Old Photograph Station Road Cardenden Fife Scotland

Old photograph of cottages and houses on Station Road in Cardenden, Fife, Scotland. A former mining town located on the south bank of the River Ore in the parish of Auchterderran, Fife. Cardenden was named in 1848 by the Edinburgh and Northern Railway for its new railway station. Areas of Cardenden include Auchterderran, Bowhill, Dundonald, the Jamphlars, New Carden and Woodend. It is reported that last duel on Scottish soil took place in a field at Cardenbarns to the south of Cardenden. On 2 August 1826, a Kirkcaldy merchant named David Landale fought a duel with George Morgan, a Kirkcaldy banker and retired Lieutenant from the 77th Regiment of Foot. Morgan was killed by wounds received from a pistol ball. Landale was tried and subsequently cleared of his murder at the Sheriff Court in Perth, Perthshire. Blog post of interest to folks with ancestry, genealogy or Scottish Family Roots in Scotland who may wish to visit one day.



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Old Photograph Huniting For Rabbits Perthshire Scotland

Old photograph of hunting for rabbits in Highland Perthshire, Scotland.



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Old Photograph Farm Workers Highland Perthshire Scotland

Old photograph of farm workers eating dinner outside a cottage in Highland Perthshire, Scotland. After the Union of 1707 there was a conscious attempt to improve agriculture among the Scottish gentry and nobility. Enclosure displaced the run rig system and free pasture. The resulting Lowland Clearances saw hundreds of thousands of cottars and tenant farmers from central and southern Scotland forcibly removed. The later Highland Clearances saw the displacement of much of the population of the Highlands as lands were enclosed for sheep farming. Those that remained many were now crofters, living on very small, rented farms with indefinite tenure, dependent on kelping, fishing, spinning of linen and military service. Scotland suffered its last major subsistence crisis when the potato blight reached the Highlands in 1846. Blog post of interest to folks with ancestry, genealogy or Scottish Family Roots in Scotland who may wish to visit one day.



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Old Photograph White Swan Hotel Methil Fife Scotland

Old photograph of the White Swan Hotel in Methil, Fife, Scotland. Blog post of interest to folks with ancestry, genealogy or Scottish Family Roots in Scotland who may wish to visit one day.



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Old Photograph Robert Doun Monument Durness Scotland

Old photograph of the Robert Doun monument by Durness, Northern Sutherland, Scotland. In the churchyard of the old Durness Parish church there is a memorial to Rob Doun, Robert Calder Mackay, the Gaelic Bard, born 1714, died 1778. Durness, Scottish Gaelic: Diùranais, in the old county of Sutherland in the North West Highlands. Durness is a village and civil parish on the north coast of the country in the traditional county of Sutherland around 120 miles north of Inverness. The area is remote and the parish is huge and sparsely populated covering an area from east of Loch Eriboll to Cape Wrath, the most north westerly point of the Scottish mainland. The population is dispersed and includes a number of townships including Kempie, Eriboll, Laid, Rispond, Sangobeg, Leirinmore, Smoo, Sangomore, Durine, Balnakeil, and Keoldale. Smoo Cave is a large combined sea cave and freshwater cave in Durness. Emigration from this parish began in 1772 when 200 people left for South Carolina. This was before the notorious clearances when people were forcibly evicted to make way for sheep farming. Despite having been on the government side during the Jacobite Uprising of 1745, the Clan Mackay were hit by the economic downturn which crippled the Highlands in the aftermath of the Battle of Culloden. Poor management of the Mackay estates did not help and in keeping with elsewhere in the Highlands, sheep farming was seen as the salvation. The first enforced clearance was in 1820 in the West Moine district of the parish, followed by the Keoldale Estate clearances and in 1841, the Rispond Estate Clearance. The latter was, however, a clearance too many and it sparked off a series of events known as the Durness Riots, the first real resistance to clearances in the Highlands. The population, however, peaked in 1881 with 1109 people and then gradually declined. The biggest drop came in the aftermath of the First World War when emigration to the Scottish Lowlands, England and Canada was particularly popular. This was the home of the powerful and warlike Clan Mackay, and as such was named in Gaelic, Dùthaich 'Ic Aoidh, the Homeland of Mackay. Even today this part of Sutherland is known as Mackay Country, and, unlike other areas of Scotland where the names traditionally associated with the area have become diluted, there is still a preponderance of Mackays in the Dùthaich. Blog post of interest to folks with ancestry, genealogy or Scottish Family Roots in Scotland who may wish to visit one day.



