near Gorbals, Glasgow.

This records the death of Annie Shakeshaft, wife of Fergus Jardine, on Feb 11th 1865.

Shakeshaft is actually an English name and from the same root as that of Shakespeare; in fact William Shakespeare was sometimes known as Shakeshaft.

John Archer Ancestry Cathcart Glasgow

This evening, I am presenting an image of a grave-marker from Glasgow Cathcart Old Church.

This records the death of John Archer, husband of Ruth Parker, On May 23rd 1938 age 66 years.

Trace Glasgow Ancestry

This evening, I am presenting some information on the on line data base enabling anyone to research personal ancestry in Scotland.

The General Register Office for Scotland, via its Internet arm ScotlandsPeople, has put all the Scottish records of births, baptisms, marriages, deaths, last wills and testaments, and Census returns online in a database which holds about 50M records. This includes records of such famous Scots as Robert Burns, John Knox and Rob Roy McGregor.

This data base is a valuable research tool enabling people both in Scotland and overseas to trace ancestors and connect with that important Scottish identity.

Ruth Parker Ancestry Glasgow Scotland

This evening, I am presenting an image of a gravestone from Glasgow's Old Cathcart Cemetery.

This records the death of Ruth Parker on Jan 2nd 1938 age 63 years. She was the wife of John Archer.

Jane Rankine Stirling Family History Glasgow

This evening, I am presenting an image of a memorial stone from Glasgow's Cathcart Old Church.

This stone records the death of Jane Rankine Stirling on Oct 27th 1885 age 81 years. She was the wife of Allan Stirling.

Allan Stirling Ancestry Tour Glasgow

This evening, I am presenting an image of a grave-marker from Glasgow's Cathcart Old Church.

This records the death of Allan Stirling on Dec 3rd 1879 age 79 years. He was married to Jane Rankine Stirling.

Mary Third Collie Ancestry Glasgow Scotland

This evening, I am presenting an image of a Collie family grave-marker from Old Cathcart Churchyard, Glasgow.

This records the death of Mary Third Collie on Feb 21st 1947 age 61.

Margaret Third Ancestry Glasgow Scotland

This evening, I am posting an image of a Collie family memorial from Glasgow's Cathcart Old Church. The list of deceased includes Margaret Third, wife of John Collie, who died on April 25th 1916 age 64. Third is a very unusual name and one I have never before encountered. However, I see from this Roots Chat that the name is common in the Aberdeen area.

John Collie Ancestry Cathcart Glasgow

This evening, I am presenting an image of a Collie family memorial stone from Glasgow's Old Cathcart churchyard.

The list of names includes John Collie who died on Oct 23rd 1933 age 75 years.

Marion Sinclair Ancestry Glasgow Scotland

This evening, I am posting an image of a grave-marker from Glasgow's Old Cathcart churchyard. This records the death of Marion Sinclair on June 17th 1926 age 28 years.

Sarah Preston Ancestry Glasgow Scotland

This evening, I am presenting an image of a Sinclair family memorial stone from Cathcart Old Church, Glasgow.

This records the death of Sarah Preston on Dec 9th 1932 age 73 yrs. She was the wife of John Sinclair ( d Jan 9 1903).

John Sinclair Ancestry Cathcart Glasgow

This evening, I am presenting an image from Old Cathcart, Glasgow which records the death of John Sinclair on Jan 9th 1903 age 45 years.

Covenanter Martyrs Glasgow Scotland

This evening, I am presenting an image of a memorial in Old Cathcart Churchyard to Robert Thom, Thomas Cook and John Ure who were killed on May 11th 1685.

The memorial reads:

"The bloody murderers of these men were Major Balfour and Captain Metland with them others were not free caused them to search in Polmadie as soon as they had them out found they murdered them with shots of guns.Scarce time did they to them allow before their maker their knees to bow. Many like them in this land have been whose blood for vengance cries to heaven. This cruel wickedness you see was done in lou of Polmadie. This may a standing witness be twixt presbytrie and prelacie."

For information on the Covenanting movement see this web page

The actual church is semi-derelict now but the grave yard is kept in good condition.

Ancestral Tourism Scotland

This morning, I am posting what may be the final daily comment in my current series on ancestry tours.

• Scotland is particularly well resourced for ancestor tours, e.g. web resources, skilled genealogists and old church records.
• The national tourist body, VisitScotland, has targeted the ancestry sector of the market.
• Many visitors are interested in heritage tourism which affords a natural 'bridge' to the ancestry sector.

Overall, ancestry tourism is very personal requiring significant research but, equally, can be satisfying for both tour guide and client.

Family Research Scotland

This evening, I am continuing my theme of recent days in commenting on my experiences of providing ancestry tours in Scotland.

