Photographing spirits in Belfast in the 1920s

It's Hallowe'en, so it's time to wheel out the Ghostbusters in my family again...!

My two times great grandfather Edwin Graham was the Secretary of the Belfast Christian Spiritualist Association in Belfast in the 1920s. Edwin was a welder who married three times - first to Florence Halliday (my two times great grandmother), then briefly to Matilda Blair, and finally Sarah Stitt (with whom he is pictured from 1939). Sarah was said to be a 'gifted medium' from Liverpool.

In 1926 Edwin was involved in an extraordinary story in Belfast City Cemetery. Here's the story from the Irish Times:

Wednesday, July 28th 1926

PHOTOGRAPHING SPIRITS

Remarkable Service in Belfast Cemetery

Our Belfast correspondent states that unusual scenes were witnessed at a Service held yesterday at the City Cemetery under the auspices of the local Christian Spiritualists' Association. The Service took place around the grave of Mrs McDermott, mother of Mr John McDermott, medium of the Association, who died about three weeks ago. Upwards of a hundred spiritualists, some of them carrying cameras, wre present and during the singing photographs were taken. Mr McDermott conducted the Service, which consisted of prayer, singing and an address.

Mr. Edwin Graham, secretary of the Association, explained that the Service was purely evangelical, and that many photographs had been taken with the object of photographing the spirits of departed friends of persons present at the grave. "It is a very hard thing," he added "to obtain spirit photographs". He added that when the photographs were developed, in a day or two, they would know whether they had succeeded in their object. Mr Graham explained that a special Service for Mrs McDermott had been held previously in the Hall. She was a native of Glasgow but had been in Belfast for the past year.

The Northern Whig newspaper followed up the story on 18 AUG 1926:

"SPIRIT PHOTOGRAPHY"
     
CLAIM TO HAVING PHOTOGRAPHED THE DEAD
     
Strange Belfast Experiment
     
"I am perfectly satisfied that we have succeeded in taking photographs of those who have passed out of the body or who are what is commonly called dead."
     
This remarkable statement was made to a Northern Whig reporter yesterday by Mr John McDermaid, president of Ulster Christian Spirtualist Association.
     
The photographs on which the astonishing claim is based were taken recently by Mr Hugh Robinson as part of his investigation of Spiritualism in the Association's Hall, 63, Victoria Street, Belfast, and by the side of the grave of Mr McDermaid's mother in the City Cemetery.
     
Two of the prints were offered to the Northern Whig for publication, but were not suitable for reproduction. On the one of the graveside scene are three cloud-like effects, and on that showing the interior of the hall two similar effects.
     
Referring to the first print Mr McDermaid said:-"I can clearly identify my mother, and beside her is my little baby sister. There is also a vision of my father, Mr. Frank McDermaid, who passed out of the body 23 years ago. I can recognise their features with certainty. The other form on the print is a 'spirit cloud,' which comes as a spirit is beginning to manifest. If the exposure had been made a few moments later it is possible that the spirit form would have more completely developed and a more distinct impression would have been obtained. The three forms appear on the sky just above the heads of the people standing by the grave, and there must have been something there or nothing would have appeared on the photograph."
     
Mr. Edwin Graham, secretary of the Association, referring to the second print, declared:-"I am able to identify my brother, Thomas Graham, who passed out of the body 44 years ago. I recognise the hair, eyes and beard, and I have no doubt it is him."
     
Mr. McDermaid added that the taking of the photographs was simply an experiment, and he was much gratified that it had been successful. He regarded the results as furnishing additional proof of Spiritualism, and stated that he is prepared to allow any genuine investigator to see the photographs of (sic) make prints from the negatives.

This was not the only time that Edwin claimed to see his long-deceased brother. On October 15th 1932, Edwin wrote a letter to the Belfast Telegraph as part of an ongoing debate about the validity of spirit photography, in which he revealed his brother Thomas had again allegedly reappeared from beyond the grave in another photograph taken six years earlier:

VIEWPOINT OF READERS
     
SPIRIT PHOTOGRAPHY.
     
REMARKABLE EXPERIENCES.
     
LIKENESS OF LONG DEAD BROTHER.
     
Sir, Six years ago a floral service was held at our mission hall, 63 Victoria Street, Belfast, the platform of which was so tastefully decorated that three of our members volunteered to photograph it from different angles of the hall after the service. The results from two were fairly good, but the third (a 1/4 plate camera), to my astonishment, contained a very good likeness of my brother who "died" in 1882. Might I inform "Old Photographer" there was no "double exposures" or other fake methods used, as we merely tried to get the display of the beautiful decorations. Will "Old Photographer" please explain this occurrence, as there is no photo or painting of my brother in our possession. I would like to advise "Old Photographer" not to be so ready to rush into print regarding matters he knows nothing about, but try and investigate this wonderful mystery.
     
Yours etc.,
     
EDWIN GRAHAM, Belfast Christian Spiritualist Association.

I'm not a believer, but what was Edwin's motivation?. Did he see something genuine? Did he see what he wanted to see? Did he need to see something? Or was he simply spinning a yarn? Who knows what the camera may have picked up, but stories such as this certainly help to bring our ancestors back to life - it's one of the joys of genealogy.

