Discover my Past Scotland issue 6 on sale

The sixth issue of online genealogy magazine Discover my Past Scotland has just gone on sale at www.discovermypast.co.uk, with many interesting features for those with a Scottish past.

John Hannay looks at the pleasures of the River Clyde 100 years ago, Wendy Glass examines how DNA can help with your family history research, Jenny Swanson provides a summary of Scotland's Homecoming so far, Michelle Higgs looks at 19th century body-snatching, there's a preview of this year's Angus and Dundee Roots festival, and yours truly provides a report on this year's Who Do You Think You Are? Live event in London, highlighting discoveries on new ways to help your Scottish family history research that I discovered there. In addition Kate Howard shows how to research your military ancestors from World War Two, and there are the usual regular features such as Bygone Days and your family history questions answered.

At just £2.50, it's a real bargain! The magazine can be read online or can be downloaded in PDF format, and back issues can also be purchased through the site.

Chris

www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk

Scotland's Greatest Story

Professional family history research & genealogical problem solving

Stirling Highland Games cancelled

The credit crunch is hitting hard, and as such, Stirling Council has announced that it is cancelling this year's Highland games on July 12th at King's Park. It's not great news for Scotland in the year of Homecoming, particularly amidst speculation over the possible cancellation of other public events in light of the currently developing swine flu epidemic.

For more on the story, visit http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/tayside_and_central/8025394.stm.

Chris

www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
Scotland's Greatest Story
Professional family history research & genealogical problem solving

Ancestors magazine articles available for download

Ancestors magazine, produced by the National Archives at Kew, is making available past articles through its Documents Online service, in a new section entitled Features Online. At the moment five articles from issues 70 to 78 are available, either individually or in compilations, and in PDF format. Each article costs 75p, a combination of 5 will cost £1.50, and you can also order a combination of 3.

The Features Online site is at www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documentsonline/featuresonline.asp. A trial of the service is available in the form of the free download of an article entitled From Wills to War Medals, an article about the Documents Online service itself. This is an interesting development, and more articles will be made available through the service in due course.

In the meantime, for more information on the magazine itself, and to take out a subscription, visit www.ancestorsmagazine.co.uk.

Chris

www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk

Scotland's Greatest Story

Professional family history research & genealogical problem solving

Congratulations

A huge congratulations to both Annabel Bernhardt at Ancestry.co.uk and to Russell James, editor at Your Family Tree, with regards to their respective marriages in the last month.

Clearly they both have updates to their respective family trees to record - and as my auld Dad often says, may God have mercy on their souls!!!

Chris

www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
Scotland's Greatest Story
Professional family history research & genealogical problem solving

New tutors and courses for Pharos

Pharos Teaching & Tutoring Limited, the specialists in online family history and genealogy courses, has appointed four new tutors to its team.

Ruth Davies will be offering a course entitled Old Handwriting for Family Historians; Barbara Baker will be teaching Organising Your Genealogy; Kirsty Gray will be offering Discover Your Devon Ancestors; and yours truly also joins the team with Scottish Research Online.

This follows on from the company's recent announcement of a new collaboration with the Society of Genealogists, which will also be offering a course entitled I'm Stuck, How Can the Society of Genealogists Help Me?, to be taught by Else Churchill.

Personally speaking, I am absolutely delighted to be joining Pharos, and will be taking my first course from August 24th. The Scottish Research Online course provides a detailed introduction to the key online databases used in Scottish family history research, as well as instruction on the most effective techniques to help you structure a plan for your research. The course lasts for five weeks and is priced at £42.99.

For more information on this course, and others offered by the Pharos team, please visit www.pharostutors.com/coursesmainsd.php.

Chris

www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
Scotland's Greatest Story
Professional family history research & genealogical problem solving

Family History Monthly June 2009 on sale

The next issue of Family History Monthly is now on sale, with a host of goodies inside.

From a Scots point of view there is an excellent four page article by Keith Gregson on Shetland, news on the University of Edinburgh's new MSc in Diaspora and Migration History, and a review of The Tin-Kin by Eleanor Thorn, a novel about Scotland's travelling community. Further articles cover trash in the attic, first steps in family history, the English Civil War, ice cream, the Time Lords (OK, watch and clock makers!), and all the usual regular features. Yours truly has also contributed an article on the Guild of One Name Studies.

All for stonkingly good value at £3.75!

