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The Professional Descendant: January 2013
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Tuesday, 29 January 2013. The Scottish Registers of Sasines. It’s true to say that prior to the 20th century few people in Scotland owned their own home. For this reason, most modern guides to Scottish family history devote little space to property records. This has perhaps led to the belief that, unless your ancestors were among the aristocracy, property records are not worth searching, but this is really not the case. 8) Jan. 9. 1781. 28) Feb. 13. 1781. 64) Apr. 3. 1781. BARBARA BEGG, daughter of Willi...
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The Professional Descendant: August 2012
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Friday, 3 August 2012. The Scottish Genealogy Network. There are many great things about being a professional genealogist: getting to do something you love every day, helping to solve family mysteries and to give others a greater understanding of their history, constantly learning new things and gaining a better understanding of your country’s past, to name but a few. For me, social networking has been a great help in overcoming this feeling of isolation and, through Twitter. That we decided to try and m...
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The Professional Descendant: January 2012
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Saturday, 21 January 2012. When researching Scottish families it’s common to come across the same forenames repeated through the generations. Whilst this can sometimes lead to confusion (I’ve recently researched a family in which seven generations of men had the same name! It can also be very useful for confirming that you have the right family, especially when a traditional naming pattern was used. Kinkell Baptismal Font (now in St John's Episcopalian Church, Aberdeen). Photo by Nick Thompson. One of my...
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The Professional Descendant: December 2011
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Saturday, 3 December 2011. The British Newspaper Archive: A Great New Genealogy Resource. This week the genealogy world has been all atwitter with news of the official launch of the The British Newspaper Archive. This is a joint venture between The British Library. The company behind ScotlandsPeople. To digitise and make available online up to 40 million newspaper pages from the collection of the British Library. An introduction to The British Newspaper Archive from BNArchive. Wednesday, October 17, 1894.
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The Professional Descendant: October 2012
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Saturday, 27 October 2012. Scottish Local History Forum Conference. Yesterday I attended the Scottish Local History Forum. Conference at the AK Bell Library in Perth. The theme of the conference was “For Reliefe of the Pure and Impotent”: Welfare in Scotland before the Welfare State and it comprised nine talks on a broad range of topics connected to the poor in Scotland. About the Mars Training Ship. Although I’d heard of the Mars, I was unaware that it took boys from all over Scotland or that arou...
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The Professional Descendant: February 2013
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Tuesday, 26 February 2013. Another WDYTYA Live Blog Post. I’m now back home recovering after a busy weekend at the ‘Who Do You Think You Are? WDYTYA) show which bills itself as “the biggest family history event.in the world! This was my second visit and I wrote about my experience as a ‘newbie’ in a post. Stand on Saturday afternoon and on the ASGRA. Stand for a couple of hours on Sunday. The ‘I tweet’ badges designed by Else Churchill. Of the Society of Genealogists. Were a big help in spotting one anot...
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The Professional Descendant: June 2012
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Sunday, 24 June 2012. Edinburgh Bridewell Records: A Rich Source for Tracing Women. Some recent research has involved me searching the records of the Edinburgh Bridewell, a jail that once stood on Calton Hill in Central Edinburgh. The information typically given in the records for each prisoner includes: date of commitment, name, age, crime, sentence and details of previous commitment. Edinburgh Bridewell: Register of Warrants against Prisoners, Committed by the Court of Police 1814-1817. Janet Begg, 27,...
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The Professional Descendant: June 2011
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Sunday, 26 June 2011. Preserving Personal Papers: A Cautionary Tale (and a confession). I had a great time at the SAFHS conference. Yesterday and attended some interesting lectures. These included a talk by Richard Hunter of Edinburgh City Archives. On “Edinburgh its Archives and Inhabitants” in which he emphasised that many records of the city’s schools and other organisations have been lost - in most cases simply thrown away. But also that I should have scanned them and kept multiple backed-up copies&#...
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The Professional Descendant: Who belongs on the Family Tree?
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Sunday, 6 January 2013. Who belongs on the Family Tree? The recent Christmas break has given me the opportunity to do a little more work on my family research and I’ve been concentrating on the ancestors of my paternal grandfather. 8221; Or, to put it another way, “Who belongs on the family tree? A gathering of the Sykes family. Only two people in this photograph are actually my ancestors. Do I need to research the rest? Of course, I realise that it may be helpful to research collateral lines in order to...
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The Professional Descendant: November 2011
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Sunday, 27 November 2011. More Records of the Edinburgh Poor. A few months ago I wrote about the Lists of the Edinburgh Poor. Held at Edinburgh City Archives, which cover the period 1869-1884. I’ve recently been researching an individual who was on the Edinburgh poor roll at a later date and once again found that, whilst it is true that the majority of Edinburgh poor relief records have been lost, it is possible to find some information about those in receipt of poor relief. Edinburgh Parish Council: Min...
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