New release from Findmypast: Scotland, Wigtownshire & Minnigaff Parish Lists 1684. Search for your Scottish ancestors in parish lists containing over 53,000 names. First published in 1916 by the Scottish records society, the lists consist of “nominal Rolls of all persons, male or female, over the age of 12 years, resident within their respective parishes – … Read more
New release from Findmypast: Scotland, Shetland Newspaper Marriage & Anniversary Notices 1872-2018 Search over 47,000 marriage and anniversary notices printed in the Shetland Times between 1872 and 2018. Newspapers can an incredible resource when tracing your family tree, they reveal the daily lives of our ancestors, allowing you to further understand an ancestor’s place within … Read more
An exhibition dedicated to the life, work and legacy of Scottish engineer and inventor James Watt opens at The Engine Shed in Stirling on 25 April to celebrate the 250th anniversary of his invention of the condenser engine. The exhibition will focus on James Watt’s improvements to the steam engine and features historic artefacts including … Read more
From Roman walls to battlefields, this central part of Scotland has a wealth of history to explore. By Nell Darby. Stirlingshire, in the west midlands of Scotland, borders Perthshire to the north and Lanarkshire to the south. The county town of Stirling was one of the principal royal strongholds of the Scottish kingdom, and was … Read more
If you want to know more about your criminal ancestors, there are an increasing number of museums catering to your needs, as Nell Darby explores. Dark tourism is the act of travelling to sites that are associated with death, tragedy or crime. As such, dark tourism has been increasingly analysed by academics, drawing parallels between … Read more
V&A Dundee has welcomed half a million visitors to the museum since it opened, hitting the milestone almost six months earlier than expected. The 500,000th person to walk through the doors of Scotland’s first design museum was officially recorded at 10.35 on Saturday 30 March. V&A Dundee, which opened on 15 September last year, has … Read more
A museum in Scotland dedicated to a founding father of the US Navy has been rescued from closure thanks to a lifeline donation from an American supporter. The John Paul Jones Museum, where the sailor was born in 1747, was threatened with closure after council funding cuts, but has now been rescued thanks to a … Read more
In 19th century Scotland, one criminal case shocked the country, and also highlighted issues of gender and class, writes Nell Darby. She was a young woman from the wealthy, educated class of Glasgow society – one who had a bright future ahead of her, in demand as a potential wife, and the life and soul … Read more
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
The first two Statistical Accounts of Scotland can help to bring your family history to life. Chris Paton explores how. If you have Scottish ancestry, the Statistical Accounts of Scotland are undoubtedly some of the most useful and interesting documents available for your research. Published in the late 18th and mid 19th centuries, they can … Read more