Borders Family History Society

John Haddon's Trip Around the World in 1882

2012-05-29T00:09:00.000+01:00

I found yesterday's talk after the AGM very interesting.

The speaker, Andrew Haddon, told us a bit about the family tree. John was descended from Andrew Haddon (born 1690) a flesher or butcher in Selkirk.

John's father was another Andrew Haddon (1818-1894), his mother was Anne White (1821-1878) and John had 10 siblings.

Andrew showed us two books written by John, 'A Doctor's Discovery and the Elixir or Life' and 'Diary of a Trip Around the World in 1882'. The latter book was reprinted from the Hawick News.

John became a well-to-do doctor with a thriving practice in Manchester, but after an illness, he decided to go around the world to recover.

Initially, he crossed the Atlantic in the SS Parisian (it didn't look like a luxury ship). He visited various places in Canada and in the USA including Chicago, Salt Lake City, San Francisco; he was very impressed by the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore and said it would one day be the best hospital in the world. He also visited the Sandwich Islands (now called Hawaii), Samoa, New Zealand and Australia. He met fellow Scots, including Kentucky senator James Burnie Beck.

There was a lot more but unfortunately my pen dried up about halfway through the talk,

MI recording at Peebles today

2012-05-19T20:38:00.001+01:00

Just had a busy day at Peebles, recording the Monumental Inscriptions. It was still a bit drizzly early on but by 10am, it had turned into a dry day. Still not very warm, though. Gloves should have been added to the kit.

We made a good start on one of the older sections, close to St Andrew’s Tower. There are some very interesting symbolic stones, still standing after more than 200 years, and even though some of the inscriptions may no longer be legible, the quality and detail of the carving are quite remarkable.

The stone on the attached photograph is one of the later ones, erected in memory of Agnes Cushny in 1809. Photographs of some of the most interesting stones can be seen at http://canmore.rcahms.gov.uk.

Now all I need to do is try to decipher my handwriting and type up the MI’s - and a few warmer sunnier days during the summer would be nice as well.

Births, Marriages and Deaths in British India

2012-05-17T23:25:00.002+01:00

The Families In British India Society, is building a database of intimations in the Times of India newspapers. The database currently contains births, marriages and deaths from 25th July 1859 to 1909.
It took me a long time to spot the surname search for this database, so I've ringed it in red on the picture. It would be nice to be able to search it for a place or a first name as well as a surname but that's not possible, so for a common name you may have to look through a lot of entries. Search the Times of India births, marriages and deaths for yourself.

I looked for my great grandfather, Luke Golding, but he’s not listed so that suggests that although he lived there as a young boy, he wasn’t born in India.

Our latest volume, Coldingham Monumental Inscriptions is now available.

Read our Kith & Kin column every week in the Border Telegraph and Peeblesshire News newspapers.

Dr John Haddon of Hawick's World Trip in 1882 and Annual General Meeting

2012-05-16T20:49:00.003+01:00

Our next talk is on Sunday, 27th May at 2.30pm, in the Corn Exchange, Market Square, Melrose, TD6 9PN, when Andrew Haddon will be talking to us about his ancestor, Dr John Haddon of Hawick, Roxburghshire, who took a break from his career at the age of 37, after a bout of illness, and embarked on a 'round the world trip' in 1882 that saw him travel across the Atlantic through America and Canada and across the Pacific. This journey was serialised at the time in the Hawick Express.

His descendant, Andrew Haddon will give a talk, with pictures, retracing his steps and touching upon the social insight it provided into the world of that time and recounting tales of the Borderers he met on his journey.

The talk is preceded by our annual general meeting. In addition to the usual reports we'll be discussing the proposed change to our constitution.

I warmly invite you to attend the talk whether you are a member or not.
The doors will be open at 2pm; the talk begins at after the annual general meeting.
It’s free, so we hope to see lots of you there.
We'll have a range of family history and other publications to buy.

As usual there’ll be tea, coffee, and biscuits available after the talk.
We’ll also be making the monthly 50-50 draw at the meeting.
If you have a problem with your family history, please discuss it (no charge) with one of our volunteers.

