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Upcoming family history talks and events in Scotland, 4 - 10 June 2016
Note that there may be a small charge for some of these events, and some may be for members only. We will be publishing lists of upcoming talks and events regularly - if you are organising a talk or event relating to Scottish genealogy or history, please let us know and we will be happy to add your events to our list. Saturday, June 4 2016, 10 am - 12 pm Pre-1841 Censuses Bruce Bishop Venue: Scottish Genealogy Society Library, 15 Victoria Terrace, Edinburgh, EH1 2JL Bruce Bishop will talk about where to find these rare records, what they contain and how they can assist your research. Saturday, June 4 2016, 9 am - 4.30 pm South Ayrshire History and Family History Fair
Venue: Walker Halls, Troon, Ayrshire 9.00am – Registration 9.45am – Councillor Bill Grant Chairman – Dauvit Broun 10.00am “The Smuggling Coast from Stranraer to Girvan” Frances Wilkins 11.00am “Ayrshire before history: a personal view of early sites and their archaeology” Tom Barclay Lunch 2.00pm “Men at War: securing Burns’ memory in the West of Scotland, c 1859-c1896 (the race between the towns of the region to have a statue of Robert Burns)” Chris Whatley 3.00pm “A Founder’s Workshop from the Bronze Age? Excavations from the shadow of Hunterston” Thomas Rees Monday, June 6 2016, 10 am - 4 pm Day with Mary Queen of Scots
Venue: John Gray Centre Friends of the John Gray Centre Mary Queen of Scots still fires imagination of many people, and her story is closely interlinked with that of Haddington and East Lothian. Spend a fascinating day listening to talks about Mary and her links with the county viewing original documents and artefacts from the JGC collections and participating in the hands-on workshop. Monday, June 6 2016, 7 pm for 7.30 pm AGM and Members' Night
Venue: Drummond Community High School, Bellevue Place, Edinburgh
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[This is a guest post written by Rob McFadden, of the McFadden Project. If you'd like to write a guest post for us on anything Scottish history or genealogy related, get in touch.] For centuries, there had been just one way to determine whether or not two people were related - you travelled to distant, dusty archives, read through mountains of small print and bad handwriting, prayed to the gods of genealogy that these people knew how to spell their own names, then ultimately came down with a headache. Eyes were strained. Backs were strained. Tears were shed. They were dark times for all of us.
Ah, but now we find ourselves in 2016. The age of self-driving cars! Much of that bad handwriting can now be found on a miraculous thing called "the internet", which means you can strain your eyes and your backs from the confines of your own home. It's a new era of research and a new era of chair comfort. However, perhaps even more interesting and exciting for genealogists and historians is the emergence of genetic genealogy. The concept is simple - spit into a tube or swab your cheek, send your stuff off to a lab, then open your e-mail to find out you're descended from royalty. Ok, it's not really that simple. It's actually quite complex. But the bottom line is that it is now possible for people to connect with distant cousins through DNA testing. More importantly, it's now possible for men to take a specific type of test, compare their results, and determine whether or not they are of the same lineage going back centuries. This opens the door for surname studies that could never have previously been attempted. And that is where the McFadden Project comes in. If you or someone you know is a man with the last name McFadden, Macfadyen, McFadzean, or any similar name thought to be derived from Mac Pháidín - the McFadden Project wants you! We're looking to put together the pieces of the McFadden puzzle. Are the Scottish Macfadyens and the Irish McFaddens of the same ancient clan? What about the Pedens and Padens, and Faddens and Pattersons and all the others? If not, which are related to which? Where did they originate? How long ago? These are the questions that we're asking and that we're hoping you can help us answer. If we have your attention, our web site is here. Additionally, anyone with any interest at all in the name is welcome to visit our website and participate on our brand new message board. We're looking to develop a broader Mac Pháidín community where people can come to discuss genealogy, history, or anything at all. Looking for help with a mysterious McFadden ancestor? Have a great story about one you'd like to share? Big fan of that pop star guy? Swing on over. Thanks for your time, and don't forget to rest those eyes. Rob McFadden, Project Admin http://themcfaddenproject.com http://twitter.com/projectmcfadden
The National Library of Scotland has a growing collection of digital resources of great interest to family historians. We've blogged before about their amazing map collection, which we use all the time for our own and client research. The NLS also has a superb collection of historic directories available, which we will write about in a future post.
On Friday, the NLS announced the latest additions to their digital library, this time of nearly 400 printed items relating to the histories of Scottish families - so right up our street! The individual books can be read online or downloaded to read offline. You can even search the text of the books for particular words. I think the text has been produced by OCR (optical character recognition), but the NLS is usually very good at digitising text. That said, if you can't find what you're looking for by searching, you can browse through each book page by page. To help you find any books you may be interested in, we've grouped all the titles currently available by family. Bear in mind though that many of the books cover multiple families, so even if your family name's not listed here, it's worth checking the site anyway.