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Old Photograph Pennyghael Isle Of Mull Scotland

Old photograph of cottages and bridge in Pennyghael, Isle of Mull, Scotland. This Scottish village is approached from the West over a small bridge across the Leidle River which was built in 1836. The MacGillivrays were the dominant family in the village for centuries. Donald MacGillivray was laird of Pennyghael in 1618. Reverend Martin MacGillivray was of the area in from 1631 to 1650. By 1701, one John MacGillivray is mentioned, and in 1751, there was an Alexander MacGillivray associated with Pennyghael. Descendants of the clan may exist but the family line of the Pennyghael family is much less clear than that of the Dunmaglass family. Blog post of interest to folks with ancestry, genealogy or Scottish Family Roots in Scotland who may wish to visit one day.



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Old Photograph Colislinn House Scotland

Old photograph of Colislinn House by Hawick, Scotland. Tour Scottish Borders. This Scottish mansion house was built in 1896 by Scottish Architect James Pearson Alison for Walter Haddon and his wife, Caroline Ross. James Pearson Alison was born on 22 June 1862 at Rosehill, Eskbank, the second son of the five children of Thomas Alison, draper and his wife, Margaret Pearson and brother of the landscape painter, Thomas Alison. He was educated in Dalkeith initially and at the Edinburgh Institution from 1876 to 1878. At about this time when Alison was fourteen his home address is recorded as 17 Buccleuch Street, Hawick, though it is as yet unclear if he was living with a relative or if his father had a house and shop in Hawick as well as Dalkeith. The family home at Rosehill, Eskbank was still occupied by the Alison family at this date. Subsequently articled to Robert Thornton Shiells, he remained with him as a draughtsman until September 1885, studying at the Royal Scottish Academy School of Art, at Professor Baldwin Brown's History of Architecture classes at Edinburgh University, and at the Heriot-Watt Institute taking classes on Sanitation. After leaving Thornton Shiells he devoted several months to study before entering the office of Charles Davidson of Paisley in March 1886, and remained there until setting up practice on his own account in Hawick two years later on the advice of a Mr Dawson of Dalkeith who was a second cousin of Alison's future wife. Before leaving Dalkeith he had managed to secure several commissions, possibly through the influence of Mr Dawson or his father who served as Lord Provost of Dalkeith from 1881 to 1884. About this time he visited most of the cathedral cities of England and travelled Normandy, Brittany and the Netherlands.



Alison set up business in Hawick in 1887 or 1888 at 19 North Bridge Street which probably initially served as both office and house. In the latter year he was asked by Patrick Laing to design a substantial villa and commissions thereafter followed swiftly as his reputation grew among the local gentry and manufacturers. In the early 1890s he moved office and house to 21 North Bridge Street. On 8 September 1892 he married Mary Lawson Blair of 19 Oakshaw Street, Paisley, daughter of Matthew Blair, draper and tailor and his wife Janet.

About 1900 by then with a wife and a family of three children Alison moved again, his office being in 'The Studio' at 45 North Bridge Street which he designed in 1900 and his residence being 'Ladylaw' in Hawick where he made some internal alterations. During this period of prosperity Alison was assisted by Alexander Inglis. Inglis was born on 22 January 1877 and served his articles with Alison from 1896. On the completion of his articles in 1901 he transferred to the office of Leadbetter & Fairley but remained with them a relatively short time, returning to Hawick to take over the joinery and architectural business of his uncle which he had inherited on the latter's death in 1902.

Alison was admitted FRIBA on 2 December 1907, his proposers being Harold Ogle Tarbolton, Hippolyte Jean Blanc and James Bow Dunn. His work usually had a quiet distinction but a few of his buildings have flashes of originality. His RIBA obituary describes him as 'a man of kindly disposition' and as a keen antiquarian. As such he supervised the excavation of the 13th-century chapel at Hermitage, and wrote a pamphlet on the results of his excavations which he donated to the Ecclesiological & Hawick Archaeological Society. He was a member of the Hawick Archaeological Society in 1897 and was one of the designers of the costumes, sets and props of the Pageant held in 1914 to commemorate the four hundredth anniversary of Hornshole. He was also a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland and a member of the Hawick Callants Club.