Happy Hallowe'en - and to Thomas and Edwin, if there really is anything in this, I'm well up for a blether, and you know where to find me! :)

Chris

My next 5 week Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the Old Parish Registers course starts November 2nd - see https://www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=302. My book Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scottish2 is now out, also available are Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Irish1 and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scotland1. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

 

Ancestry adds Queensland government railway workers database

If your ancestors emigrated to Queensland, Australia, and took up work in the railways, this new collection on Ancestry (www.ancestry.co.uk) may be of interest:

Australia, Queensland, Index to Government Railways Workers, 1878-1946
https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/61999/
Source: Caloundra Family History Research Inc. Queensland Government Railway Index to Staff Records. Caloundra, Queensland, Australia: 2003.

This collection contains an index to staff employed in various stations in the Queensland Government Railway from 1878-1946. While information available for individual records may vary, you may be able to find:

Name
Age and Birth Date
Employment Start Date *When a date is not available, a year range is provided
Employment Start Place
Occupation and Industry

The following research tips have been provided by the Caloundra family History Research Inc.: “This is an Index to the Qld Government Railway (QGR) Staff Records Employed in Various Departments & Stations 1889 – 1912 held at QSA… Where an alias was given, another entry has been created referring back to the Register and page number. There may be more than one entry for a name…

Spelling variations for any surname should be taken into account and in many cases, given names have been abbreviated eg Wm, Patk, Alxd, Hy etc. While we may feel we know what these abbreviations represent, in most cases they have been left as is. Some names have been hard to decipher and all care has been taken to accurately record the information but the onus is on the research to check all probable entries…

The apostrophe has not been included in the Last Name Column so names such as O’Sullivan will be shown as O SULLIVAN. Surnames beginning with “Mac” will be found at the beginning of the “M Section”. Those beginning with “Mc” will be found alphabetically in the “M Section”. Where dates have been unable to be deciphered, a series of zeros have been inserted eg 00/00/0000 in the column for these dates.”

Chris

My next 5 week Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the Old Parish Registers course starts November 2nd - see https://www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=302. My book Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scottish2 is now out, also available are Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Irish1 and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scotland1. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

FindmyPast adds Bahamas civil registration records indexes

If you are researching family or connections to the Bahamas, some civil registration records indexes have been added to FindmyPast (www.findmypast.co.uk) - civil registration commenced in the Bahamas in 1850:

Bahamas life events

We’ve just released over 470,000 new birth, marriage and death records from The Bahamas. You can explore the entire collection or focus on each record set separately:

Bahamas Birth Index 1850-1959 - over 291,000 new records added
Bahamas Marriage Index 1868-1959 - brand new with over 80,000 records
Bahamas Death Index 1850-1958 - brand new with over 99,000 records

For links, and further information on this and other additions, visit FindmyPast's site at https://www.findmypast.co.uk/blog/new/london-bahamas-records

Chris

My next 5 week Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the Old Parish Registers course starts November 2nd - see https://www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=302. My book Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scottish2 is now out, also available are Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Irish1 and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scotland1. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Ancestry adds Welsh parish records

In addition to TheGenealogist and MyHeritage, I've just noticed that Ancestry (www.ancestry.co.uk) has also added Welsh parish records to its, site, albeit as collections for individual counties:

• Brecknockshire, Wales, Anglican Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1994
• Cardiganshire, Wales, Anglican Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1633-1993
• Carmarthenshire, Wales, Anglican Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1560-1994
• Denbighshire, Wales, Anglican Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1994
• Flintshire, Wales, Anglican Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1994
• Glamorganshire, Wales, Anglican Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1570-1994
• Merionethshire, Wales, Anglican Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1568-1994
• Monmouthshire, Wales, Anglican Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1551-1994
• Montgomeryshire, Wales, Anglican Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1569-1994
• Pembrokeshire, Wales, Anglican Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1599-1994
• Radnorshire, Wales, Anglican Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1994
• Caernarvonshire, Wales, Anglican Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1541-1994
• Anglesey, Wales, Anglican Church Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1547-1994
  

A particularly good month if you have Welsh ancestry!

Chris

My next 5 week Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the Old Parish Registers course starts November 2nd - see https://www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=302. My book Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scottish2 is now out, also available are Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Irish1 and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scotland1. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Zooming on! (And thanks Belfast!)

A big thanks to the Belfast branch of the North of Ireland Family History Society (www.nifhs.org/branches/belfast/) for a great session last night, when I gave a talk from my home in Ayrshire on how to trace Irish folk in Scotland - I'll be doing the talk again on November 16th for the Larne branch, if you missed it (and again early next year for the Causeway Coast and Glens!)! There were some great questions, and it was wonderful to see people attending not only from back home, but also from Canada and England - a real benefit of doing such sessions on Zoom!

In the last few months I have given many talks on Zoom to family history societies in Scotland, England, Northern Ireland, Australia and the US, and I have a fair few lined up for the rest of this year and next year also for groups in the US, Canada, England and NI. The use of platforms such as Zoom (https://zoom.us) and GoToWebinar (www.gotomeeting.com/en-gb/webinar) are really transforming the reach of such talks, and it is great to see how adaptive societies are becoming with their use - I've had a lot of fun recently talking to folk in Scotland, Devon, Belfast, Sydney, Queensland, and more (and some strange hours at which to give them!). There has also been a bit of a learning curve at my end, and new microphones and cameras purchased for the PC, but it's been wonderful to be able to catch up with so many folk worldwide.

I am currently proofreading my next book, Sharing Your Family History Online, which will be out in January 2021 (see https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Sharing-Your-Family-History-Online-Paperback/p/18718), and within this I discuss the use of platforms such as Zoom and GoToWebinar. They are fast becoming a staple of the family history scene, offering a superb means to go beyond the normal reach at a traditional talk session for local FHSs, and to offer a continued sense of community during the current pandemic. Something I was particularly impressed with last night was the fact that once my talk had finished, the Belfast group, only on their second Zoom session as a society, had also scheduled a time for a good blether afterwards, proving that they aren't just handy for a lecture, there was a full blown family history society meeting going on last night!