If you're not familiar with Melrose, here's a map.

Our latest volume, Coldingham Monumental Inscriptions is available.

Read our Kith & Kin column every week in the Border Telegraph and Peeblesshire News newspapers.

Gravestone Recording at Peebles St Andrews Cemetery

2012-05-16T20:24:00.000+01:00

This Saturday (19th May), we’ll be at St Andrews Cemetery, Peebles, Peeblesshire from 10am to 4pm to record gravestone inscriptions and take photos.

If you have not been to a previous transcribing session - don't worry, you will be made very welcome and full training will be given.
Bring along a notebook and pen/pencil, a kneeling pad, a light brush and some chalk (optional).
Most people coming for the whole day bring along a picnic, and a bottle of water; deciphering faded and weathered inscriptions can be thirsty work.
If preferred, the Neidpath Inn is a few minutes walk back towards the town and does bar lunches. Beyond the inn, Forsyth the baker's has a shop; there's a Coop store just beyond that and beyond that is Rambler's cafe, part of the Castle Warehouse store. If you are looking for something special - just round the corner from Ramblers is Cocoa Black on the bridge - award winning chocolatier with cakes and sandwiches as well.

It's wonderful if you can manage the whole day, but if that's too long for you, no problems at all - all assistance on the day is very welcome.
Although you can just turn up, it can be helpful if you could let Ronald know, in advance, via our Contacts page using the contact type Gravestone Recording.

We’re looking forward to catching up with you and meeting some new faces.

Getting there: Go out of Peebles on the Glasgow Road (also known as Old Town Road/Neidpath Road/A72) and the cemetery is on the right hand side opposite the entrance to the Park/medical centre. It is about a 5 minute walk from the end of the High Street. Map.

Change to Borders Family History Society's Constitution

2012-05-10T23:21:00.001+01:00

Old Gala House

For many years Borders Family History Society has used the Laird's Room at Old Gala House, Galashiels for its archive, library and search room. We need more space as we've outgrown the Laird's Room and a lot of our other property is stored in members' homes or businesses. In addition, changes at Scottish Borders Council mean that our current arrangement to use Old Gala House is likely to change.
The Premises Committee has been re-activated and is looking out for a suitable
property in the central Borders.
One issue that needs to be addressed is the legal status of the Society.

Borders Family History Society is an unincorporated association.
Legally it has no separate existence; it is merely a collection of people who own its assets and are responsible for its debts. The Society cannot sign contracts in its own right and owning its own premises is difficult. This structure has served us well for over 25 years but it is time to consider a change to become an incorporated organisation. This would allow the Society to sign contracts and own property in its own right. It would also mean that the members would no longer be responsible for the Society's debts.

The most appropriate structure to adopt would be that of a Scottish Charitable
Incorporated Organisation (SCIO). This gives the Society the benefits of
incorporation but means that there would only be one regulator - the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) with whom we are already familiar as a registered Scottish charity, to deal with.

If the Society wishes to go down this route then the Annual General Meeting (AGM) on 27th May 2012 must adopt a new constitution. To comply with the legal requirements for a SCIO, this new constitution is a much longer and more complex document than the current constitution.

Here are the links for the current constitution and the new constitution.

Since we will want to retain the name Borders Family History Society the current
organisation must be disbanded and its assets transferred to the new SCIO.

At the AGM, I will be proposing two motions:
1. This meeting agrees that Borders Family History Society should become an
incorporated organisation.
2. This meeting wishes to adopt the constitution for Borders Family History Society (SCIO) before it, authorises the Council to make changes in the light of
recommendations, and changes required by OSCR and otherwise as it thinks fit and
agrees that once OSCR has approved the formation of Borders Family History
Society (SCIO), the Council be empowered to disband the existing unincorporated
Borders Family History Society and transfer its assets to the new organisation.
[Note that if motion 1 fails then there will be no need to discuss Motion 2.]

