Langholm Archive Group was mentioned on a RootsChat forum today, and
that reminded me that I was intending to look at their website.
I've seen some of their publications, and we have some in our archive.
I've found The Ewes Valley (see our review), Memorials of Westerkirk Churchyard, Memorials of Watcarrick and Esdalemuir Churchyards, Memorials of Langholm Parish to be really excellent publications and I recommend them.
Their website is a very useful resource, and includes a newspaper archive (for the Eskdale and Liddesdale Advertiser) and a photo archive.
So searching for "poor", it's interesting to see in the newspaper index that there were reports between 1850 and 1854 of notices of meetings and elections to Parochial Board, a respectable married woman (no children) was wanted to care for persons admitted to Casual Sick Poor House, numbers of poor in Langholm area and expenditure, appointments of Inspector of Poor and Collector of Poors' Rate also Registrar of births, deaths and marriages; the death of the teacher on 6th October 1858 at the age of 52, Mr George J Todd, who was also Inspector of the Poor, session clerk and Registrar.
There are photos of Mr Todd and his school in their photo archive.
There are several references to Casual Sick Poor Houses.
The Eskdale & Liddesdale Advertiser have an article about a new Casual Sick Poor House in Langholm.
Nearby Newcastleton had a Casual Sick House, too.
Searching for "poor" in the photo archive, yields photos of two other Poor officers, James Morrison, 1896 to 1930, and Archie Oliver, 1931.
To comment on this article, please click the 'comments' link below.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Eastern European Ancestors
Last Sunday's programme, the sixth episode of the new 'Digging up Your Roots', which is broadcast on 92-95 FM every Sunday at midday until 21 February was about ancestors from Eastern Europe.
Write to: Digging Up Your Roots, BBC Radio Scotland, Beechgrove Terrace, Aberdeen, AB15 5ZT or email them at diggingupyourroots@bbc.co.uk .
If you missed this, it is available as a podcast.
This programme was a complete eye-opener to me, as I had no idea that so many people came from eastern Europe to Scotland.
The first story was about a Polish family sent to a Russian gulag (a slave labour camp) but escaped and made a 6,000 mile roundabout trip journey to join the Polish army in Kazakhstan in 1942; most of the time starving hungry; some of the family died on the way. Father got to Persia, joined the Polish Navy and eventually got to Scotland and became a successful businessman.
Apparently 30,000 Poles were sent to gulags.
Another story was about a Pole from Lvov (now Lviv in the Ukraine), and another about a White Russian volunteer evacuated from southern Russia by a British ship, went to Egypt, was there for 2 years, and then came to Scotland.
More information in the Archives of Ukraine.
The International Council on Archives has a list of archives around the world. During World War II, some Jewish records were safeguarded by churches.
When looking a Russian records, remember that surnames change according to gender, and that Russians use patronymics as the middle name, which must make identification of the right family a lot easier.
Useful resources are Cyndi's List and the Federation of East European Family History Societies.
Hundreds of thousands of Jews fled their homes in eastern Europe in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, to escape harsh economic conditions and persecution. They went to USA, many arriving at Leith or Dundee, travelling across to Glasgow, and sailing to New York. Some stayed, mostly in London, Glasgow, and other industrial cities. The cost of crossing the North Sea was £1.50 per person, and the transatlantic crossing was £5 or £6, a lot in those days.
The refugees faced lots of fear, there were health scares about disease in eastern Europe, and there were lots of con tricks and scams pulled on them, too.
In Glasgow, many of the Jews filled gaps in tailoring, carpentry, and cigarette making.
The US National Archives have microfilms of concentration camp records, and although they're not online, they will search them for you.
Another very useful site is JewishGen.
Many Lithuanian miners were recruited for Lanarkshire mines by owners at low wages, to the fury of the local workforce; but they, other Lithuanians, and Russians were sent back to Russia to fight in the Russian Army in 1917, under a treaty between Britain and Russia, and never came back to Britain. A useful site is Lithuanian Global Genealogical Society.
To comment on this article, please click the 'comments' link below.