If you are a society still thinking about taking the plunge, do consider giving it a go - God loves a trier, and I don't think I have come across a society yet that has regretted doing so! (Heck, I even have my family at it - see below!)

Chris

My next 5 week Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the Old Parish Registers course starts November 2nd - see https://www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=302. My book Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scottish2 is now out, also available are Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Irish1 and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scotland1. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Scottish witches names on Ancestry

An updated post from a previous year, which may be of interest for Hallowe'en...

In 2016 Ancestry (www.ancestry.co.uk) released a special Scottish collection just in time for Hallowe'en.

Scotland, Names of Witches, 1658
http://search.ancestry.co.uk/search/db.aspx?dbid=61099
Source: Names of Witches in Scotland. Wellcome Library, London, England.

About Scotland, Names of Witches, 1658

The passing of the Scottish Witchcraft Act in 1563 made witchcraft, or consulting with witches, capital crimes in Scotland. It is estimated that between three and five thousand women were publicly accused of being witches in 16th and 17th century Scotland, a much higher number than neighbouring England. Some men were also accused of witchcraft during this period, however, the number of women persecuted was far larger.

The outbreak of witch-hunting in the years 1658-1662, the period in which this list of names was created, is generally agreed to represent the high water mark of Scottish persecution.

Within this collection, you will be able to find details of the accused's name and resident town.

(Image: Wellcome Library)

There is a bit more on the book's release on Scottish Legal news at http://www.scottishlegal.com/2016/10/27/book-listing-those-accused-of-witchcraft-in-17th-century-scotland-digitised/

Incidentally, I've noticed that the University of Edinburgh's Survey of Scottish Witchcraft website at http://witches.shca.ed.ac.uk (also https://www.shca.ed.ac.uk/Research/witches/) appears to be down - here's hoping it issn't permanent. There is more about the project at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Survey_of_Scottish_Witchcraft

UPDATE: The site is back up!

Chris

My next 5 week Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the Old Parish Registers course starts November 2nd - see https://www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=302. My book Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scottish2 is now out, also available are Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Irish1 and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scotland1. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Widening Horizons seminars from the Guild of One-Name Studies

From the Guild of One Name Studies (https://one-name.org):

The first three of the Guild Widening Horizons webinars are now online at the Seminar Events
page https://one-name.org/seminar-events/

The titles and presenters were:

Mortality and Morbidity: a study of National Registration death certificates for two families 1837 to 2009 – Elizabeth E. Green

One-Place Studies – thinking laterally:  how a one-place study can support surname and population studies  – Paul Carter and Pam Smith (Co-founders of ‘Name and Place’)

Creating a publicly-available common format database of parish register data on baptisms, marriages and burials – Dr Andy Hinde (University of Southampton)

Forthcoming talks:

October 28th     
The Ruby One-Name Collaborative Study: how it worked and what I learned – Dr Nikki Brown

November 4th     
Looking at single trees and whole orchards: how genealogists and demographers can work together – Dr Eilidh Garrett (University of Cambridge)

November 11th     
Identifying business proprietors from the census; and using the online Atlas on entrepreneurship – Professor Bob Bennett (University of Cambridge)

(With thanks to Wendy Archer)

Chris

My next 5 week Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the Old Parish Registers course starts November 2nd - see https://www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=302. My book Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scottish2 is now out, also available are Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Irish1 and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scotland1. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

New publications from Dumfries and Galloway FHS

From Dumfries and Galloway FHS (https://dgfhs.org.uk):

During October we have released 30 updated Memorial Inscription and OPR booklets. These are all available in the Online Shop and listed on our Publications page.**

An updated Publication List and Order Form are now available on the Downloads page of the RESOURCES menu.

In view of the restrictions we have had to impose as a result of Coronavirus, we are still unable to open our Research Centre and to complete any Mail Orders. However, our Online Shop is available where you will be able to purchase PDFs of all of our own publications and Newsletters, and pay for them using PayPal.
 
GRAVEYARD TRANSCRIPTION PROJECT

We have launched a Graveyard Transcription Project to begin to transcribe the 65,000 photos we have collected from our Graveyard Photographic Project. We are trying to create a snapshot of our Local History and we hope you will want to be part of it. We are seeking people willing to spend a few hours to create a Word, or similar, file of transcriptions from the photos we have. This is a massive task, but with help from many of the individuals interested in Family History throughout the world we can create a wonderful archive.

If you are interested in helping with this project, please contact miproject@dgfhs.org.uk for further details. You can also view this on our website at https://dgfhs.org.uk/graveyard-transcription-project/

(**From their website:  Last week we added updated Memorial Inscriptions for Applegarth and Sibbaldbie, Canonbie Volumes 1 & 2, Closeburn Dalgarnock, Dalton, Dornock Volumes 1 & 2, Dryfesdale and Dryfebridge, Dunscore Village, Durisdeer and Kirkbride, Gretna, Half Morton and Tower of Sark, Johnstone, Kirkmichael, Kirkmichael Garrel, Kirkpatrick Fleming Kirkconnel. This week we have added updated Memorial Inscriptions for Langholm Old Graveyard, Langholm Staplegordon, Langholm Wauchope Vols 1 & 2, Mouswald, St Mungo, Torthorwald, Tundergarth, Wamphray, Westerkirk and Old Parish Registers for Applegarth and Sibbaldbie, Canonbie, Dunscore.) 