Chris

www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
Scotland's Greatest Story
Professional family history research & genealogical problem solving

Glasgow Women's Library seeks new recruits

The Glasgow Women's Library, which is planning to move to the Mitchell Library, is currently recruiting for three paid positions - a full time archivist, a full time lifelong learning development worker, and a part time admin worker. For more information, visit www.womenslibrary.org.uk/2009/04/job-vacancies/.

In last Friday's Herald newspaper, Ann Wallace interviewed the library's strategic development manager Sue John, who is currently organising the Women on the Shelf campaign, which is raising money by inviting people to sponsor a shelf that they can dedicate to a woman of their choice. The money raised will go towards the library's move to the Mitchell.

In the article Sue outlined how the archivisit role is a new job created as part of a three year project funded to the tune of £410,000 by the Heritage Lottery Fund, of which half will be spent on building the library's new premises within the Mitchell. The archivisit will be required to train 60 volunteers over the next three years in archiving and conservation techniques. The role of development worker will be linked to the establishment and running of courses on a range of topics, including adult literacy.

(With thanks to Elma Lindsay)

Chris

www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
Scotland's Greatest Story
Professional family history research & genealogical problem solving

1930s school day re-enacted

To celebrate its 75th anniversary, Gordonstoun boarding school in Moray has been taking its pupils through a 1930s style daily routine, including military style exercise drill and a good reading to by staff.

For more on the story, visit http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/north_east/8020217.stm.

Chris

www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
Scotland's Greatest Story
Professional family history research & genealogical problem solving

Interview with the Lord Lyon's outgoing Procurator Fiscal

An interview in today's Scotsman newspaper with outgoing procurator fiscal for the Court of the Lord Lyon, George Way, includes some interesting revelations, such as how Donald Trump was recently forced to obey the laws surrounding the use of Scottish heraldry. Way is stepping down next month following his appointment to the sheriffdom of Tayside, Central and Fife by the Queen last week.

For all those interested in applying for the job, you can gain a sense of what is involved by reading the interview, conducted by Victoria Raimes, at http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/features/Victoria-Raimes--meets-the.5207169.jp.

Chris

www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
Scotland's Greatest Story
Professional family history research & genealogical problem solving

Interview with Raymond Evans of ScotlandsPeople

An interview with Raymond Evans, of the ScotlandsPeople website, is online at www.rootstelevision.com/players/player_conferences3.php?bctid=17059442001&bclid=10538975001. The interview was carried out by Dick Eastman on behalf of Roots Television. Amongst Raymond's many revelations is the fact that the marriage indexes post 1933 will soon be going online at the site at www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk.

Chris

www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
Scotland's Greatest Story
Professional family history research & genealogical problem solving

Map Your Name

A new website will help you to work out the current distribution of people in the USA, Australia and most of Western Europe who share a particular surname. Located at www.mapyourname.com, the site is the product of a collaboration between King's College London and Experian.

Despite it's slick presentation, I was stunned to type my name Paton in and to have the following message appear - "The name PATON is associated with people who originate from England". The problem is that when you view the actual map of Europe, it clearly contradicts this by showing that a vast majority of those with the name are in Scotland, and by a serious long shot, with the highest concentrations found in Dundee and Ayrshire. The distribution maps are entirely accurate, I am sure, but you might want to take such sweeping statements about the surnames' origins with a pinch of salt! Otherwise a very simple to use research tool.

Chris

www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
Scotland's Greatest Story
Professional family history research & genealogical problem solving

MSc in Diaspora and Migration History

If you fancy stretching your intellectual muscle somewhat, then the University of Edinburgh's new MSc in Diaspora and Migration History might be the course for you.

From the University's website:

The MSc in Diaspora and Migration History is distinctive in its breadth and diversity, drawing on the extensive expertise in Scottish, British and Irish migration and diaspora history available in the Scottish Centre for Diaspora Studies (SCDS), but also involves scholars with complementary interests in African, American, Asian and Australian history within the School of History, Classics and Archaeology. The programme, the only one of its kind offered by a UK university, will provide world-class training in migration and diaspora history in the vibrant and innovative interdisciplinary atmosphere of the Scottish Centre for Diaspora Studies. It offers students a unique opportunity to extend their knowledge of global migration history through a range of core and option modules, with a particular focus on the Scottish, British and Irish diasporas, as well as conducting an independent research project in partnership with experienced academic supervisors, who are themselves leaders in their research fields. Students will pursue this advanced study in one of the world’s leading research universities with excellent resources close to hand at the National Library of Scotland (a copyright library) and the National Archives of Scotland.