Up to the beginning of the First World War, Alison's practice continued to flourish even to the extent that he owned and ran a car, one of the first people in Hawick to do so. His practice covered a wide area, and he still obtained jobs through family connections in Dalkeith and Eskbank and even opened a branch office in Kelso briefly. Further afield he secured a commission for a tenement block in Paisley presumably through his wife's family. The war years brought a down-turn in the fortunes of the practice. Ladylaw was let furnished and Mrs Alison moved to Edinburgh (perhaps seeking a cure for ill-health?), her husband joining her at weekends; she died there in 1916.

From the early 1920s he practised in partnership with George Hobkirk, of whom few details are known. Hobkirk was born in 1884 and came from a family of joiners and carpenters. He appears to have entered Alison's office in the first decade of the twentieth century, presumably as apprentice and later assistant. He was taken into partnership in 1923 when the first record of the name J P Alison and Hobkirk appears on plans submitted to Dean of Guild in October of that year.

Alison died at Hawick on 19 November 1932, leaving moveable estate of £3,093 15s 3d. Not only had his wife predeceased him but his son Percy died at sea on a journey home from abroad but he was survived by his two daughters. His practice continued for at least a time under the existing title of J P Alison & Hobkirk. In 1936 J Murray Aitken was taken into partnership, becoming sole partner in 1955. The firm of Aitken & Turnbull is the successor of this practice.

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Old Photograph Dalserf Scotland

Old photograph of cottages and people in Dalserf, South Lanarkshire, Scotland. This Scottish village is located on the River Clyde, 2 miles East of Larkhall and 7 miles South East of Hamilton. The village church built in 1655, is dedicated to Saint Serf, and may be built on the site of an early church founded by him. The church dates from the The Killing Time, when the rebel Covenanters were persecuted for their faith, and was a centre of Covenanter activity. John McMillan, reformist preacher and first minister of the Reformed Presbyterian Church, is buried in the graveyard. Blog post of interest to folks with ancestry, genealogy or Scottish Family Roots in Scotland who may wish to visit one day.



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Old Photographs North Kessock Scotland

Old photograph of people outside a shop in North Kessock near Inverness, Scotland. North Kessock probably existed as early as 1437, when the Dominican monastery in Inverness was granted a charter to operate a ferry to the Black Isle. This was on the pilgrim route north to St Duthac Church in Tain. The Kessock Ferry connected North and South Kessock until 1982, when the Kessock Bridge was completed and opened. Blog post of interest to folks with ancestry, genealogy or Scottish Family Roots in Scotland who may wish to visit one day.





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Old Photograph Loch Brora Scotland

Old photograph of a fisherman, boats and boathouse by Loch Brora in Sutherland, Scotland.



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Old Photograph New Inn Hotel Stanley Perthshire Scotland

Old photograph of cars outside the New Inn Hotel in Stanley, Perthshire, Scotland. Stanley is a village on the right bank of the River Tay in an area popular for salmon fishing. The village gained its name from Lady Amelia Stanley, the daughter of James Stanley, 7th Earl of Derby. John Murray, the 4th Duke of Atholl, decided, in the 18th century to harness of the nearby River Tay to power a cotton mill., Richard Arkwright, an inventor of cotton spinning machinery set up a cotton mill in Stanley as well as one at New Lanark. Stanley Mills opened in 1787, and by its 10th year employed 350 people. The village was built to house the workers of the mill. Work on the village began in 1784. It was designed by the Duke of Atholl’s factor James Stobie. By 1799 the village’s population was around 400, and by 1831 it had reached around 2000 residents. Blog post of interest to folks with ancestry, genealogy or Scottish Family Roots in Scotland who may wish to visit one day.



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Old Photograph Bankwell Road Anstruther Fife Scotland

Old photograph of children and houses on Bankwell Road in Anstruther in the East Neuk of Fife, Scotland.