These motions have the support of the Council of Borders Family History Society.

If having read this email and the proposed new constitution, you have any questions,
please do not hesitate to contact me via our Contacts page selecting the contact type Contact the Chairman.

David Rudram,
Chairman

Heavy Traffic Possible at Peebles - Allow Extra Travel Time

2012-04-29T00:39:00.000+01:00

Our meeting today is at 2.30 pm at the Drill Hall, Peebles Community Centre, Walkershaugh, Peebles, EH45 8AU, when Jim Lyon will be talking to us about Adam Clark who supervised the construction of the Széchenyi Chain Bridge over the Danube between Buda and Pest (Budapest), Hungary.

I've recently discovered that Peebles Rugby Sevens is on the same day - kickoff at 1.30 pm at The Gytes, which is just at the entrance to Peebles on the road from the Galashiels and Innerleithen direction.

Traffic may be heavy and queues long so it might be prudent to allow extra travel time.

If you're not familiar with Peebles, here's a map.

Kelso Rosebank Cemetery Book Out of Print

2012-04-28T12:17:00.001+01:00

We've recently sold out of our stock of Kelso Rosebank Cemetery books.

They were large and needed a lot of storage space and were comparatively costly at £21 plus postage. We're not planning a reprint.

The Kelso Rosebank Cemetery CD (see image) is still available, has the same content as the book, and is a bargain at £10 plus postage. It's also a lot cheaper to post a CD than an A4 book.

It contains all the usual things that we put in our Monumental Inscriptions publications like a Militia list as well as the monumental inscriptions/gravestone inscriptions from the 2454 gravestones in the cemetery except that there's no Hearth Tax list, no War Memorial inscriptions, and no list of kirk ministers. It covers stones installed between 1870 and 2002 in the Rosebank Cemetery, Kelso, Roxburghshire. There is an index to the surnames and you can search the index of surnames.

The other Monumental Inscriptions publication for Kelso, Roxburghshire is Kelso Abbey, Old Churchyard & St Andrew’s CD which also costs £10 plus postage.
This contains details and photographs of 460 monumental (gravestone) inscriptions for Kelso Old Churchyard, Purvis Aisle, Kelso Abbey, and St Andrew’s Episcopal Church and the inscriptions on 199 stones lost in 1979 when the surrounding wall was removed from the churchyard and new paths were laid allowing direct access from the Knowes car park to the town centre.
We’ve also included the inscriptions on the Kelso War Memorial, the war memorials in St Andrew’s Church, St Mary’s Church, and Kelso High School. It includes a list of ministers, the landowners and tenants on the Hearth Tax assessment in the parish of Kelso in 1690, the men on the Militia list from 1797 to 1801, a plan of Kelso dated 1854, a plan of the churchyard and an index to the surnames included in the inscriptions.

Additionally, there’s a list of funerals and dates in Kelso 1798 to 1813. This is particularly useful because many of Kelso’s inhabitants were buried without a marker, visitors to the parish were sometimes buried without their name being known. Several regiments were stationed in the town, together with French Prisoners of War and their burials are recorded here.

See our full range of Monumental Inscriptions publications.

Postal Costs Rise on 30th April 2012

2012-04-25T23:59:00.000+01:00

UK postage cost will rise significantly on 30th April; the 2nd class stamp increases by 39% to 50p, the cost of a letter to Europe goes up from £1.49 to £2.70 and for the rest of the world from £2.07 to £3.30.

So, get your orders for publications in before 30th April.

Here's our sales list.

You can email your order and credit card details via our Contacts page or better still, give our Sales Convenor, Mary Thomson, a ring on 01896 756 798 (+44 1896 756 798 from abroad).

Scottish Marriage Index

2012-04-25T20:07:00.002+01:00

Just catching up after Saturday’s SAFHS Conference, looking through some of the leaflets I picked up.

The Scottish Marriage Index, a unique and really useful database, is made available by the Anglo-Scottish Family History Society and can be viewed online at www.anglo-scots.mlfhs.org.uk. It lists Scots who married away from Scotland.