(With thanks to the society via email)

Chris

My next 5 week Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the Old Parish Registers course starts November 2nd - see https://www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=302. My book Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scottish2 is now out, also available are Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Irish1 and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scotland1. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Forthcoming Bonnie Prince Charlie and the Jacobites lecture

A forthcoming online lecture from Gresham College, on November 2nd at 1pm:

Bonnie Prince Charlie and the Jacobites
Professor Murray Pittock 

Charles Edward Stuart (‘Bonnie Prince Charlie’) is one of the most recognisable and romanticised figures of British history. Born in Rome as a Catholic prince on 31 December 1720, he led the Jacobite Rising of 1745, which came closer than anyone expected to changing Great Britain irrevocably. 

Professor Pittock will ask what kind of man was Charles, what were his ideas and day to day life like, what might have happened if he had won in 1745, and what even in defeat his legacy changed for Britain and its Empire.

For further details and to register, visit https://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/bonnie-prince-charlie

Chris

My next 5 week Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the Old Parish Registers course starts November 2nd - see https://www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=302. My book Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scottish2 is now out, also available are Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Irish1 and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scotland1. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

FindmyPast adds Ayrshire 1801-1831 census records & Dundee deaths

The following Scottish collections have been added to FindmyPast (www.findmypast.co.uk):

Scotland, Forfarshire (Angus), Dundee Death Index 1990-1993
Listing those who died in the Dundee area in the early ‘90s. Areas covered include the City of Dundee, Invergowrie, Longforgan, Lundie, Liff & Benvie, Birkhill, Muirhead, Auchterhouse, Mains and Strathmartine, Tealing, Kellas, Murroes, Monifieth North, and the Burgh of Monifieth.

Scotland, Ayrshire Census & Population Lists 1801-1831
This appears to contain lists for Galston (1801, 1811, 1821, 1831), Irvine (1821 only) and St. Quivox (1821 only). 

For more on these, and news of Warwickshire burials in England, and newspaper additions, visit www.findmypast.co.uk/blog/new/english-scottish-records

Chris

My next 5 week Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the Old Parish Registers course starts November 2nd - see https://www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=302. My book Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scottish2 is now out, also available are Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Irish1 and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scotland1. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Scottish Indexes seeks volunteers this weekend for indexing project

From Scottish Indexes (www.scottishindexes.com), news of a crowdsourcing indexing project this weekend if you fancy getting stuck in!

24/25 October 2020 Volunteer Project

Stuck at home this weekend and love family history?

If you are looking for something rewarding and interesting to do this weekend you may be interested in our weekend volunteer project.

We want to index more prison registers and right now we are working on Barlinnie, a large prison in Glasgow. The index that is created will then be put online for everyone to access for free.

This is a perfect project if you’ve not done indexing before or have limited time. It’s a collaborative project and there will be support all weekend from experienced volunteers.

Simply message us for more information.

You can contact the organisers through their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/scottish.indexes/

Chris

My next 5 week Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the Old Parish Registers course starts November 2nd - see https://www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=302. My book Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scottish2 is now out, also available are Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Irish1 and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scotland1. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Connecting emotionally with past events

I was updating a talk last night for the forthcoming Family History Foundation's Really Useful Virtual Family History Show (www.fhf-reallyuseful.com) on November 14th, in which I will be speaking on the topic of British Civilian POWs in the First World War. This will essentially focus on the story of the Ruhleben camp (pictured below), near Berlin, at which 5500 British civilians, and civilians from the British Empire, were interned for simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time when war was declared.

I have a personal connection to the story, in that my Scottish great grandfather, David Hepburn Paton, a Scottish shop manager in Brussels, Belgium, at the outbreak of the war, was forced into hiding to avoid being arrested following the internment order issued by the German government in November 1914. David died in 1916 during his concealment, leaving his wife, Jessie MacFarlane, and three children to live in Brussels with little to no financial support during the remainder of the occupation. In the aftermath of his death, his son John (pictured below) was subsequently arrested and sent to Ruhleben, where he remained for the rest of the war.

I knew about John's time at Ruhleben, and that he had been arrested because he had turned 'of age'. John had been born on 29 October 1898 in Brussels, and a document from the National Archives at Kew had shown that he was taken to Ruhleben on December 1st 1916. No matter how many times I have gone through the documents, however, I discovered something last night that had been staring me in the face for a couple of years that had not initially clicked into place, but which unusually provoked a brief emotional response from me last night of sheer bloody anger.

A couple of years back I obtained a copy of another record concerning John on the Prisoners of the First World War website at https://grandeguerre.icrc.org, an online platform of the International Committee of the Red Cross. There was not a lot of detail on the form, but one I had either weirdly overlooked, or simply hadn't added to another 2 to make 4, was that it listed his date of arrest in Brussels, given as October 31st 1916. Whilst inserting this into the chronology of other records detailing his story last night, I have only just twigged, or perhaps only just remembered, that he was in fact arrested just two days after he had turned 18 years of age.

As family historians, we try to avoid judging events in the past, because we only work in the past and do not live within it, and no matter how hard we try we can never truly understand the contemporary context of happened with any event - we can only pick up the documented pieces afterwards and try to at least gain a glimpse of proceedings. Sometimes phrases may have more meaning in those documents than we at first may determine. In a letter from 1917, an uncle of John's noted that "when of age he was taken away", which I initially just assumed meant that John was at Ruhleben because he was aged 18, but in hindsight, I am now thinking he literally meant that he was recalling the exact experience of how he was taken away when he turned 18, which must have been a traumatic moment in time for the whole family.