It is worthy of note that many people, particularly from the U.S,A, , who have multiple ancestry lines choose the Scottish line as their preferred route to a national identity. Why this happens is perhaps deserving of further reseach. Perhaps the romantic notion of a link with a Scottish Clan may have an influence, possibly influenced by Hollywood output such as Braveheart and Rob Roy.

Family History Tours Scotland

This evening, I am continuing the theme of previous days by posting information on various aspects of my ancestry tours.

Some clients could-on their own admission-be considered as "obsessive" in their pursuit of a connection with their ancestors which may give rise to repeat visits to Scotland and/or in conjunction with relatives.Some clients go to great lengths by writing books on the subject and/or establishing specialised web sites and even then the work may not be finished. Of course, all this is good for my business and ancestral tourism generally.

Scottish Ancestry and Clans

This evening, I am posting some more information on Scottish Ancestry Tourism.

Another aspect of identification with both Scottish past and present is via a connection with a particular Clan and places associated with that Clan, e.g

• A particular castle
• Battle site
• Important power centre such as Finlaggan on Islay.

This connection provides persons with a tangible link with Scotland ( possibly even a de facto second citizenship) which some follow through with membership of a particular Clan. Some clans are in fact run from the U.S.or other countries such as Canada or Australia reflecting the long tradtion of emigration dating back to the Highland Clearances and other people movements..

Exploring Scottish Ancestry Glasgow

This evening, I am providing more information on my experiences of providing ancesry themed tours from Glasgow.

In the desire to connect with the past lives of ancestors,visitors will spend many hours searching through cemetries. Also, the rural nature of Scotland's lanscape facilitates identification with the past.There are many isolated Clearance Villages which are accessible, These date back to a dark time in Sotland's history when whole communities were ruthlessly ejected at a time when a shift from traditional agriculture to sheep faming occurred.Many of the inhabitants were effectively deported to places like the Carolinas and Canada which in turn leads to vistors keen to investigate their past..

Researching Scottish Ancestry Glasgow

This evening I am focusing on a key Scottish website which should prove of great value in reseaching personal ancestry, namely Scotland's People. This is an offical site which provides on line access to births, marriages and deaths.This site affords the researcher with access to authentic records and is a superb aid to ancestry research.

Scotland Ancestry Research

This evening, I am posting comment on my experience of providing personal ancestry themed tours from Glasgow and West of Scotland,

My visitors express a desire to connect with their personal ancestry via a combination of:

• Athenticity, i.e.identifying genuine records of forebears
• Visiting actual work places and/or former homes of ancestors.
• Visiting places of worship attended by ancestors
• Replacing worn grave markers of deceased ancestors.
• Meeting with living relatives and or persons who may remember relatives.

More information to follow tomorrow

Scottish Ancestry Glasgow

This evening I am focusing on the notion of personal identity which is important to certain people, particularly those of Scottish/Celtic descent who reside in melting pot societies like America and Australia.To facilitate personal ancestry reseach it is recommended that reseachers visit such places as the Mitchell Library in Glasgow and the Scottish National Archives in Edinburgh. There are also worthwhile specilaist websites which can be of help, e,g, the excellent site run by the Mormon Church.

Ancestry Tourism Scotland

This evening I am posting information on my experiences of providing Ancestry themed tours from Glasgow.

This is a fascinating experience for me as I enjoy the research which sometimes takes me to interesting and somewhat obscure places someway off the tourist trail.

Most of my clients share the following:

• Originate from the North America
• Tend to be over 50 years in age
• Ancestry research is the key-but not exclusive-driver for a 'standard' Scotland themed tour, taking in traditional sites such as Loch Ness, islands and castles.
• Sometimes there are return visits, possibly involving other relatives.
• Key driver is to 'connect' with their ancestors and Scottish heritage.In many cases ancestors were of very humble origins.

In recognition of the importance of ancestry tourism, VisitScotland has set up a specialist division covering this sector.

During the winter months I plan to undertake a genealogy course and upskill in this niche market.

Jean Douglas Ancestry Glasgow

This evening, I am presenting an image of a grave marker from Eastwood New Cemetery in Glasgow.

This records the death of Jean Douglas on April 7th 1953 age 66 years.

Hugh B Guthrie Ancestry Glasgow Scotland

This evening, I am presenting an image of a memorial stone from Glasgow's Eastwood Cemetery (New).

This records the death of Hugh B Guthrie on February 26th 1946 age 66 years.

Minnie R Guthrie Ancestry Scotland

This afternoon, I am presenting an image of a family memorial from Eastwood New Cemetery in Glasgow.

The list of names on this stone includes Minnie R Guthrie who died October 27th 1936 age 26 years.