Searching the database is easy. It’s another source of information on Scots, to help you break through those brick walls and maybe solve some family mysteries. Contributions are always welcome.

One of my Scotts – a 3-greats uncle moved away to England and married there and I haven’t been able to track him down yet. This database is a great place to start searching and will surely grow as more people contribute their Strays – and hopefully, one day, I’ll track down my Scott.

SAFHS Conference 2012

2012-04-22T10:01:00.000+01:00

Elma Fleming and I spent yesterday at the Annual Conference and Exhibition of the Scottish Association of Family History Societies in Dundee. The lectures and exhibition were in two different buildings albeit quite close together but the parking was scattered all over the University Campus. Not surprising perhaps with a city centre university. It was all quite peaceful whilst the lectures were on but it became quite busy over the lunch break. There were a few sales but primarily it was a chance to meet people and answer their questions. The most interesting visitor was talking about a family bible which was in the

USA

but had originated in the Borders. It wasn't the current keeper’s family bible and she would like to return it to

Scotland

. I’ve been promised more information by email and I’ll post the details when I get them.

The exhibition was never busy and when I went over to the lecture theatre to publicise next year’s meeting in Gala it was far from full. There were a number of things which I think we will do differently and the day was full of learinig points for SAFHS 2013.

Harts Army List (1808 to 1945) Available Online

2012-04-20T11:06:00.005+01:00

Thanks to a link (repeated from Chris Paton's blog) I saw in the Anglo-Celtic Connections blog, which I find is a good source of information about Canadian family history, I’ve been looking at the National Library of Scotland ’s own page on the Internet Archive. On their page there are links to 201 issues of Harts Army List from 1808 to World War II. These lists contain all the officers in the army, a summary of their service record and often their date of birth, major decorations, and whether they were promoted from the ranks. You can view these online or download them (the list for January 1940 is huge - 107 megabytes).

Adam Clark, Bridge Constructor, Budapest

2012-04-17T12:01:00.003+01:00

Our next talk is on Sunday, 29th April, in the Drill Hall, Peebles Community Centre, EH45 8AU, when Jim Lyon will be talking to us about Adam Clark who supervised the construction of the Széchenyi Chain Bridge over the Danube between Buda and Pest, Hungary.

Jim Lyon, a well-travelled civil engineer born in the Scottish Borders, will give us an insight into the amazing life of Adam Clark. The presentation will cover Adam’s early years in the Scottish Borders, his apprenticeship as a millwright and the building of the first bridge over the Danube since Roman Times linking Buda and Pest. Whilst Adam Clark is immortalised in Hungary and the iconic bridge, opened in 1849, is still in use today, Adam Clark is barely known in Scotland.

I warmly invite you to attend the talk whether you are a member or not.
The doors will be open at 2pm; the talk begins at 2.30pm.
It’s free, so we hope to see lots of you there.
We'll have a range of family history publications available to buy.

As usual there’ll be tea, coffee, and biscuits available after the talk.
We’ll also be making the monthly 50-50 draw at the meeting.
If you have a problem with your family history, please discuss it (no charge) with one of our volunteers.

If you're not familiar with Peebles, here's a map.

Our latest volume, Coldingham Monumental Inscriptions is available.

Read our Kith & Kin column every week in the Border Telegraph and Peeblesshire News newspapers.

Struck Iceberg ... Sinking Fast

2012-04-13T20:16:00.006+01:00

100 years ago tonight, the Titanic sank after hitting an iceberg.

More than 1500 people (men, women and children) died as a result; most within minutes of hypothermia in icy water.

The English National Archives is offering a Titanic chat session each day from 2pm to 4pm (British Summer Time) on 17th, 18th, 19th April.

It's worth looking at their Titanic exhibition where there is a free search, too;

at their Titanic Image Showcase of related images

and listening to a 37 minute podcast about the Titanic.

The Library and Archives Canada have a Titanic image gallery on Flickr.

More info on Wikipedia's Titanic article as well as many other sites.