But it wasn't as a family historian that I became angry last night, it was as a parent. Right now I have two sons, about to turn 16 and 20, so John was halfway between their two ages at the time he was lifted. Having just become what the authorities recognised as a man in a legal sense, he was taken, perhaps dragged, from his mother and siblings, for the crime of simply turning 18, and transported from his home in Brussels to another country, where another language was spoken by the authorities, to spend a month at the Berlin based Stadtvogtei prison, before being taken to Ruhleben. 

What must have been going through his mind? What must his recently widowed mother been going through in Belgium, and my grandfather (aged just 12 at the time), and their sister? 

And what if this had happened to one of my boys? 

I have no photograph of my great grandmother Jessie, I have just one letter written by her from Brussels during the occupation in which she noted that my grandfather, as a young boy, was "ill from privation", she barely having the means to survive financially. I have a few facts about her life afterwards back in Scotland following the war, in Glasgow and Inverness, but beyond that, she remains mainly a technical construct, the product of a few documents, giving me a glimpse into who she might have been in a factual sense. But last night, I got another glimpse of her, a brief emotional insight into what she must have experienced. In perhaps just a minor way, and for a short moment, it elevated my understanding of her beyond anything a single document could reveal. 

Last night, Jessie Paton nee MacFarlane (1866-1948) wasn't just my great grandmother, she was my grandad's mum, a parent who like many of us will have had to overcome adversity to enable a future for her kids. Thanks Jessie.

For more on my talk, British Civilian POWs in World War One, and for details of other talks and speakers at the FHF event on November 14th, visit www.fhf-reallyuseful.com/speakers/. We'll hopefully see you there!

Chris

My next 5 week Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the Old Parish Registers course starts November 2nd - see https://www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=302. My book Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scottish2 is now out, also available are Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Irish1 and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scotland1. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

National Library of Scotland adds Sutherland estate maps

From the National Library of Scotland (www.nls.uk):

We have added a further 580 maps online, relating to Sutherland Estates. These include 524 estate maps, 40 county maps, and 22 coastal charts. These maps were made to support all aspects of estate management, including agricultural improvement, the clearance of inland farms and the expansion of sheep runs, the creation of new villages, harbours, mines and industries on the eastern coast, as well as new roads, railways, lighthouses, and fisheries. Later maps show the creation of crofting lands, the expansion of shooting forests, and the sale of land. These maps contain uniquely useful and detailed information about the rural landscape in northern Scotland, many annotated as working documents relating to estate business. We are very grateful to Sutherland Estates for allowing us to put these maps online.

Home page - Sutherland Estate Maps, 1770s-1920s (in shelfmark order)
Estate Maps of Scotland, 1730s-1950s - Sutherland (in parish and date order)

For further details visit https://maps.nls.uk/estates/sutherland/

Chris

My next 5 week Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the Old Parish Registers course starts November 2nd - see https://www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=302. My book Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scottish2 is now out, also available are Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Irish1 and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scotland1. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

MyHeritage adds indexes to Welsh parish records

My Heritage (www.myheritage.com) has published indexes to Welsh parish registers:

We are pleased to announce the publication of three important Welsh historical record collections on MyHeritage: Wales, Parish Births and Baptisms; Wales, Parish Marriages and Banns; and Wales, Parish Deaths and Burials. The collections consist of 14.8 million indexed historical records and cover over 450 years of Welsh history. High quality scans of the original documents will be added very soon. These collections are the only source of genealogical information in Wales before the 19th century, making them an invaluable resource for anyone researching their Welsh heritage.

Here are more details about the new Welsh collections:

Wales, Parish Births and Baptisms

This collection consists of 8 million birth & baptism records from parishes throughout Wales. The records contain the name, date of birth, date of baptism, parish, father’s name, father’s occupation, mother’s name, parent’s residence, and place of birth.

Wales, Parish Marriages and Banns

This collection consists of 3 million marriage or bann (an announcement of intent to marry) records from parishes throughout Wales. Records contain the bride and groom’s first and last name, their ages, the marriage date or bann date, the bride and groom’s father’s names, the names of the bride and groom’s parishes, and the names of their respective counties.

Wales, Parish Deaths and Burials

This collection consists of 3 million death records from parishes throughout Wales. Records contain the given name and surname of the deceased, age upon death, birth date, burial date, death date, mother’s name, father’s name, next of kin’s name (usually spouse), parish, and location.

For further details visit https://blog.myheritage.com/2020/10/myheritage-releases-three-historical-record-collections-from-wales/. Note that "High quality scans of the original documents will be added very soon."

(With thanks to Daniel Horowitz)

Chris

My next 5 week Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the Old Parish Registers course starts November 2nd - see https://www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=302. My book Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scottish2 is now out, also available are Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Irish1 and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scotland1. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

UK Government to increase Self-Employed Support Scheme payments

A further development of potential interest if you are a self-employed genealogist in the UK.

Following my post on 28 September about the Westminster government's extension to the Self-Employment Support Scheme (see http://scottishgenes.blogspot.com/2020/09/uk-government-extends-coronavirus-self.html), it has now been announced that the rate of the first two payments is to be extended from 20% of average monthly trading profits to 40%, with a decision still to be made on the second payment early next year. This still falls well short of the previous payments of 80% and 70% made earlier this year.

For further details and updates, please visit https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/self-employment-income-support-scheme-grant-extension/self-employment-income-support-scheme-grant-extension

Chris

My next 5 week Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the Old Parish Registers course starts November 2nd - see https://www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=302. My book Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scottish2 is now out, also available are Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Irish1 and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scotland1. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Highland Archive Centre expands opening hours in Inverness

From Highland Archives (via https://www.facebook.com/highlandarchives/posts/3241646559296560):

The Highland Archive Centre is really pleased to be able to announce that from Monday 26th October, we will be open 3 days a week, Mondays, Tuesday and Thursdays (visits by appointment only).

