Change of Speaker for tomorrow, Sunday, 30 November at Melrose

Unfortunately, Mary Craig, who was to have spoken about Beggars, Thieves and Whores - the ultimate medieval outsiders, has suddenly fallen ill.
Instead, we will have two speakers:

    Enid Cruickshank: Walter and Andrew Haddon, solicitors, of Hawick
    She also has some interesting items about the Boer War.

    Gregory Lauder–Frost: Earlier records including privy council records, exchequer rolls and regality records
    He will bring some examples along for you to look at.

It's at the same venue, the Corn Exchange & Ormiston Institute, Market Square, Melrose, TD6 9PN.  See this map for directions.
I warmly invite you to attend the talk whether you are a member or not. Doors open at 2pm; the talk begins at 2.30pm.

We'll have a range of family history publications available to buy including our new publication, Innerleithen Shops, and there’ll be light refreshments (donation expected) available after the talk.

If you have a problem with your family history, please discuss it (no charge) with one of our volunteers.


We wish Mary a speedy recovery.

Innerleithen Shops

We are pleased to announce the launch of our latest publication “Innerleithen Shops” compiled by local history enthusiast, Bob Richardson.

The CD contains a detail of all the shops in Innerleithen (and there are a surprising amount of them)  from approximately 1870 to the present day. There are photographs of every shop or the building in which the shop was situated (apart from a few where the building has been demolished) with a detail of their owners, their dates of ownership and the type of business.

As well as present day photographs there are also in a number of cases images of the same shop at an earlier date and/or of bill headings or advertisements relating to the particular shop such as the above.

Additionally there are a number of old photographs of the Town and even a couple of previously published poems on the shops and their owners – giving a definite bit of personal insight.

A most interesting purchase for anyone with a connection with Innerleithen.

Co-incidentally Innerleithen Community Council has recently launched a new website also containing a number of old photographs and other historical information on the Town.

The CD, price £7 can be purchased at our premises or by choosing the appropriate delivery option and pressing the button below.
Please note: World Zone 2 includes Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Oceania.
Europe includes Eire and Russia.
World Zone 1 comprises all other countries.

Delivery Options

Innerleithen Shops - UK- 2nd class £8.55 GBP Innerleithen Shops - EU Airmail £10.25 GBP Innerleithen Shops - World Zone 1 £11.20 GBP Innerleithen Shops - World Zone 2 £11.20 GBP Innerleithen Shops - Surface Mail £10.50 GBP Innerleithen Shops - UK- 1st class £9.10 GBP Innerleithen Shops - World Zone 3 £11.20 GBP

Ronald Morrison

Join #AncestryHour on Tuesday 18 November at 7pm for Chat about Family History

There's a new chat about ancestry, genealogy and family history on Twitter tomorrow, Tuesday 18 November at 7pm (GMT).

Use #AncestryHour to join in.

I'm going to try to join in as @BordersFHS (Borders Family History Society).

See you there.

Revised Programme for Edinburgh Family History Fair on 15 November

Especially for those that saw my announcement of the Mormons' Edinburgh Family History Fair on 15 November at 30A Colinton Road, Edinburgh, EH10 5DG, there's a revised programme of workshops with times, speakers and topics.

We will have a stall there, please come and say hello. 


Live Presenters
Karen Allen: Edinburgh Family History Centre Director and serves on the FamilySearch Help Desk.
William 'Willy' Jack: Indexer and Arbitrator; Indexing since 2009 and arbitrating since 2011; indexed and arbitrated almost 370,000 names.
Jan Malloch: Professional genealogist specialising in Scottish Family History. Gained Certificate in Scottish Family History Studies; Member of the Association of Professional Genealogists, Author of papers on West Lothian local history and an e-book on how to research your Scottish ancestry online. Served on the FamilySearch Help Desk.
Ian McClumpha: Professional genealogist. Gained Certificate in Scottish Family History Studies; Taught Family History classes; Workshop presenter at Family History Seminars; Member of the Dumfries & Galloway Natural History and Antiquarian Society; Member and volunteer of the Dumfries and Galloway Family History Society: Chairman of the Robert the Bruce Commemoration Trust; Archivist for the Earl of Annandale; Member of the Edinburgh Stake High Council with a responsibility for family history work.
Margo McClumpha: Family History Director 7 years, Past President Genealogical Society, Coordinated Genealogical Conferences; Family History Consultant; Genealogist of the Year Award;
Coordinated Family History Seminars; Heldd Family History Workshops; Taught Family History classes; Former Council Member, Dumfries & Galloway Family History Society; Business & Professional Women’s Club award in recognition of her contributions to the Alberta Genealogical Society; Trustee, Robert the Bruce Commemoration Trust.
Robert 'Bob' Starratt: Began family history at 16; Past 15 years taught courses in genealogy, family and local history in Edinburgh and East West Lothian. University qualifications in history and public administration; Certificate in Teaching Adult Learners; Lectures on Scottish, Irish and English family history in Britain, Ireland, Canada and the USA. Participant at family history conferences UK and North America, including Who Do You Think You Are? Live: Does professional historical research and leads historical/cultural tours.