For more information visit www.shca.ed.ac.uk/postgraduate/documents/2009NewDiaspora.pdf and www.shca.ed.ac.uk/postgraduate/documents/2009NewDiasporacourses.pdf.

It took some digging, but it looks like the cost of the course for 2009-2010 is £4850 for home based or EU students, and £11,250 for overseas. See www.registry.ed.ac.uk/Fees/TRPGfees09-10.pdf.

Chris

www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
Scotland's Greatest Story
Professional family history research & genealogical problem solving

Free access to Ancestry's Australian military records

Ancestry's Australian site, www.ancestry.com.au, is offering free access to 16 million military records on its site, in honour of of Anzac Day. The collections available include records for Australia and New Zealand, as well as England, Canada and the United States of America. The collections are free to access until April 30th.

(Thanks to the Genealogy in Time newsletter)

Chris

www.scotlandsgreateststory.co.uk
Scotland's Greatest Story
Professional family history research & genealogical problem solving

Your Family Tree issue 77 on sale Tuesday 28th

The latest issue of Your Family Tree magazine (number 77, May 09) has a lot of Scottish content this month, as well as all the usual great features. In addition to a region guide on Ayrshire, there is news on the recent upload of the 1881 census images to the ScotlandsPeople website, whilst yours truly has contributed an all singing, all dancing, handy dandy guide on how to use the ScotlandsPeople Centre in Edinburgh (including exclusive images of my receding hairline!). The article describes what to do when you arrive and details the many records now available at the centre which were previously inaccessible from the old DIGROS terminals.

In addition, there is a brilliant article on English and Welsh manorial records from Stephen Thomas, alongside articles on Indian and South Asian colonial research, child migrants, tracing WW1 officers through The Bond of Sacrifice (with Volume 1 available on the cover CD), Ancestry's new London records releases, how to scan documents larger than A4 (again, using the cover CD), ancestors on strike and more.

Else Churchill's opinion piece implores genealogists to learn more about the records collections they use, and yours truly makes a plea to the British Library to make its digitised 19th century newspaper collection online by direct access to the general public, as with many national newspapers that are available in this manner. If this happens, people in Scotland will be able to search the digitised collections of the Glasgow Herald, the Caledonian Mercury and the Aberdeen Journal, not to mention the Belfast Newsletter, the Freeman's Journal from Dublin, and literally dozens of local English titles. Currently these are available only to subscribing institutions.

All this for £4.99 (and no extra charge for the exclusive on my receding hairline, which I might have already mentioned!)

Chris

www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
Scotland's Greatest Story
Professional family history research & genealogical problem solving

Google Street View given the OK

The Information Commissioner has ruled that Google's new Street View application on Google Maps does not breach privacy in any serious way, and that it should therefore not be taken down from the internet.

For more on the story visit http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8014178.stm.

Coincidentally, rumour has it that a squadron of well trained pigs was observed flying in formation over my house earlier today...!

Chris

www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
Scotland's Greatest Story
Professional family history research & genealogical problem solving

New tartans registered

The Scottish Register of Tartans has been recording new tartans on its site since its launch on February 5th. The following designs have been registered since then:

Scottish Register of Tartans' Tartan
Lindley-Highfield of Ballumbie Castle
Taggart
Labrador (unofficial)
Edinburgh Napier University
Robert Alexander Dewar
Argentine Flag
Canmore Highland Games
Canmore Highland Games Dress
Grassi
Keith McCormick
West of Wells
Hill
Auchinachie
Proctor
Large (Personal)
Harmon Hunting
Hunter Graham

To view the new designs, visit http://www.tartanregister.gov.uk/.

Chris

www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
Scotland's Greatest Story
Professional family history research & genealogical problem solving

Famous Scots visit ScotlandsPeople Centre

On Wednesday April 15th, Billy Connolly and Sir James Black, the first two subjects of the Famous Scots exhibition at the ScotlandsPeople Centre, popped into the centre for a visit. The NAS has the story at www.nas.gov.uk/about/090420.asp.

On a slightly less fortunate note, the centre was today forced to close to the public following a major hardware failure. The main ScotlandsPeople Centre site at www.scotlandspeoplehub.gov.uk/index.html asked patrons not to attend today, but has announced that it is working towards being fully back up and running tomorrow.