We can also now offer our customers access to microfilm collections and reference books which can be pre-ordered along with any archival material you would like to access.

To book an appointment or for more information please email archives@highlifehighland.com

For further information about and updates about our procedures in place across the Highland Archive Service including how to book and what to expect in our buildings, please visit https://www.highlifehighland.com/archives-service/covid-19-archive-updates/.

Chris

My next 5 week Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the Old Parish Registers course starts November 2nd - see https://www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=302. My book Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scottish2 is now out, also available are Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Irish1 and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scotland1. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

TheGenealogist adds parish registers for all of Wales

A major new release from TheGenealogist (www.thegenealogist.co.uk) for our Celtic cousins in Wales: 

Parish Records for all of Wales Launched 

TheGenealogist are launching the complete set of all Anglican records for Wales held by the consortium of Welsh archives on 23rd October. This release contains 8 million Parish Records, listing over 14.5 million individuals, with images of the original registers.

Mark Bayley, Head of Online Content at TheGenealogist said:

“We are very excited to be releasing parish records for all 13 historic Welsh counties.” He went on to say:

“We’re thankful for the input of Welsh records experts from the archives, to make sure that we have accurate parish and place names. This will make it much easier for researchers to find records that they may have experienced difficulties with trying to find elsewhere.

“TheGenealogist’s keyword search makes it surprisingly easy to find the record you’re after and SmartSearch allows you to find families in the registers.

“These records compliment our nonconformist records for Wales which include Methodists,  Quakers and more, giving researchers the ultimate resource for finding their Welsh ancestors’ vital events.”

This release includes all historic Welsh counties:-

Anglesey, Brecknockshire, Caernarfonshire, Cardiganshire, Carmarthenshire, Denbighshire, Flintshire, Glamorgan, Merionethshire, Monmouthshire, Montgomeryshire, Pembrokeshire and Radnorshire.

Kim Collis, West Glamorgan County Archivist, says on behalf of all the Welsh archives contributing their parish records:

“We are delighted that TheGenealogist is releasing these records to a wider audience. Being able to access them from the comfort of your own home, especially during the current situation, is of great benefit.

“For this release, we’ve painstakingly gone through the metadata, improving all the place names in this record set, recording chapels of ease, parent parishes of modern parishes, and variant spellings in the English and Welsh languages. This will mean that searches for your ancestor in the parish records, which previously might have turned up no results, will have a much greater chance of finding them for you.

“If you’ve previously struggled to find your ancestors’ Welsh Parish Records, I’d really encourage you to search these records.”

To find out more about Welsh Parish Records and this release, visit https://www.thegenealogist.co.uk/welsh-parish-records/

This release has been made possible by the participation of the following archives:-
Anglesey Archives, Carmarthenshire Archive Service, Ceredigion Archives, Conwy Archive Services, Denbighshire Archives, Flintshire Record Office, Glamorgan Archives, Gwent Archives, Gwynedd Archives Service, Pembrokeshire Archives and Local Studies, Powys Archives and West Glamorgan Archive Service.

Ruth Jones will be searching for her Welsh roots in Who Do You Think You Are? airing on Monday 26th October on BBC One. TheGenealogist has found her ancestors in this new collection. Read about it here (WARNING: Contains spoilers) https://www.thegenealogist.co.uk/featuredarticles/2020/who-do-you-think-you-are/ruth-jones-1338/

(With thanks to Nick Thorney)

Chris

My next 5 week Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the Old Parish Registers course starts November 2nd - see https://www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=302. My book Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scottish2 is now out, also available are Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Irish1 and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scotland1. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

 

 

County Sligo records added to RootsIreland

From RootsIreland (www.rootsireland.ie)

New County Sligo Records Added

County Sligo Heritage & Genealogy Society are delighted to announce the addition of 21,939 records to research and view on our database at http://sligo.rootsireland.ie/ These records include 6,380 miscellaneous baptisms, births, marriages and deaths, occurring in many of the county's parishes, across various dates and time frames.

Also included in this release are 15,559 Gravestone & Memorial Inscriptions from Graveyards and Cemeteries in the following parishes :

    Aghanagh (RC)
    Ahamlish (RC)
    Drumcliffe (RC)
    Keelogues (RC)
    Skreen & Dromard (RC)
    Templeboy (RC)
    Aghanagh (Civil)
    Sligo Town (Civil)
    Templeboy (Civil)

For an up to date list of sources for County Sligo and to search and view these records, go to https://www.rootsireland.ie/sligo and login or subscribe as required.

Chris

My next 5 week Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the Old Parish Registers course starts November 2nd - see https://www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=302. My book Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scottish2 is now out, also available are Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Irish1 and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scotland1. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Glasgow's Mitchell Library and City Archives to re-open on limited basis

The Mitchell Library in Glasgow is set to re-open to a limited extent from Tuesday, October 27th.

From the library's Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/themitchelllibrary/:

We’re delighted to tell you The Mitchell will reopen on Tuesday 27th October. Please note that opening times have changed:

Monday closed
Tuesday 11-3
Wednesday 11-3
Thursday 11-3
Friday 11-3
Saturday 11-3
Sunday closed

You will also need to pre-book your space for anything other than visiting the lending library on the ground floor. And please note that there will be limited services on offer. We recommend you check our FAQs for information on what services are available and how to book your slot. https://glasgowlife.info/faqs/libraries

Any questions? Drop us an email Mitchelllibrary@glasgowlife.org.uk

We’re really looking forward to seeing you again!