Write to: Digging Up Your Roots, BBC Radio Scotland, Beechgrove Terrace, Aberdeen, AB15 5ZT or email them at diggingupyourroots@bbc.co.uk .
If you missed this, it is available as a podcast.
This programme was a complete eye-opener to me, as I had no idea that so many people came from eastern Europe to Scotland.
The first story was about a Polish family sent to a Russian gulag (a slave labour camp) but escaped and made a 6,000 mile roundabout trip journey to join the Polish army in Kazakhstan in 1942; most of the time starving hungry; some of the family died on the way. Father got to Persia, joined the Polish Navy and eventually got to Scotland and became a successful businessman.
Apparently 30,000 Poles were sent to gulags.
Another story was about a Pole from Lvov (now Lviv in the Ukraine), and another about a White Russian volunteer evacuated from southern Russia by a British ship, went to Egypt, was there for 2 years, and then came to Scotland.
More information in the Archives of Ukraine.
The International Council on Archives has a list of archives around the world. During World War II, some Jewish records were safeguarded by churches.
When looking a Russian records, remember that surnames change according to gender, and that Russians use patronymics as the middle name, which must make identification of the right family a lot easier.
Useful resources are Cyndi's List and the Federation of East European Family History Societies.
Hundreds of thousands of Jews fled their homes in eastern Europe in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, to escape harsh economic conditions and persecution. They went to USA, many arriving at Leith or Dundee, travelling across to Glasgow, and sailing to New York. Some stayed, mostly in London, Glasgow, and other industrial cities. The cost of crossing the North Sea was £1.50 per person, and the transatlantic crossing was £5 or £6, a lot in those days.
The refugees faced lots of fear, there were health scares about disease in eastern Europe, and there were lots of con tricks and scams pulled on them, too.
In Glasgow, many of the Jews filled gaps in tailoring, carpentry, and cigarette making.
The US National Archives have microfilms of concentration camp records, and although they're not online, they will search them for you.
Another very useful site is JewishGen.
Many Lithuanian miners were recruited for Lanarkshire mines by owners at low wages, to the fury of the local workforce; but they, other Lithuanians, and Russians were sent back to Russia to fight in the Russian Army in 1917, under a treaty between Britain and Russia, and never came back to Britain. A useful site is Lithuanian Global Genealogical Society.
To comment on this article, please click the 'comments' link below.
New Berwickshire Parish Pages
We've created new web pages about parishes in Berwickshire.
These pages show information about the parish location, coverage of old parish records, relevant publications for sale from Borders Family History Society, specific volumes in our archive at Old Gala House (in addition to the items for sale), articles in our magazine, other sources of information including some of the Hawick Heritage Hub's records, items in the National Archives of Scotland, and in the LDS Family History Library.
There are also links to useful websites, place and farm names appearing in the 1841-1861 census records, and population figures.
From the Scottish Borders Counties Map you can drill down to the Berwickshire (Parish) Map page by clicking on the Berwickshire area, and from that page you can access the individual parish pages either by clicking the relevant parish area or by clicking the parish name.
We've deliberately tried to include information that is not easily available online elsewhere, and these pages are not intended to be a substitute or in competition with pages on other websites, for example, GENUKI.
We hope that you will find these useful, and we'll update them as resources permit.
If you know of other resources relating to any of these parishes or if you find a mistake, please let us know, using the form on our Contacts page and selecting contact type Unlisted Questions.
We're working on pages for the other Borders counties.
To comment on this article, please click the 'comments' link below.
These pages show information about the parish location, coverage of old parish records, relevant publications for sale from Borders Family History Society, specific volumes in our archive at Old Gala House (in addition to the items for sale), articles in our magazine, other sources of information including some of the Hawick Heritage Hub's records, items in the National Archives of Scotland, and in the LDS Family History Library.
There are also links to useful websites, place and farm names appearing in the 1841-1861 census records, and population figures.
From the Scottish Borders Counties Map you can drill down to the Berwickshire (Parish) Map page by clicking on the Berwickshire area, and from that page you can access the individual parish pages either by clicking the relevant parish area or by clicking the parish name.