Chris

www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
Scotland's Greatest Story
Professional family history research & genealogical problem solving

New York City withdraws public access to vital records

Following the recent dramatic changes to access for New Zealand's vital records, another major authority has now withdrawn access to the public to view birth, marriage or death records and indices to those events. If your ancestors settled in New York, you will now need to get a member of staff at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to search the records for you at a rate of $15 for three year intervals. The authority is concerned at the possibility of identity theft.

For more on the story, visit Eastman's Online Genealogy newsletter at http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/2009/04/new-york-city-restricts-access-to-vital-records.html.

Chris

www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
Scotland's Greatest Story
Professional family history research & genealogical problem solving

1901 census for Armagh at IFHF

Part of the 1901 census for Armagh has been made available at the Irish Family History Foundation website, offering transcriptions of some 20,000 records for the cost of 5 Euros per entry. The rest will be added once transcribed and added to the database. To access the records visit https://brsgenealogy.com. It should be noted that the site already hosts the surviving transcriptions from the 1821 census for Armagh also.

The 1901 records will be made available in due course for free by the National Archives of Ireland, as part of its programme to digitise both the 1901 and 1911 censuses. Although four counties for 1911 have been uploaded, it sadly seems as if the project has once again fallen behind schedule, with the latest batch of counties due to go online in March still waiting to arrive. As such, the claim that everything will be online by mid-2009 seems woefully optimistic, but never say never!

Chris

www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
Scotland's Greatest Story
Professional family history research & genealogical problem solving

Scottish Heritage Festival in West Virginia

The 8th Scottish Heritage Festival will take place on the first weekend of May (1-3) at Bridgeport City Park, Bridgeport, West Virginia. Amongst the events included will be the West Virgina Pipe Band Championship.

For more information call 001 (304) 842 3457 or visit the website at www.scots-westvirginia.org/scottish_heritage_society-ScottishCelticFestival.htm.

Chris

www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
Scotland's Greatest Story
Professional family history research & genealogical problem solving

Western Isles history talks and boat trips - May

The Islands Book Trust is organising three boat trips for the month of May, each with a talk about the specific location's history.

First up is a trip to the isle of Scarp, departing from Husinish pier on Harris at 10.30am on Saturday 16th May. Calum John Mackay will be giving a talk on the island, which was finally abandoned by its residents in the 1970s. I've actually been to Scarp, having filmed it as part of the first series of the BBC's Coast series, and this is definitely a trip I would recommend! Scarp was the island where the famous rocket mail experiment took place in the 1930s by a German enthusiast called Zucker, but the rocket carrying the mail unfortunately blew up at launch, producing a lot of singed mail. The experiment was in response to the islanders need to improve communications with nearby Harris, following complications which set in with the birth of a set of twins. The first twin was born on the island, but the mother had to be taken to Stornoway with great difficulty for the second to appear the following day - creating the strange situation of two twins born on separate islands and counties on two separate days!

At 10.00am on Saturday 23rd May, there will be an excursion to Rossinish, a deserted township on the isle of Eriskay, whilst on Saturday 30th there will be a boat trip to South Rona, following a talk on Rona at 10.30am by Sine Ghilleasbuig.

For more information, visit www.theislandsbooktrust.com.

Chris

www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
Scotland's Greatest Story
Professional family history research & genealogical problem solving

The Clyde: Films of the River 1912 - 1971

An exhibition is to take place at Glasgow's Lighthouse from June 20th to September 20th 2009 showcasing films held by the Scottish Screen Archive regarding the River Clyde. Entitled The Clyde: Films of the River 1912 - 1971, visitors will be able to view a special collection of documentary and amateur film material showcasing the river's story throughout the 20th Century.

The Lighthouse is asking for people to share their memories about the Clyde in its Story Box facility on its website. For more information, see www.thelighthouse.co.uk/events/exhibitions/7,515/The-Clyde-Films-of-the-River-1912--1971.html.

Chris

www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
Scotland's Greatest Story
Professional family history research & genealogical problem solving

A Glasgow Jewish Journey

Limmud Scotland and the Scottish Jewish Archives are organising a coach trip on the afternoon of Sunday 7th June entitled A Glasgow Jewish Journey - Garnethill, the Gorbals, Giffnock. The tour, which is by pre-booking only, will leave from Giffnock, and will be taken by Evelyn Tiefenbrun and Harey Kaplan.

For more information, contact info@sjac.org.uk or telephone the Scottish Jewish Archives Centre at 0141 3324911.

In the meantime, a new exhibition is up and running at the centre entitled A New Life in Scotland, which documents the history of Jewish immigration into Scotland. The centre's website is at www.sjac.org.uk.