Roots Tech 2014
1. Dennis Brimhall: CEO FamilySearch International.
1a. Judy Russell: blogger and professional genealogist; The Legal Genealogist.
2. Deborah Gamble: Mother of five amazing children. Wife to one wonderful husband.
3. Lisa Alzo: author, freelance writer, lecturer, instructor.
4. Tammy Hepps: Technologist, storyteller, life-long genealogist,creator of Treelines.com and winner of the 2013 RootsTech Developer Challenge.
5. President Henry B. Eyring, Elder Enrique R. Falabella, Mormon Tabernacle Choir

See Unique Records from Heriot-Watt University Archives

As part of Scottish Book Week 2014 (also known as Book Week Scotland), Heriot-Watt University Archives are offering a selection of bound volumes from the Textile Collection for visitors to look at.
The event is from 2pm to 3pm on 26 November and is at Scottish Borders Campus, Nether Road, Galashiels, TD1 3HF, Scotland. Map.

There are a lot of interesting records in the archives including mill records, early records of the College, lace, fashion drawings. You can search the Heriot-Watt University Archives Textile Collection catalogue.

I'm always interested in business records, especially wages and prices, so that part of the archives interests me. In particular, I see from the catalogue that they have lots of records relating to organisations in Galashiels, Hawick and Selkirk.
Although I'm not interested in dressing fashionably; fashion was important to many of our forebears and images and descriptions of fashions are extremely useful in dating your family photographs.

Please note that the event is free but places are limited and booking is essential.

Book to see the unique Textile Collection volumes.

Watch FindMyPast's Free Family History Webinar on Saturday 8 November

To celebrate Remembrance Weekend, FindMyPast is running a free family history webinar (they call it a live broadcast) on Saturday 8 November between 3pm (GMT) and 5.30pm.

The programme includes 6 speakers and covers: getting started, researching your family history, censuses,  British newspapers, military records, tracing ancestors from Ireland, international records.

More details of the programme and speakers.

The webinar is expected to be available later on their blog.

The webinar is followed by a live question and answer session via FindMyPast's Facebook page between 5.30pm (GMT) and 6.30pm.

If you learn something useful or get a question answered,  please add a comment below.

Free Access to FindMyPast This Weekend (7-10 November)

To celebrate Remembrance Weekend, FindMyPast is offering free access to most of their records from noon (GMT) on Friday, 7 November to 11:59am on Monday, 10 November.

Use the time to explore their collections of  UK parish records,  historical newspaper pages, military records and passenger lists.

In the past, I've found that the military records included East India Company military records from the 1800s.

You'll need to register and log in.

In some respects, FindMyPast is easier to search than Ancestry so give the FindMyPast Free Weekend a whirl and add a comment below if you find something interesting.

Days of Our Youth - Memories of Melrose, is a snapshot of childhood in Melrose, Scotland, before the First World War.

John Dick, born 1888, was the son of the local ironmonger and had the sort of happy childhood that was the lot of the children of prosperous families in country areas. The text in this memoir is exactly as John Dick wrote it in 1950, and was supplied by his nephew, Ian Dick of Auckland, New Zealand.

The 52 page book discusses life in Melrose, the shops, excursions, church antics, local characters, celebrations, holidays, and school. It's all a fascinating read about Melrose in the late 19th and early 20th century. It's well illustrated by photos, some in colour, many of which even our older citizens won't have seen for years.
Price £3.75 excluding postage. Weight 90g.


You can get a copy at our archive at 52 Overhaugh St, Galashiels, TD1 1DP, or by choosing the appropriate delivery option and pressing the Buy now button below. Please note: World Zone 1 generally covers countries in North America (excluding the USA), South America, Africa, the Middle East, the Far East and South East Asia. World Zone 2 includes Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Oceania. World Zone 3 is USA. Europe includes Eire and Russia.

Delivery Options

Days of Our Youth - Memories of Melrose - UK - 2nd class £5.80 GBP Days of Our Youth - Memories of Melrose - EU Airmail £7.50 GBP Days of Our Youth - Memories of Melrose - World Zone 1 £8.45 GBP Days of Our Youth - Memories of Melrose - World Zone 2 £8.45 GBP Days of Our Youth - Memories of Melrose - Surface Mail £7.75 GBP Days of Our Youth - Memories of Melrose - UK - 1st class £6.35 GBP Days of Our Youth - Memories of Melrose - World Zone 3 £8.45 GBP

If there are other publications you want to buy at the same time, please contact the Sales Convenor on our Contacts page using the contact type Order for Publications.