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Old Photograph Gateside Fife Scotland

Old photograph of cottages, delivery van, people and shop in Gateside, Fife, Scotland. The River Eden runs through this Scottish village, which flows to the coast at St Andrews and then into the North Sea. The nearest large city is Perth, Perthshire, although Edinburgh is only half an hour away, and Glasgow one hour away. Blog post of interest to folks with ancestry, genealogy or Scottish Family Roots in Scotland who may wish to visit one day.





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Old Photograph Boquhanran School Scotland

Old photograph of Boquhanran School in Clydebank by Glasgow, Scotland. James Filshie, the Chairman of Old Kilpatrick School Board, opened the doors in 1906 with a gold key especially made for the occasion. The school was a casualty of the Clydebank Blitz in March 1941. It was never rebuilt. Blog post of interest to folks with ancestry, genealogy or Scottish Family Roots in Scotland who may wish to visit one day.



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Old Photograph David Ist Street Kinghorn Fife Scotland

Old photograph of children playing on David Ist Street in Kinghorn, Fife, Scotland. This street is named after King David I, born 1084, died 24 May 1153. He was a 12th century ruler who was Prince of the Cumbrians, Earl of Northampton and Huntingdon and later King of the Scots. The youngest son of Malcolm III of Scotland and Margaret of Wessex, David spent his early years in Scotland but on the death of his parents in 1093 was forced into exile by his uncle and thenceforth king, Donald III of Scotland. He is buried in Dunfermline Abbey, Fife. Blog post of interest to folks with ancestry, genealogy or Scottish Family Roots in Scotland who may wish to visit one day.



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Old Photograph Cowgate Dundee Scotland

Old photograph of people, horses and carts, shops, tram and buildings on Cowgate Street in Dundee, Scotland. The rise of the textile industries in Dundee brought with it an expansion of supporting industries, notably of the whaling, maritime and shipbuilding industries and extensive development of the waterfront area started in 1815 to cope with increased demand for port capacity. At its height, 200 ships per year were built there, including Robert Falcon Scott's Antarctic research vessel, the RRS Discovery. While the city's economy was dominated by the jute industry, it also became known for smaller industries. Most notable among these were James Keiller's and Sons, established in 1795, which pioneered commercial marmalade production and the publishing firm DC Thomson, which was founded in the city in 1905. Dundee was said to be built on the three Js': Jute, Jam and Journalism. Blog post of interest to folks with ancestry, genealogy or Scottish Family Roots in Scotland who may wish to visit one day.



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Old Photograph Blackness Road Dundee Scotland

Old photograph of a horse and cart, shop, houses and people on Blackness Road in Dundee, Scotland. Blackness is an area of the city of Dundee. Broadly, Blackness is located to the north of the city's West End and is centred on the Blackness Road, where a number of small, local shops are located. The presence of the Scouring Burn, now diverted underground, meant that the area was attractive for industrial development in the late eighteenth/early nineteenth centuries, modern steam powered machinery requiring a substantial water supply.



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Old Photograph Children Cumbernauld Scotland

Old photograph of children in Cumbernauld, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. Cumbernauld's history stretches to Roman times, with a settlement near the Antonine Wall, the furthest and most northerly boundary of the Roman Empire. After the Second World War Glasgow was suffering from chronic shortages of housing and poor housing conditions, particularly in areas such as the Gorbals. As a direct result Cumbernauld was designated a new town in 1955.





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Old Photograph Bowling Green Carnoustie Scotland

Old photograph of people on the Lawn Bowling Green in Carnoustie, Scotland. Carnoustie town is at the mouth of the Barry Burn on the North Sea coast in Angus. It was founded in the late 18th century, and grew rapidly throughout the 19th century due to the growth of the local textile industry. It was popular as a tourist resort from the early Victorian era up to the latter half of the 20th century, due to its seaside location, and is best known for its associations with golf. Blog post of interest to folks with ancestry, genealogy or Scottish Family Roots in Scotland who may wish to visit one day.