Chris

www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
Scotland's Greatest Story
Professional family history research & genealogical problem solving

SAFHS Conference 2009

Just a quick reminder that the annual conference of the Scottish Association of Family History Societies, along with the Scottish Family History Fair, takes place this Saturday 25th April at King's College Conference Centre in Aberdeen. Attendance to the fair is free and open to the public, but if you have not booked as a delegate for the conference, it is unfortunately now fully subscribed.

For more information, visit the SAFHS website at www.safhs.org.uk/SAFHS_Conference.asp.

Chris

www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
Scotland's Greatest Story
Professional family history research & genealogical problem solving

GOONS website gets a new look

The website of the Guild of One Name Studies at www.one-name.org has had a revamp and is looking better than ever. The Guild, affectionatley known as the GOONS, is currently celebrating its 30th anniversary this year.

There are over 2000 surnames registered for one name studies with the Guild, which has members all around the world. A one name study is literally a study of all known instances of a surname - members will trawl through indexes looking for every example of that name, and established variants, and will try to collate them into family groups.

The bottom line is they have a heck of a lot of expertise, and just might have records concerning your family that you have yet to find, so well worth having a look and perhaps contacting them!

And if you would like to find out more about one-name studies, you can perhaps subscribe to the short introductory course on the subject run by Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd, at www.pharostutors.co.uk.

Chris

www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
Scotland's Greatest Story
Professional family history research & genealogical problem solving

BT archive catalogue online

A two year project to place the catalogue to the BT Archives has been completed, and now made available online at www.bt.com/archivesonline. The catalogue covers records held by the company as far back as 1846 and one of the company's earliest forerunners, the Electric Telegraph Company.

An article on the catalogue's creation is in the current April 09 issue of Record Keeping magazine, from the National Archives at Kew, located online at www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documents/recordkeeping_april2009.pdf.

Chris

www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
Scotland's Greatest Story
Professional family history research & genealogical problem solving

Database of British Jewish records expanded

From FamilySearch....

FamilySearch has expanded its Knowles Collection—a free popular database of Jewish records hailing from the British Isles. The collection builds upon work commenced by the late Isobel Mordy—a well-known historian of the Jews of the British Isles.

Mordy was a retired mathematician and used a complex code to link Jewish United Kingdom families in her research. Her work yielded 8,000 names and has been very popular for Jewish family history researchers with British ancestry.

“The complexity of the code Mordy used to index her research is daunting even to the most experienced researcher,” said Todd Knowles, author and manager of the Knowles Collection and a British Reference consultant for the famous Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah. It took Knowles a few years, but he ultimately managed to transcribe the records from Mordy’s work into a more easily searchable genealogy database.

The great advantage of the Knowles Collection is that it links together electronically tens of thousands of individual Jews into family groups. Knowles has since expanded Mordy’s collection of 8,000 names to a collection of over 40,000.

“The records come from over 100 individual sources,” noted Knowles. “That saves the researcher a lot of time and travel.”

Some of the record sources were actively maintained until the mid 1980s, so many people living today will be able to find their relatives from recent memory in the collection. The newly added names come from many types of records—censuses; probate records; synagogue birth, marriage, and death records; biographies; and more.

Perhaps the most interesting records added recently include over 200 Jewish Welsh marriages from a community in the city of Cardiff, original synagogue records, and patron-submitted records. Some of the families tie into the work of Malcolm Stern’s The First American Jewish Families, which includes families who had English ancestry.

The collection can be accessed at FamilySearch.org on the Jewish Family History Resources page. It is available to download for free as either a GEDCOM or PAF file. Individuals can add their own records to the collection by contacting the collection’s author, Todd Knowles, directly at knowleswt@familysearch.org.

Chris

www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
Scotland's Greatest Story
Professional family history research & genealogical problem solving

Robert Burns exhibition at the Mitchell

An exhibition is currently underway at the Mitchell Library in Glasgow, commemorating the life and works of Robert Burns. The show, which features contributions from contemporary artists around the world, including Ed Ruscha, Tracey Emin, Douglas Gordon and Peter Howson, runs until September 20th, and also contains many previously unseen and rare artefacts from the bard's life. For more information, visit www.s1play.com/out-and-about/event/inspired.

In addition, the Mitchell holds a great deal of material on the poet within its Robert Burns Collection - for more on this, visit www.glasgow.gov.uk/en/Residents/Library_Services/The_Mitchell/Mitchell_Treasures/burnscollection.htm.

