For over 150 years we’ve been spoiled by the marvellous accurate, detailed general maps of Scotland produced by the Ordnance Survey. Before that, many maps were produced perhaps for a wealthy landowner or for some specific purpose such as clarifying town and burgh boundaries. They were often surveyed by a single surveyor with the minimum of assistance. […]
Year: 2016
Migration to the Borders in the 19th Century
The Scottish Borders are often portrayed as an area of ancient traditions and people strongly wedded to their local communities. And while this is essentially still true, it belies the fact that in Victorian times , the migration of people into the mill towns of Hawick, Galashiels and Selkirk was every bit as dramatic as […]
Transcending the mundane
Family history is something which I find fascinating but with the best will in the world can’t be said normally to be of life changing importance to others. Sometimes though, the result of your genealogical activities transcend the mundane and take on an altogether higher order of importance when families are brought together for the […]
Who Do You Want in Your Past ?
Have you ever watched an episode of the phenomenally successful BBC show Who Do You Think You Are ? and wonder why these celebrities appear to have such interesting origins ? Perhaps you’ve thought to yourself if only my own ancestral background was half as interesting ? Who Do You Think You Are ? has […]