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Old Photograph Avonbridge Scotland

Old photograph of cottages in Avonbridge located seven miles South East of Falkirk, Scotland. Falkirk is situated in the Forth Valley, almost midway between Edinburgh and Glasgow. During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries Avonbridge was home to small scale open cast coal mining. The village also had a brickworks in the mid twentieth century which no longer exists. Nowadays the village is largely residential although Avonbridge is the base of operations for Stevenson Brothers a haulage company, whose bright orange heavy goods vehicles transport goods all over the United Kingdom. Blog post of interest to folks with ancestry, genealogy or Scottish Family Roots in Scotland who may wish to visit one day.



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Old Photograph Queen's Gardens St Andrews Fife Scotland

Old photograph of a horse and cart, people and buildings on Queen's Gardens street in St Andrews, Fife, Scotland. The original garden ground, in the centre of the ancient Royal Burgh, is on the site of the medieval Greyfriars monastery and this piece of land was granted to the community of St Andrews by Mary Queen of Scots on 17 April 1567, a few months before her forced abdication. Blog post of interest to folks with ancestry, genealogy or Scottish Family Roots in Scotland who may wish to visit one day.



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Old Photograph Auldgirth Bridge Scotland

Old photograph of Auldgirth bridge in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. This Scottish bridge over the River Nith was designed by David Henderson and built by William Stewart in 1781. This bridge carries the public road across the River Nith immediately South West of Auldgirth village. The river here forms the boundary between the parishes of Closeburn and Keir. Blog post of interest to folks with ancestry, genealogy or Scottish Family Roots in Scotland who may wish to visit one day.



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Old Photograph St Leonards School St Andrews Fife Scotland

Old photograph of St Leonards School in St Andrews, Fife, Scotland. St Leonards School, formerly St Leonards and St Katherines School, is an independent school, founded by the University of St Andrews in the nineteenth century. Dame Louisa Lumsden was appointed the School's first Headmistress in 1877. Blog post of interest to folks with ancestry, genealogy or Scottish Family Roots in Scotland who may wish to visit one day.



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Old Photographs Polmood House Scotland

Old photograph of Polmood house near Tweedsmuir in the Scottish Borders, Scotland. Polmood was for many centuries the centre of the Hunter family in the lowlands and the earliest record was a charter dated 1057 to Norman Hunter of Polmood. The house was the in the possession of the Hunter family from at least as early as the second quarter of the 15th century until the end of the 18th century. By 1864, however, the house was completely ruinous and shortly afterwards it was rebuilt by Houston Mitchell, who had purchased the property in 1847. Blog post of interest to folks with ancestry, genealogy or Scottish Family Roots in Scotland who may wish to visit one day.

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Old Photograph Dalswinton Loch Scotland

Old photograph of Dalswinton Loch near Dumfries, Scotland. Beside this Scottish loch is Dalswinton Tower, a former stronghold of the Comyn family. The banker Patrick Miller of Dalswinton had experimented with double hulled pleasure boats propelled by cranked paddle wheels placed between the hulls, and he got William Symington to build the patent steam engine with its drive into a pleasure boat built in 1785 which was successfully tried out on Dalswinton Loch near Miller's house on 14 October 1788. Blog post of interest to folks with ancestry, genealogy or Scottish Family Roots in Scotland who may wish to visit one day.



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Old Photograph Sligachan Hotel Isle Of Skye Scotland

Old photograph of the Sligachan Hotel on the Isle Of Skye, Scotland. This Scottish hotel was built around 1830. Many early climbers chose this as a spot to start ascents of the Cuillin mountains. Blog post of interest to folks with ancestry, genealogy or Scottish Family Roots in Scotland who may wish to visit one day.



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Tour Scotland Video Illean Bithibh Sunndach Gaelic Song Perth Perthshire

Tour Scotland video of Illean Bithibh Sunndach gaelic song by the Horsecross Gle' singers on visit to Greyfriars Bar in Perth, Perthshire, Scotland. Emigration occurred at various times from Scotland to places in North America, Australia and New Zealand. The destination in this song is Cape Breton in Nova Scotia, Canada. This was at one time a popular destination for Gaels, and Cape Breton still has strong ties to Gaelic culture. The author of the song is looking forward to a new life in the new world but there’s also a hint of sadness about leaving the homeland

O 'illean bithibh sunndach
A-null air a bhòidse,
A' fàgail ar dùthcha
'S gun dùil ri tighinn beo innt'.
O ' illean bithibh sunndach
A-null air a bhòidse.