Chris

www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
Scotland's Greatest Story
Professional family history research & genealogical problem solving

Discovery restoration completed

A £700,000 two year project to restore the R.S.S. Discovery, the ship that took Scott and Shackleton to the Antarctic, has been completed.

For more on the story, visit http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/tayside_and_central/8002813.stm

Chris

www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
Scotland's Greatest Story
Professional family history research & genealogical problem solving

Jacobites night out

A group of re-enactors have recreated a night march from Culloden to the outskirts of Nairn, in an attempt to experience for themselves the reality of the end of the Jacobite campaign in 1746. Not all of them made it back!

The BBC has a report on the march at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/highlands_and_islands/8001480.stm and a video report at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/8002781.stm.

Chris

www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
Scotland's Greatest Story
Professional family history research & genealogical problem solving

New BBC Gaelic website - Facal Oirbh

A new series is playing on BBC Radio nan Gaidheal entitled 'Facal Oirbh', and to tie in with it, BBC Alba has created a new website at www.bbc.co.uk/facaloirbh.

The following is the press release:

Larach-lin ur co-cheangailte ris an t-sreath reidio Facal Oirbh, le fiosrachadh mu bhriathrachas 's mu ghnathasan-cainnt na Gaidhlig, mu chleachdaidhean 's mu chreideasan na Gaidheal.

Air larach-lin Facal Oirbh, chithear agus cluinnear fiosrachadh bhon phrogram as uire. Gheibhear cuideachd fiosrachadh bho na programan a chaidh a-mach roimhe san tasglann.

Chithear an larach aig bbc.co.uk/facaloirbh. Tha an larach a'freagairt air fileantaich agus air luchd-ionnsachaidh na Gaidhlig.

Airson tuilleadh fiosrachaidh, cuiribh post-d gu alba@bbc.co.uk.


The website is linked to the new radio series 'Facal Oirbh', with information about words, speech, customs and beliefs of the Gaels.

On the website you'll see and hear information from the latest programme, and also information about past programmes in the archive. The site is available at bbc.co.uk/facaloirbh, and is suitable for both fluent Gaelic speakers and learners.

(Moran taing Una!)

Chris

www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
Scotland's Greatest Story
Professional family history research & genealogical problem solving

Crieff poor law list 1899

Colin Mayall from Caledonian Connections has uploaded a poor law list for the Perthshire parish of Crieff in 1899 at his website at http://caledonianconnections.com. He hopes to add more lists in due course.

Chris

www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
Scotland's Greatest Story
Professional family history research & genealogical problem solving

1911 Census for England now completely online

For those of you looking for your Scottish forebears down south, the 1911 census, available from FindmyPast.com at www.1911census.co.uk, has finally uploaded the complete collection for England in the latest stage of its phased release programme. Next up will be the releases for all Welsh counties, followed by the Channel Islands, Isle of Man, Royal Naval ships at sea and overseas military establishments.

Meanwhile, in Ireland, the 1911 census release has once again fallen behind schedule, with no sign as yet of records for counties Donegal, Cork, Wexford and Galway, which were supposed to have gone online in March. There is no word on the site at www.census.nationalarchives.ie to explain the delay, but as soon as I hear anything, I'll let you know!

Chris

www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
Scotland's Greatest Story
Professional family history research & genealogical problem solving

Lanarkshire FHS news

A huge thanks to Lanarkshire FHS for their hospitality and warm reception on Thursday, where I gave a talk on Irish online resources. The society has been very busy, with many new ventures!

The society now has a new Resource Centre at 47 Crosshill Street, Motherwell, ML1 1RU, which is open every Wednesday and Saturday from 12.00 to 5.00pm, and Thursdays from 5.00pm to 9.00pm (closed every second Thursday in the month). Volunteers are being sought to try to help expand these hours further, so do contact them if you can help in any way - the group can be e-mailed at society@lanarkshirefhs.org.uk. Please note that the Resource Centre address is not the organisation's postal address - this remains as Lanarkshire Family History Society, c/o Motherwell Heritage Centre, Local History Room, High Road, Motherwell, ML1 3HU.

In addition, the society has set up a new Irish interests group. Meetings are planned in the Resource Centre for Mondays 20th April, 18th May and 15th June. If you have an Irish connection, well worth joining!

The next speaker will be Andrew Nicoll on Thursday 14th May at 7.00pm in the GLO Centre in Motherwell. Andrew will be talking about the Scottish Catholic Archives.

Thanks again to everyone for a great evening!