So you're researching your ancestry, and you find your ancestor's birth record. You find that his mother wasn't married when he was born. What do you do?
When statutory registration was introduced in Scotland under the Registration of Births, Deaths and Marriages (Scotland) Act 1854, particular rules were enacted for children whose parents were unmarried. Apart from the stigma of having the word "illegitimate" recorded, the other main rule relevant to family history research was about recording the father's name. Section 35 of the Act was clear: XXXV. In the Case of an illegitimate Child it shall not be lawful for the Registrar to enter the Name of any Person as the Father of such Child, unless at the joint Request of the Mother and of the Person acknowledging himself to be the Father of such Child, and who shall in such Case sign the Register as Informant along with the Mother: Provided always, that when the Paternity of any illegitimate Child has been found by Decree of any competent Court, the Clerk of Court shall, within Ten Days after the Date of such Decree, send by Post to the Registrar. of the Parish in which the Father is or was last domiciled, or in which the Birth shall have been registered, Notice of the Import of such Decree in the Form of the Schedule (F.) to this Act annexed, or to the like Effect, under a Penalty not exceeding Forty Shillings in case of Failure; and on Receipt of such Notice the Registrar shall add to the Entry of the Birth of such Child in the Register the Name of the Father and the Word "Illegitimate," and shall make upon the Margin of the Register opposite to such Entry a Note of such Decree and of the Import thereof; and in like Manner in the event of any Child registered as illegitimate being subsequently found by Decree of any competent Court to be legitimate, the Clerk of Court shall notify such Decree to the Registrar, in the Form as nearly as may be of the said Schedule (F.), who shall forthwith make upon the Margin of the Register in which the Birth is entered, and opposite to such Entry, a Note of such Decree and of the Import thereof, under a Penalty not exceeding Forty Shillings in case of Failure.
So in general, the father's name could not be recorded unless the father agreed and attended the Registry Office to sign the register himself. The only exception was where paternity was fixed by a court order. This can prove frustrating for family historians who may feel that they have hit what is colloquially known as a brick wall.
Fortunately, though, these brick walls may not always be insurmountable. And the reason is - as much in life - all about money. Until 1845 - and in many parts of Scotland for some time thereafter - poor relief was at least partly the responsibility of local parishes (as we have previously written about). Of course, Kirk Sessions considered themselves the moral guardians of Scottish society, and were keen to root out what they considered immoral behaviour. But, rarely flush with money at the best of times, they were also always anxious to ensure that children did not become a burden on the parish. This was a major factor in their strong desire to identify fathers of illegitimate children. Kirk Session minutes are full of mothers dragged before the session to name the fathers of their children. We were curious about how often it was possible to identify fathers not named in birth records. We decided to look at Fife in the first 20 years of statutory registration. The table below shows the results we've had so far
These figures are still provisional. Many fathers are identified in the records of parishes other than those where the child was born (a little over half of the total), so we expect the final figures to be considerably higher. (There are around 60 parishes in Fife: so far we've only looked at ten of them). Already though, significant variations are emerging, and we will continue to look at the remaining parishes over the next few weeks.
Upcoming family history talks and events in Scotland, 16 - 22 May 2016
Note that there may be a small charge for some of these events, and some may be for members only. We will be publishing lists of upcoming talks and events regularly - if you are organising a talk or event relating to Scottish genealogy or history, please let us know and we will be happy to add your events to our list. Monday, May 16 2016 The Latest from the Guild of One Name Studies Lorna Kinnaird Venue: TBC Glasgow & West of Scotland Family History Society Monday, May 16 2016, 7.30 pm - 9.30 pm AGM cheese & wine
Venue: Alloa Town Hall (Tommy Downs Room) Clackmannanshire Field Studies Society Tuesday, May 17 2016, 7.30 pm AGM — Speaker to be arranged
Venue: Leith Community Education Centre in the New Kirkgate Wednesday, May 18 2016, 2 pm History of Fishtown of Usan Anne Law Venue: Monifieth Community Cabin, South Union Street, DD5 4JG Monifieth Local History Society Entry to talks followed by afternoon tea £4 Wednesday, May 18 2016, 7.30 pm Erskine Hospital 1916 - 2016 Alistair Hutton Venue: Selkirk Parish Church Hall Selkirkshire Antiquarian Society Preceded by AGM Wednesday, May 18 2016, 7.30 pm Building the Forth Road Bridge: stories of a young engineer Hector Woodhouse Venue: Chalmers Hall, Linlithgow Bridge West Lothian History and Amenity Society Thursday, May 19 2016, 7 pm
Dane Love Thursday, May 19 2016, 7.00 pm Magnus Jackson – 19th Century Perth Photographer Paul Adair Venue: Soutar Theatre, Perth Preceded by AGM at 6:30 pm Thursday, May 19 2016, 7.30 pm Photographic Archives Nick Lindsay (Clyne Heritage Society) Venue: Brora Community Centre Thursday, May 19 2016, 7.30 pm AGM
Venue: Paisley Museum, High Street, Paisley Renfrewshire Family History Society Saturday, May 21 2016, 2.00 pm Scottish Kirk Session Minutes The Sins, Lives, Loves of a Parish Bruce Bishop Venue: Manchester Central Library Anglo-Scottish Family History Society Businesses often invest substantial sums in training. These days, though, they tend not to pursue employees who leave. That wasn't always the case, as this advertisement from the Aberdeen Journal of 26 May 1800 shows: AN APPRENTICE ELOPED, and a REWARD OFFERED for APPREHENDING HIM It's worth remembering this if you find an ancestor who was an apprentice - they would generally have been taken on through an indenture, which put significant obligations on the apprentices. Their employers weren't known as masters for nothing ...