Our latest volume, Coldingham Monumental Inscriptions has been published.

Read our Kith & Kin column every week in the Border Telegraph and Peeblesshire News newspapers.

Crops, Cod, Cloth 'n Coals - Saturday 21st April, Bonar Halls, University of Dundee

2012-04-13T19:54:00.006+01:00

More news on next week's SAFHS conference in Dundee with confirmation of the societies, archives and genealogy experts who’ll be there. As usual, there is a great range of societies covering Scotland and abroad, all of them with a tremendous range of knowledge and resources.

Come along and meet Aberdeen & N E Scotland Ancestral Tourism Partnership, Aberdeen & N E Scotland FHS, Anglo Scottish FHS, ASGRA, Borders FHS, Central Scotland FHS, Clan Moffat UK, Deceased Online, Dumfries and Galloway FHS, Dundee City / Abertay Archives, Dundee Weavers, Family Search International, Family Tree Books & Charts.com, Glasgow & W of Scotland FHS, Guild of One Name Studies, Highland FHS, J & B Bishop Publishing, Lanarkshire FHS, Lothians FHS, Moray & Nairn FHS, Perth City Archives, Renfrewshire FHS, SAFHS, Scotland's People, Scottish Catholic Archives, Scottish Monumental Inscriptions, The British Newspaper Archive, The Scottish Genealogy Society, Troon & Ayrshire FHS, University of Strathclyde PG and of course, our hosts Tay Valley FHS and Fife FHS.

And, there are the talks on the Agriculture, Fishing, Weaving and Mining industries and an open forum in the afternoon as well.

Doors open at 8.30 and the first talk starts at 10.00am.

Look forward to seeing you there.

More on Florado Helios Muybridge

2012-04-09T23:07:00.002+01:00

Further to the earlier piece about the Changing Names of Eadweard Muybridge, in which I mentioned Florado; thanks to Ancestry's free access offer, I've found Florado H Muybridge as a nurseryman in the O'Brien Nursery in the 1934 Sacramento city directory, and a gardener in later directories.
In the 1940 directory, his entry reads 'h rear 914 27th'. Rear 914 27th is his address, but what does the 'h' mean ?

Our latest volume, Coldingham Monumental Inscriptions has been published.

Read our Kith & Kin column every week in the Border Telegraph and Peeblesshire News newspapers.

The Changing Names of Eadweard Muybridge

2012-04-09T20:05:00.007+01:00

Google's Eadweard Muybridge doodle today was in commemoration of Eadweard J. Muybridge's 182nd birthday.

He was an iconic English photographer and a pioneer in animated images in photography (and a writer) who spent much of his working life in the United States of America, but also visited Canada, France, Germany, Austria, Italy, Britain, central and South America and Russia to take photos.

There's no connection to the Borders that I can see, but his life is an excellent example of changing spellings of surnames.

I've consulted the

Another interesting site is Eadweard Muybridge: Defining Modernities / bringing together the international collections of Eadweard Muybridge's work.

He was born 9 April 1830 at Kingston upon Thames, England with the name Edward James Muggeridge.

Wikipedia says he first changed his forenames to Eduardo Santiago (in Spanish, Santiago means St James).

In 1847, his brother, John, died; having changed his name to Wybridge.

In 1850, his name was Muggridge; in April or May 1856, Muygridge; in November 1865, Muybridge.

On 20 May 1871, using the name Edward J. Muybridge (aged 41) he married Flora E. Downs (she was aged 20 !).

Around 15 April 1874 their child, Florado (or Floredo) Helios Muybridge, was born in San Francisco, but Edward then discovered Major Harry Larkyns was Flora's lover, suspected that Larkyns was the real father, and on 17 October shot him dead.

I'm rather confused by the Compleat Chronology because Florado seems also to have been named George Down Muybridge.

On 14 December, his wife, Flora, filed for divorce and alimony claiming extreme cruelty. The trial of Muybridge for killing Larkyns acquitted him on 18 February 1875 on the grounds that the killing was justified because Larkyns had seduced his wife.