Chris

www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
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Professional family history research & genealogical problem solving

National Library of Scotland news

The Scots Music Abroad exhibition continues to run at the NLS in Edinburgh until May 9th, revealing the impact of Scottish music within the countries of the Commonwealth, as well as how foreign countries are influencing Scotland again in return. The exhibition is running at the George IV Building, and for more information, visit www.nls.uk/exhibitions.

Meanwhile at the NLS Digital Library, a series of one inch Ordnance Survey maps from 1921-1930 are now online at http://digital.nls.uk/pageturner.cfm?id=74466524. In addition, the library has also uploaded a series of Satellite image overlays of 'Bathymetrical Survey Lochs, 1897-1909' at http://geo.nls.uk/maps/index.html#bathymetric. The surveys show the depths of several lochs around Scotland with useful information on the hinterlands, and can now be overlaid and compared with modern Google Earth and Virtual Earth applications.

In addition, the digital library has also uploaded a series of black and white photographs from the First World War depiciting the Western Front at http://digital.nls.uk/pageturner.cfm?id=74462370, and 'Genealogical Collections Concerning Families in Scotland, made by Walter MacFarlane, 1750-1751' at http://digital.nls.uk/pageturner.cfm?id=74466633.

Chris

www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
Scotland's Greatest Story
Professional family history research & genealogical problem solving

Easter Rising footage online

For those who read my article in the current issue of Your Family Tree magazine on the 1916 Easter Rising in Ireland, or for those with an already established interest in the subject, the National Archives has just placed three minutes of film footage online recorded in the aftermath of the rebellion, showing the devastation that was caused in Dublin.

The footage can be viewed at http://www.learningcurve.gov.uk/focuson/film/film-archive/player.asp?catID=2&subCatID=4&filmID=2#top%20idtop?WT.ac=hp-fof.

Chris

www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
Scotland's Greatest Story
Professional family history research & genealogical problem solving

Ancestors magazine seeks new deputy editior

The Ancestors magazine blog is advertising for a new deputy editor. The following is the announcement:

Penny, our deputy editor, is leaving the magazine. We are looking for somebody to replace her. If you have proven journalistic skills, a passion for family history and can work at our office at The National Archives, please get in touch by 16 April at latest.

Contact details are available through the Ancestors website - good luck!

Chris

www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
Scotland's Greatest Story
Professional family history research & genealogical problem solving

Practical Family History Spring 2009 issue now on sale

The latest Practical Family History issue is now on sale (Spring 2009), and the editor has turned out to be a Time Lord who has regenerated...! (OK, Belinda, is actually off having babies, and Karen Clare is now at the helm for the next twelve issues!).

In this month's issue, there are articles on Somerset forebears, fashion and clothing over time, pre-1841 census sources, working for the Royals, immigration resources and much more, in addition to the usual news round up from yours truly (including news on the new Burns Monument Centre in Kilmarnock), and my account of the many discoveries made on the genealogical resource front at the recent Who Do You Think You Are? Live show in London.

And did I mention that there is a man with very big hands on the cover - worth it for that alone!

Chris

www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
Scotland's Greatest Story
Professional family history research & genealogical problem solving

Who Do You Think You Are? - series 8 for 2010

At the recent Who Do You Think You Are? Live exhibition, Alex Graham of Wall to Wall Television confirmed to me that the BBC has commissioned eight new additions of its successful Who Do You Think You Are series for 2010. This is in addition to the six programmes to be transmitted later this year, including programmes on Chris Moyles, Konnie Huq and David Schwimmer.

Graham revealed the news following a talk that he gave for vendors on how the series was put together. The brand continues to be a strong success for Wall to Wall, which has sold the format to many countries, including the current version in the United States.

Chris

www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
Scotland's Greatest Story
Professional family history research & genealogical problem solving

The Declaration of Arbroath

"As long as but a hundred of us remain alive, never will we on any conditions be brought under English rule. It is in truth not for glory, nor riches, nor honours, that we are fighting, but for freedom - for that alone, which no honest man gives up but with life itself".

No, not the new election slogan from the Scottish National Party, but the opening line of the Declaration of Arbroath! The story of the declaration is explained in a news piece from the National Archives of Scotland on its website at www.nas.gov.uk/about/090401.asp.