The FAQs document at https://www.glasgowlife.org.uk/media/6737/20201020themitchellfaq.pdf notes the following on Glasgow City Archives:

How do I book an Archives session appointment?

All appointments are free and for one person only. To book an Archives session appointment, please email Archives@glasgowlife.org.uk  or call Glasgow City Archives during opening hours on 0141 287 2910.

Please book at least one week and a maximum of four weeks in advance. Archives appointments will be for a maximum of three hours per session. Please note, Archives customers will be limited to one appointment per day, and a maximum of one visit per week.  

Customers can request up to six items in advance of an Archives session. Materials are only available for use during your appointment. All documents will be quarantined for 72 hours after use.

Four places will be available for general researchers and two for those using architectural drawings/large plans.

You will be assigned a table and your order will be placed there in advance of your arrival.

You will be advised on any specific conditions on access to Archives materials and we will confirm all appointments by email where possible. You should be ready to show this email on the day.

You will be sent Reader’s Registration and Test & Protect forms to complete in advance of your visit.

Please note also that the City Archives opening hours are more limited, with the facility just open for four hours on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays:

Glasgow City Archives Opening Hours:
Monday Closed
Tuesday 11am – 3pm
Wednesday 11am – 3pm
Thursday11am – 3pm
Friday Closed
Saturday Closed
Sunday Closed

Unfortunately, there is no mention yet of the re-opening of the Registrar's Service offering access to the ScotlandsPeople system (see http://scottishgenes.blogspot.com/2020/10/visit-to-hawick-heritage-hub.html).

(With thanks to Jacqueline Hunter via Facebook)

Chris

My next 5 week Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the Old Parish Registers course starts November 2nd - see https://www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=302. My book Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scottish2 is now out, also available are Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Irish1 and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scotland1. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Visit to the Hawick Heritage Hub

I visited the Hawick Heritage Hub (www.hawickonline.com/heritage-hub) yesterday in order to carry out some research for an urgent overseas client enquiry. The centre took three hours to drive to from the west of Scotland, the Borders having very unique challenges on the navigational front, countered only by its stunning beauty!

The centre is currently the only premises in Scotland offering access to the ScotlandsPeople computer system at an unlimited £15 per day (my nearest centre at Kilmarnock, just 6 miles away from me, remains closed, as is Glasgow, forcing me to head east). If you wish to visit, please be advised that you will need to wear a mask throughout, and that there are only a small number of available terminals (I believe I counted just 5). From all accounts they have been flat out since re-opening, with visitors travelling from as far afield as Ayrshire and Aberdeenshire. You may need to wait a while for a slot! In addition to ScotlandsPeople, the centre does also provide access to the digitised kirk session records, and various other printed resources for the Borders region. (For more info on booking a seat, see my previous post at http://scottishgenes.blogspot.com/2020/10/hawick-heritage-hub-reopens-at-reduced.html)

Incidentally, I did notice an update at the weekend from the Glasgow based registrar's service, posted on September 24th, which does not encourage much optimism (https://www.glasgow.gov.uk/article/17698/Family-History):

Update as at 24 September - There are no immediate plans to re-open the Genealogy Centre at this time.  Please continue to visit our website for further updates. This will be reviewed as we enter Phase 4 of the Scottish Government Route map.

As things stand just now, Phase 4 seems a long way away...

Chris

My next 5 week Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the Old Parish Registers course starts November 2nd - see https://www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=302. My book Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scottish2 is now out, also available are Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Irish1 and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scotland1. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Thanks to Devon FHS - and there's more soon!

A big thanks to Devon Family History Society (www.devonfhs.org.uk) for a fun session on Saturday past, in which I talked about the basic family history records for Scottish family history research. It was great craic, with lots of fun and interesting questions from a very clued up family history society for whom I think Zoom was invented!! 

I was asked if I will come back and do the same again for Ireland, and of course I will, only too happy to! I have provisionally agreed a date in November, on the 26th, but will confirm soon. 

Don't forget also that I will be giving a talk next year to the group on Friday 21st May 2021, 7.30pm (BST) on British and Irish Newspapers.

See you all again soon! 

Chris

My next 5 week Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the Old Parish Registers course starts November 2nd - see https://www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=302. My book Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scottish2 is now out, also available are Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Irish1 and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scotland1. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Ulster Historical Foundation website redevelopment tender

From The Ulster Historical Foundation (www.ancestryscotland.com):

Ulster Historical Foundation wish to appoint a contactor to develop a completely new website combining all existing aspects of the Foundation’s online presence, which include:

    www.ancestryireland.com
    www.booksireland.org.uk
    www.historyfromheadstones.com (content not currently accessible to the public)
    www.therjhuntercollection.com

Plus bringing together microsites promoting conferences, courses, projects and other content, all under one URL, which is well-laid out, with clear, easy navigation.

All these various resources will be brought together under one dedicated, seamless website It is desired that this website will:

Offer a fully-integrated e-commerce platform that applies to all Foundation products and services. NB: The commerce solution must be at the heart of the website
Modernise and improve UHF’s online profile Improve website visibility to Google and other search engines
Make aspects of the site attractive for social-media reposting and sharing Improve sales, registrations, subscriptions

This website will be:

An important genealogical resource for DIY genealogists through its genealogical database and search functionality
Reputable and trusted genealogical and historical bookstore
Important heritage tourism resource making UHF seen as a trusted small tour operator
A portal for the Irish and Scots-Irish community to connect with each other through our membership association (the ‘Guild’) and members’ area
An informative and trusted local history website, valuable also to ‘free-for-view’ visitor.