Flora's application for alimony was granted on 30 April 1875 at $50 per month; Muybridge at that time earning $300 or more per month, however, on 18 July, Flora died, still married.

Sometime in February or March, his first name changed to Eadweard.

On 8 May 1904 he died. Wikipedia says that on his gravestone, he was named as Eadweard Maybridge. The Compleat Chronology says the crematorium register called him Eudweard Muybridge.

According to Family Search, Florato H Muybridge is in the 1930 census in Sacramento, California, United States of America, birth year 1874, and his mother was born in France. The California death index shows his name as Florado and that he died on 1 Feb 1944. Family Search also lists Florado H Maybridge in the 1900 census in the household of George Tilson. The last 2 records show his birth as January 1874, but that might be because only 1874 was recorded.

If you found his birth record as Muggeridge, you might look for Muggridge, but you would be lucky to think of Muygridge and luckier still to find Muybridge or Maybridge. Even worse, if you were looking for John Muggeridge, I'm sure you wouldn't think of Wybridge.

Our latest volume, Coldingham Monumental Inscriptions has been published.

Read our Kith & Kin column every week in the Border Telegraph and Peeblesshire News newspapers.

More Cataloguing of Flodden Finds

2012-04-07T21:23:00.006+01:00

Another fun day, today, cataloguing finds from fieldwalking fields (part of the Flodden 500 project) around Flodden, the previous cataloguing finds day being St Patrick's Day.

We have, I think, finished field 18, and made a start on field 19.

There was less of interest to me today, musket balls, some buckled lead sheet, a clay marble, bits of 19th century window glass, fragments of clay tobacco pipes, bits of glass bottles, two pins, medieval pottery and some coins – a couple of just recognisable Charles II copper Scottish turners (also known as bodles) worth two pence each.

The young lady sitting next to me asked me about a corroded coin and I suggested she brush it, not really expecting that would do much good. How wrong I was, very quickly Britannia was recognisable with a blank exergue. As it was penny sized, I knew it must be 1806 or 1807. After some more brushing, George III's head was visible, and the date, 1806, was just discernible. Perhaps she's an archaeologist or a numismatist in the making.

Old Gala House Research Room

2012-04-07T12:29:00.007+01:00

Old Gala House, and our Research Room there, has reopened for the summer season.

Our volunteers will be there every Thursday (10am to 3.45pm) to help you with your research, whether you need a bit of help to break through a brick wall or if you're just not sure where to start with your family history.

The Research Room is small so it might be better to book in advance via the Contacts facility on our website. You can also visit on Tuesdays and Fridays but by appointment only. Resources include Monumental Inscriptions, Censuses, Old Parish Registers, Poor Law and Police Records, some school records, Family Trees and many books and journals for researching family and local history.

The Old Gala Club have a new exhibition in Old Gala House (open Tue - Sat from Apr to Oct, Mon - Sun in Jul & Aug) with a great selection of photographs of people who lived and worked in Gala including the Police and Fire service. And there's a coffee shop and free parking as well.

You can find us at Old Gala House, Scott Crescent, Galashiels, TD1 3JS.

1915 Valuation Rolls online

2012-04-04T18:58:00.006+01:00

Have you had at look at the 1915 Valuation Rolls on the Scotlands People website yet? It’s another option when you are searching for people especially if you can’t get to the local archive.

You still have to use your credits but there is an introductory reduced rate of 2 credits to view each image. The 1911 Census was made available last year and now, we have 1915 owners, tenants and occupiers of properties so you can see where the head of the family was living at the beginning of WWI and between censuses.

I’ve only looked for 2 of my great grandfathers so far – one of them was where I expected him to be but my Dumfriesshire great grandfather was living in a cottage that I didn’t have recorded. I think that’s 8 houses - so far - that grandpa Henry lived in.

The Valuation Rolls are available online at Scotlands People and at the Scotlands People centre.

If you are looking for Borders residents, the original Valuation Roll books are also available at the Scottish Borders Archive and Local History Centre in Hawick and for East Lothian residents, they are available on microfilm, or microfiche, at the East Lothian Archive in Haddington.