The American Declaration of Independence is said to have been inspired by the Declaration of Arbroath, but ten years ago I came across a slightly more disturbing interpratation of its message and principles. Whilst filming a television series called Celtic America in the USA for STV, we had to record a parade by the modern Ku Klux Klan in Pulaski, Tennessee, as part of the story. The Grand Pixie, or Great Wizard (I forget his title), handed me a booklet on the Declaration of Arbroath, claiming it provided a justification for the Klan's beliefs. I suspect someone missed the point there really...!

Chris

www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
Scotland's Greatest Story
Professional family history research & genealogical problem solving

Duart Castle opens for 2009

Duart Castle, on the Isle of Mull, Scotland, has opened for 2009 with the launch of a brand new summer events programme.

Photo: John Cable

The programme was revealed at an exclusive evening event at the castle on Thursday 2nd April hosted by Sir Lachlan Maclean, the 28th Chief of the Clan Maclean and who lives in the castle. Special guests were treated to a first look at the events, a tour of the grand castle, guided by Sir Lachlan Maclean and one of the events on this year’s programme, whisky tasting with Tobermory Distillery and an exclusive look at parts of the private side of the castle.

The new events for 2009, running from May to September, include Children’s Interactive Castle Tours, The Duart Castle Family & Evening Ceilidhs, historical re-enactments with Frasers Dragoones and a Mull theatre production. Following on from last year’s success, tales of the Clan Maclean recited by traditional clan bard, Scot AnSgeulaiche, Evening Tours with Sir Lachlan Maclean and children’s treasure hunts & orienteering events are back for another year.

The Children’s Interactive Castle Tour is a new event tailored for children aged five to 13 years that will tell scandalous & romantic tales about the Clan Maclean, giving children the chance to re-enact the stories themelves using fun castle props. The family ceilidhs will provide a fantastic Scottish experience for visitors to Mull, with the chance to learn some traditional ceilidh dances suitable for children of all ages. For the adults, there will also be ceilidhs with live music, whisky, stovies and lots of jigs up and down the byre!

Sir Lachlan Maclean said: “We are passionate in offering ever visitor to Duart Castle a unique and entertaining experience whilst giving them the opportunity to learn about the history of the castle and the Macleans. We invite all visitors, from families to independent travellers to local residents to come along and enjoy our new events this year.” He added: “After winning the CalMac Award for Excellence in Tourism at last year’s Scottish Council for Development & Industry Awards, we are eager to sustain this level of quality throughout our visitor attraction.”

Sir Lachlan Maclean - photo: DeeVa

Duart Castle stands proudly on a clifftop overlooking the Sound of Mull and enjoys one of the most spectacular & unique positions on the west coast of Scotland. Visitors to Duart can explore the history of the castle and the Clan Maclean. As well as a fantastic new summer events programme, the oldest lived in castle on the island offers lots to see including prisoners in the dungeons, the magnificent Great Hall and spectacular views from the roof and sea room. The tea room, converted from the old cattle byres, is a highly attractive and unusual coffee stop. It is renowned for its traditionally Scottish and cosy atmosphere & unforgettable home baked cakes. The Duart Castle shop offers a range of quirky & interesting gift ideas.

For more information please telephone 01680 812 309 or visit www.duartcastle.com.


Chris

www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
Scotland's Greatest Story
Professional family history research & genealogical problem solving

PRONI launches new name search database

Once again the Public Records Office for Northern Ireland (www.proni.gov.uk) is blazing a trail in Irish online records access - here's their latest release:

The new PRONI Name Search database allows you to search pre-1858 will indexes online.

The first set of indexes to appear in Name Search are:

- the index to pre-1858 wills which are to be found in various collections in PRONI

- a selection of diocesan will indexes

The Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI) is committed to making its archives more widely available. While PRONI's eCatalogue has made access to PRONI’s archives easier and speedier, in most instances it does not provide information on the actual content of the archives. PRONI has therefore embarked on a project to improve access to content by producing or reproducing indexes to some of the most popular records.

This project is PRONI’s Public Service Agreement commitment in the Programme for Government for the next 3 years from 2008 to 2011.

Forthcoming indexes will include the surviving fragments of the 1740 and the 1766 religious census returns.

Chris

www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
Scotland's Greatest Story
Professional family history research & genealogical problem solving

DNA shows Scottish Gaels had Irish ancestors

It's been turned upside down in recent years by archaeologists, but it looks like the the long held tradition that Scotland's Gaels had Irish forebears is indeed correct - for more on the story on how DNA has shown the link, visit http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/highlands_and_islands/7976510.stm.

Chris

www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
Scotland's Greatest Story
Professional family history research & genealogical problem solving