Scottish oil shale workers

Colin Waters recalls a Scottish industry that once employed thousands of workers. Few people in Britain are aware of Scotland’s once massive oil shale Industry. For over a century, it was a major producer of oil and derivatives employing hundreds of Scottish and ‘incomer’ workers. At its peak in 1913, the industry employed an estimated … Read more

Data: Dalkeith census of 1834

New release from Findmypast: Scotland, Midlothian, 1834 Dalkeith Census Search for your ancestors in the 1834 census for Dalkeith, Midlothian. The collection contains over 5,000 transcripts that that will reveal a combination of your ancestor’s address, age, occupation, place of worship and corresponding details for their fellow household members. If they were a child at … Read more

Museums, archives and heritage in Midlothian

Edinburghshire (or mid-Lothian), maritime county in SE. of Scotland; is bounded E. by Haddington (or East-Lothian), Berwick, and Roxburgh; S. by Selkirk and Peebles; SW. by Lanark; and NW. by Linlithgow (or West-Lothian); coast-line, 12 miles; 231,724 acres, population 389,164. The surface is finely diversified. The Moorfoot Hills, a continuation of the Lammermuirs, occupy the … Read more