Upcoming family history talks and events in Scotland, 9 - 15 May 2016
Note that there may be a small charge for some of these events, and some may be for members only. We will be publishing lists of upcoming talks and events regularly - if you are organising a talk or event relating to Scottish genealogy or history, please let us know and we will be happy to add your events to our list. Monday, May 9 2016, 7 pm for 7.30 pm James Craig and the New Town Tony Lewis Venue: Drummond Community High School, Bellevue Place, Edinburgh Monday, May 9 2016, 7.30 pm Open Evening
Venue: Luncarty Church Centre West Stormont Historical Society Non-members: adults £3, concessions £2. (Open discussion meetings at Luncarty are free) Monday, May 9 2016, 7.30 pm 1884 Reform Protests in Ayrshire Dr Mark Nixon Venue: John Knox Church Hall, High Street, Stewarton Stewarton and District Historical Society Part of the largest political demonstration in Britain's history - "Our legislators should be chosen for the people by the people" as stated on a banner in Hawick Monday, May 9 2016, 7.30 pm AGM followed by A Local Topic and Refreshments
Venue: Dalkeith Baptist Church, North Wynd, Dalkeith Tuesday, May 10 2016, 7.30 pm Crail Fishing Disaster Alan Runciman Venue: Volunteer House (Vonef Centre) in 69 Crossgate Cupar KY15 5AS Tuesday, May 10 2016, 7.30 pm 1901 Census May & Alisdair Venue: Public Library, Airds Crossing, Fort William Lochaber and North Argyll Family History Group Tuesday, May 10 2016, 7.30 pm Listen Up! A WW1 Experimental Station in Fife Diana Maxwell Venue: Dining Hall, Dollar Academy Tuesday, May 10 2016, 7.30 pm - 9.30 pm The Original Olympics Valerie Reilly Venue: Masonic Halls, Collier Street, Johnstone Wednesday, May 11 2016, 2.30 pm Reconstructing Presbytery: Stirling and Dunblane Presbyteries 1688–1700 Andrew Muirhead Venue: Edinburgh Theological Seminar, The Mound, Edinburgh Scottish Church History Society Wednesday, May 11 2016, 6.00 pm ‘Fair hotchin’ wi conchies’: Dundee war resisters and conscientious objectors 1914-1919
Venue: Lecture Theatre 2, Dalhousie Building, University of Dundee Thursday, May 12 2016, 7.30 pm Members Night and Forum AGM
Venue: The Shawl Gallery, Paisley Museum, High Street, Paisley Renfrewshire Local History Forum Thursday, May 12 2016, 7.30 pm - 9.00 pm AGM
Venue: Johnnie Walker Bond, Strand Street Kilmarnock East Ayrshire Family History Society Friday, May 13 2016, 4.00pm-5.30pm The Female World of Love & Empire: Women, Family & East India Company Politics at the End of the 18th Century Professor Margot Finn, University College London Venue: Gannochy Room, Wolfson Building, - Glasgow University, Glasgow, G12 8QQ University of Glasgow Free tickets can be booked here Saturday, May 14 2016, 2.30pm-4.30pm Bereavement Services & Customs Ian Burnett Venue: Unitarian Church Centre Aberdeen and North East Scotland Family History Society |
Old ScottishGenealogy and Family History - A mix of our news, curious and intriguing discoveries. Research hints and resources to grow your family tree in Scotland from our team. 
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