The contactor will be responsible for the design of the website and the construction of the structural elements of the website.

The contractor will be expected to work closely with dedicated staff members of the Ulster Historical Foundation to manage the development and content population to the website as it is developed. 

CLOSING DATE: 30 October 2020

CLOSING TIME: 17:00 GMT

DATED ISSUED: Monday, 5 October 2020

For further details visit https://www.ancestryireland.com/website-redevelopment-tender/

 

(With thanks to the Foundation, via email)

Chris

My next 5 week Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the Old Parish Registers course starts November 2nd - see https://www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=302. My book Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scottish2 is now out, also available are Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Irish1 and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scotland1. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Interviewed for Northern Visions TV's History Now series

I was recently interviewed by Barry Sheppard for Northern Visions TV's History Now series in Belfast, to discuss my take on family history as a discipline within the wider field of history. 

The programme is now streaming online at https://www.nvtv.co.uk/shows/history-now-chris-paton/, and is presented below for convenience - enjoy!

(With thanks to Barry Sheppard and NVTV)

Chris

My next 5 week Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the Old Parish Registers course starts November 2nd - see https://www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=302. My book Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scottish2 is now out, also available are Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Irish1 and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scotland1. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

PRONI to close for four weeks from October 19th

Perhaps not unexpectedly, due to the increasingly high rates of coronavirus transmission in Northern Ireland just now, is news that the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (www.nidirect.gov.uk/proni) is to close for four weeks from October 19th 2020, along with all archives and libraries in the city of Belfast.

The PRONI website is displaying the following:

I'll update when further details emerge.

(With thanks to the Ulster Historical Foundation, @UlsterHistory)

UPDATE from PRONI:

The Public Record Office of Northern Ireland is closed to the public from Monday 19 October until Friday 13 November.

Visitor appointments scheduled during this period are now cancelled and those affected will be notified directly by PRONI.

PRONI information

In line with measures implemented by the NI Executive to curb the spread of Covid-19, the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland is closed to the public for a period of four weeks from Monday 19 October until Friday 13 November.

Visitor appointments within this period are now cancelled, and those affected will be notified directly by PRONI.

The PRONI enquiry service will continue to provide advice and quidance and offer a fee-paying search and copying service for open records.

PRONI's programme of events and public engagement will continue to operate online through video conferencing.

A range of digitised records, databases and other PRONI resources are available online.  

(Source: https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/getting-proni-and-opening-hours)

Chris

My next 5 week Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the Old Parish Registers course starts November 2nd - see https://www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=302. My book Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scottish2 is now out, also available are Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Irish1 and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scotland1. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

British Library adds 18,000 free maps from Topographical Collection of King George III

The British Library in London has made freely available into the public domain some 18,000 digital images of historic maps, views and texts from its Topographical Collection of King George III. The images have been uploaded to its Flickr account at www.flickr.com/photos/britishlibrary/albums/72157716220271206/, with individual maps searchable through its catalogue at http://explore.bl.uk/primo_library/libweb/action/search.do.

The collection includes:

• Some of the earliest European printed maps, such as the so-called ‘Lafreri’ copperplate maps produced in Rome in the mid-16th century
• The complete range of British county maps dating from 1579 to the early 19th century
• Administrative maps
• Planning maps including maps of proposed railways and canals
• Presentation maps, such as the ‘Duke’s Plan’ of New York, made to celebrate its capture by the English from the Dutch in 1664
• Estate maps and maps of Royal palaces
• The results of large-scale surveys, including a manuscript map of part of Newfoundland by James Cook, and William Roy’s military survey of Scotland
• A large archive of maps and plans of Hannover and Northern Germany

Scotland is represented amongst the materials presented - the following is a plan of Edinburgh Castle from 1746, the year of Bonnie Prince Charlie's failed Jacobite Rising:

For more on the release visit https://blogs.bl.uk/magnificentmaps/2020/10/the-ktop-18000-digitised-maps-and-views-released.html

Have fun!

Chris

My next 5 week Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the Old Parish Registers course starts November 2nd - see https://www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=302. My book Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scottish2 is now out, also available are Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Irish1 and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scotland1. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Sir Tom Devine interviewed on NVTV about the Clearances

There is a great interview by Barry Sheppard with Scottish historian Sir Tom Devine, in the History Now series hosted on Belfast's NVTV channel (www.nvtv.co.uk), concerning Sir Tom's recent book The Scottish Clearances: A History of the Dispossessed, published in 2018. 

In the interview Sir Tom looks, of course, at the story of the Highland Clearances, but also the Lowland Clearances in particular from the mid-18th century to the mid 19th. He notes the massive changes in the Lowlands over the course of a sixty year period to be one of the most widespread forms of social engineering in the whole of Europe. He also discusses 'Highlandism' and 'clearance by stealth' in the Lowlands, with the non-renewal of leases when their time was up, and along the way flags up some interesting nuggets of information, such as the fact that the potato blight which caused the Famine in Ireland from 1845-1852 actually lasted longer in Scotland's West Highlands (for a decade), leading to mass emigration from the region. 

The 30 minute episode is available at https://www.nvtv.co.uk/shows/history-now-tom-devine/, and is presented below for convenience.

The book is published by Penguin (https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/305/305334/the-scottish-clearances/9780141985930.html) and is available from many outlets.  

Chris

My next 5 week Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the Old Parish Registers course starts November 2nd - see https://www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=302. My book Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scottish2 is now out, also available are Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Irish1 and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scotland1. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.