Free Access to Ancestry's US Records till 10th/11th April

2012-04-04T09:43:00.002+01:00

Ancestry are providing free access to more than 1 billion United States of America birth, marriage, death and military records from the 1940s, plus United States City Directories and the 1930 United States Census.

Access ends at midnight ET, which isn't a reference to extra-terrestrials or aliens, I think it corresponds to 5am Scottish Borders time on 11th April.

As is normal, with Ancestry's offers, you'll need to register if you haven't already done so.

Search the United States records.

April Fools Day

2012-04-02T00:45:00.003+01:00

Yesterday (1st April) was April Fools Day, an especially significant day in our family; my grandparents, parents, and siblings loved making April Fools of each other and our friends and neighbours.

I was always apprehensive for several weeks before April Fools Day and I was into my teens before I was successful in not getting fooled.

Of course I played my part in fooling others.

Nowadays, April Fools seems to be barely observed, except in the media.

This year we had the Prime Minister asking Shaun Ryder to advise on class and help to detox Tories, the new Thermal Reduction Initiative (Champagne) to add 9% duty to all chilled champagne sold in public places, bagpipe music arousing the Edinburgh zoo pandas, and Google's new Click-to-Teleport Extensions for websites allowing potential customers to instantly teleport to the website's business location directly from a search ad. I would particularly welcome such an innovation. It's often said that the best part of a holiday is the journey but that's rarely true for me; perhaps I'm going to the wrong places.

Did you catch these ?

I found these Australian April Fools interesting.

East Lothian Archives & Local History Centre

2012-04-01T21:37:00.001+01:00

Some of your ancestors may have moved from Haddingtonshire (new name, East Lothian) into Berwickshire, or the other way round.

You might be interested in visiting the delightful East Lothian's new archives and local history centre which opened on Friday 30th March 2012 within the John Gray Centre in Haddington. Map. The centre which was previously housed within a cramped upper floor room in the old Library premises is now spacious and accessible to all and open to the public as follows :-

Monday 09.30 – 17.00
Tuesday 09.30 – 20.45
Wednesday closed
Thursday 11.00 – 17.00
Friday 09.30 – 17.00
Saturday 10.00 – 13.45
Sunday closed

More details of East Lothian Archives & Local History Centre (caution, site not yet tested by Site Advisor).

West Linton Churchyard

2012-03-29T20:05:00.001+01:00

What, you might well ask, has Tweeddale Community Transport got to do with the Borders Family History Society ? Well it's the reason that I've nearly finished transcribing the monumental inscriptions in West Linton Churchyard. One of our regular jobs is to collect a number of the older residents of the parish and take them to their Tuesday Afternoon Club. This involves a wait of around 1½ hours right beside West Linton Church. It occurred to me that this would be an ideal opportunity to make start on West Linton MIs. Almost 3 years on there are only about 15 stones left to complete. The most intractable ones of course. The Tuesday Afternoon Club doesn't meet in the summer but I hope I'll finish by the end of the year.

I've been helped a lot by West Linton and District History Association who surveyed the stones in the churchyard in 2003 as part of Historic Scotland's Carved Stone Decay project in 2003.

More about Witches

2012-03-28T01:35:00.003+01:00

Our first talk of the current season was given by Mary Craig talking about the witch trials of the Scottish Borders.

A bit later I discovered that there was a Survey of Scottish Witchcraft and having downloaded the database that 42% were from Berwickshire, 31% from Peeblesshire, 20% from Roxburghshire, but only 7% from Selkirkshire.

There's a recent video Scottish Witchhunts from the National Library of Scotland in which Nicola Stratton talks about some of the many recent publications on witchcraft including modern reprints of Malleus Maleficarum which she likens to a Dummies Guide to Witchhunting and James VI's Daemonologie.

She makes some interesting insights and points out that to understand the witchhunts, we need to know about the social history of the period and the legal procedures by which witches could be prosecuted.