Glasgow and West of Scotland Family History Society

I was asked recently why I wasn't a member of the Glasgow and West of Scotland Family History Society, a society to which I have given talks on several occasions in the past. As questions go, that one was definitely right up there with 'what is the meaning of life?', and I didn't have an answer.

So I've just joined! 

Annual membership is £15 if based in the UK, £18 is in the rest of the world. There are some useful databases available to members online, but perhaps the greatest online offering is free access to members of the society's journal in PDF format, from the earliest editions in 1978 to the current editions of 2022. The society also has a research centre in Partick, although this has been closed due to the pandemic over the last couple of years. 

Most of my Glasgow connections are limited to the late 19th century onwards, with many ancestral lines from Ireland establishing themselves primarily in and around Bridgeton, the most recent being my granny, born there in 1904 to two migrants from Londonderry and Fermanagh. However, perhaps my most irritating ancestral brick wall is that of my two times great grandfather, John Brownlie MacFarlance, whose parents were stated to be a blacksmith called John MacFarlane and his wife Ann Brownlee, and for whom I can find zip, zilch, nothing. Obviously if that one is ever cracked, happy days, but there is more value to being a member of the society than that, with Glasgow being Scotland's largest populated city. We all have connections with Glasgow somewhere in Scotland!

To find out more about the society visit www.gwsfhs.org.uk.

(For details of other Scottish societies visit www.safhs.org.uk, and for the comainn eachdraidh/historical societies of the Western Isles, visit www.hebrideanconnections.com)

Chris

My new book Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records is now available to buy at https://bit.ly/IrishLandRecords. Also available - Sharing Your Family History Online, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed), and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records - to purchase, please visit https://bit.ly/ChrisPatonPSbooks. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.