We've deliberately tried to include information that is not easily available online elsewhere, and these pages are not intended to be a substitute or in competition with pages on other websites, for example, GENUKI.
We hope that you will find these useful, and we'll update them as resources permit.
If you know of other resources relating to any of these parishes or if you find a mistake, please let us know, using the form on our Contacts page and selecting contact type Unlisted Questions.
We're working on pages for the other Borders counties.
To comment on this article, please click the 'comments' link below.
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Military Stories
Last Sunday's programme, the fifth episode of the new 'Digging up Your Roots', which is broadcast on 92-95 FM every Sunday at midday until 21 February was about military stories.
If you have a question to ask, write to: Digging Up Your Roots, BBC Radio Scotland, Beechgrove Terrace, Aberdeen, AB15 5ZT or email them at diggingupyourroots@bbc.co.uk .
If you missed this, it is available as a podcast for another day.
The first article was a unique letter written by Andrew Anderson, a machine-gunner, on a march to Germany.
Copies of his letter have gone to the regimental museum, local museums, and schools. They recommend that paper documents should be kept in acid-free plastic.
At the beginning of World War II, Germans and Italians were allowed to escape being interned if they volunteered for the British Army Pioneer Corps which provided general labour for the Army, building roads and railways, unloading and loading ships.
Although the stories were interesting, I felt that the discussion about record sources was more useful.
Look in regimental war diaries for details of soldiers.
Prisoner of War camp records are available at Children and Families of Far East Prisoners of War, and for other theatres through the International Committee of the Red Cross.
Liberation questionnaires (completed by mainly British and Commonwealth Prisoners of War of all ranks and services), Air Ministry Combat reports, unclaimed medals are at the National Archives at Kew.
Service records at Veterans UK.
Information about World War I is at The Long, Long Trail.
They talked about the "Dead Man's Penny" - a bronze memorial plaque, 5 inches (12.5 cm) in diameter, inscribed with the dead person's name, which was sent with a scroll to the next of kin to all those who died in the Great War (World War I ), there are lots of websites about this, and one that has nice pictures is http://www.diggerhistory.info/pages-medals/dead-penny.htm.
I was also interested in the account of an Alexander Macleod who died of cholera in India in 1845, because they talked about a bill of sale of his possessions, and a receipt by his widow.
To comment on this article, please click the 'comments' link below.
If you have a question to ask, write to: Digging Up Your Roots, BBC Radio Scotland, Beechgrove Terrace, Aberdeen, AB15 5ZT or email them at diggingupyourroots@bbc.co.uk .
If you missed this, it is available as a podcast for another day.
The first article was a unique letter written by Andrew Anderson, a machine-gunner, on a march to Germany.
Copies of his letter have gone to the regimental museum, local museums, and schools. They recommend that paper documents should be kept in acid-free plastic.
At the beginning of World War II, Germans and Italians were allowed to escape being interned if they volunteered for the British Army Pioneer Corps which provided general labour for the Army, building roads and railways, unloading and loading ships.
Although the stories were interesting, I felt that the discussion about record sources was more useful.
Look in regimental war diaries for details of soldiers.
Prisoner of War camp records are available at Children and Families of Far East Prisoners of War, and for other theatres through the International Committee of the Red Cross.
Liberation questionnaires (completed by mainly British and Commonwealth Prisoners of War of all ranks and services), Air Ministry Combat reports, unclaimed medals are at the National Archives at Kew.
Service records at Veterans UK.
Information about World War I is at The Long, Long Trail.
They talked about the "Dead Man's Penny" - a bronze memorial plaque, 5 inches (12.5 cm) in diameter, inscribed with the dead person's name, which was sent with a scroll to the next of kin to all those who died in the Great War (World War I ), there are lots of websites about this, and one that has nice pictures is http://www.diggerhistory.info/pages-medals/dead-penny.htm.
I was also interested in the account of an Alexander Macleod who died of cholera in India in 1845, because they talked about a bill of sale of his possessions, and a receipt by his widow.
To comment on this article, please click the 'comments' link below.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Genealogical Items for Sale
We're clearing out our cupboards because we've run out of room for our library.
For some years we've been using other organisations' empty cupboards but they now want the space.
A while back, we had a generous donation of family history resources from someone who was moving into a smaller house, and there were some that we already had.
Some of the magazines produced by other family history societies are thus surplus to our needs, and so we're making them available to you at what we think is a reasonable price.
In every case, there is only one 'bundle' of the magazines for each society, so if you're interested, you need to get in quick.
We think these offers will be of interest to booksellers too.
If you're interested, contact our Sales Convenor, Ronald Morrison, as fast as you can by sending him a message on our contacts page using the contact type Order for Publications specifying your address. He'll reply quickly.
Prices quoted exclude postage as this depends on your location. If you're near us you could pick the bundle up at Old Gala House, Galashiels or at one of our meetings if you give Ronald sufficient notice.
The list of items for sale is in our Forum. We're putting the list there because this blog entry won't always be on the main blog page, and because that way we can easily remove items when they are sold.
To comment on this article, please click the 'comments' link below.
For some years we've been using other organisations' empty cupboards but they now want the space.
A while back, we had a generous donation of family history resources from someone who was moving into a smaller house, and there were some that we already had.
Some of the magazines produced by other family history societies are thus surplus to our needs, and so we're making them available to you at what we think is a reasonable price.
In every case, there is only one 'bundle' of the magazines for each society, so if you're interested, you need to get in quick.
We think these offers will be of interest to booksellers too.
If you're interested, contact our Sales Convenor, Ronald Morrison, as fast as you can by sending him a message on our contacts page using the contact type Order for Publications specifying your address. He'll reply quickly.
Prices quoted exclude postage as this depends on your location. If you're near us you could pick the bundle up at Old Gala House, Galashiels or at one of our meetings if you give Ronald sufficient notice.
The list of items for sale is in our Forum. We're putting the list there because this blog entry won't always be on the main blog page, and because that way we can easily remove items when they are sold.
To comment on this article, please click the 'comments' link below.
New Peeblesshire Parish Pages
We've created new web pages about parishes in Peeblesshire.
These pages show information about the parish location, coverage of old parish records, relevant publications for sale from Borders Family History Society, specific volumes in our archive at Old Gala House (in addition to the items for sale), articles in our magazine, other sources of information including some of the Hawick Heritage Hub's records, items in the National Archives of Scotland, and in the LDS Family History Library.
There are also links to useful websites, place and farm names appearing in the 1841-1861 census records, and population figures.
From the Scottish Borders Counties Map you can drill down to the Peeblesshire (Parish) Map page by clicking on the Peeblesshire area, and from that page you can access the individual parish pages either by clicking the relevant parish area or by clicking the parish name.
We've deliberately tried to include information that is not easily available online elsewhere, and these pages are not intended to be a substitute or in competition with pages on other websites, for example, GENUKI.
We hope that you will find these useful, and we'll update them as resources permit.
If you know of other resources relating to any of these parishes or if you find a mistake, please let us know, using the form on our Contacts page and selecting contact type Unlisted Questions.
We're working on pages for the other Borders counties.
To comment on this article, please click the 'comments' link below.
These pages show information about the parish location, coverage of old parish records, relevant publications for sale from Borders Family History Society, specific volumes in our archive at Old Gala House (in addition to the items for sale), articles in our magazine, other sources of information including some of the Hawick Heritage Hub's records, items in the National Archives of Scotland, and in the LDS Family History Library.
There are also links to useful websites, place and farm names appearing in the 1841-1861 census records, and population figures.
From the Scottish Borders Counties Map you can drill down to the Peeblesshire (Parish) Map page by clicking on the Peeblesshire area, and from that page you can access the individual parish pages either by clicking the relevant parish area or by clicking the parish name.
We've deliberately tried to include information that is not easily available online elsewhere, and these pages are not intended to be a substitute or in competition with pages on other websites, for example, GENUKI.
We hope that you will find these useful, and we'll update them as resources permit.
If you know of other resources relating to any of these parishes or if you find a mistake, please let us know, using the form on our Contacts page and selecting contact type Unlisted Questions.
We're working on pages for the other Borders counties.
To comment on this article, please click the 'comments' link below.
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