Gur mise tha fo ghruaimean
Bhith dol a shiubhal chuantan,
'S i soitheach dubh a' ghuail
Tha 'gam fhuadach thar m' eòlas.

Tha sinn dol dh' Aimeireaga
Far nach bi curam eil' oirnn'
Cho fad's a mhaireas coille dhuinn
An eilean Nòbha Scòtia.

'Illean cridheil togarrach
A nì an t-òl 's nach obadh e,
'S ann an Tobar Mhoire
Nì sinn coinneamh 's an tigh-òsta.

An gleann a' bharraich uaine
'S an lag am biodh an luachair,
Far 'm bi crodh-laoigh air bhuaile
'S na gruagaichean dol fòdhpa.

Tha sinn dol Cheap Breatainn
Gu taobh na h-abhainn Mhira,
Far am bi na smeòraich
A' seinn ruinn fad an t-samhraidh

Boys be in good spirits
Across on the voyage,
Leaving our country
Without hope of returning alive.
Boys be in good spirits
Across on the voyage.

I am despondent
To be about to travel oceans;
It is the black coal-fired vessel
That is banishing me from familiar territory.

We are going to America,
Where we shall have no more worry
As long as forests remain for us
In the isle of Nova Scotia.

Hearty enthusiastic lads
Who can take a drink and not refuse one,
It's in Tobermory
That we shall meet in the pub.

In the glen of the green branches,
In the hollow of the rushes,
Where dairy cows are in the fold
Being milked by young maidens.

We are going to Cape Breton,
Beside the Mira River
Where the thrushes will sing for us
All summer long.

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Tour Scotland Video O Horo 'Ille Dhuinn Gaelic Song St Andrew's Day Perth Perthshire

Tour Scotland video of O Horo 'Ille Dhuinn gaelic song by the Horsecross Gle' singers on St Andrew's Day ancestry visit to Greyfriars Bar in Perth, Perthshire, Scotland. This is a waulking song about a man going to battle in Holland at the time of the Napoleonic Wars.

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Tour Scotland Video Abu Chuibhl' Gaelic Song St Andrew's Day Perth Perthshire

Tour Scotland video of Abu Chuibhl' gaelic song by the Horsecross Gle' singers on St Andrew's Day ancestry visit to Greyfriars Bar in Perth, Perthshire, Scotland.

Abu chuibhl', abu chuibhl'
Abu, abu chuibhl' i
Abu chuibhl', abu chuibhl'
Abu, abu chuibhl' i

O cha téid mi fhìn a Ghlaschu
O cha'n fhalbh mi fhìn gu bràth
O cha téid mi fhìn a Ghlaschu
Leam bu ghasda Ceann a' Bhàigh

Sud far 'eil na balaich mhaiseach
Sud far 'eil na gaisgich threun
Sud far 'eil na balaich mhaiseach
A 'Sanndabhaig 's an Cul-ri-gréin

Ach cha ghabh mi fhìn na fearaibh
O cha ghabh mi duine chàch
Is mo leannan fhìn aig baile
Fear á Pabuil 's as an Aird

Spin the wheel, spin the wheel
Spin, oh spin the wheel
Spin the wheel, spin the wheel
Spin, oh spin the wheel

Oh I'll never go to Glasgow
Oh I'll never go away
Oh I'll never go to Glasgow
For me it's Bayhead, Stornoway

That's where you'll find the handsome fellows
They're the boys who're very brave
That's where you'll find the handsome fellows
In Sandwick and in Culrigrein

I'll not take just any fellow
For the rest I just don't care
Since my darling is at home
He comes from Bayble and from Aird

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Tour Scotland Video Sios Dhan An Abhainn Gaelic Song St Andrew's Day Perth Perthshire

Tour Scotland video of Sios Dhan An Abhainn gaelic song by the Horsecross Gle' singers on St Andrew's Day ancestry visit to Greyfriars Bar in Perth, Perthshire, Scotland. This song was made famous in by the film Brother Where Art Thou This is the Gaelic version

Nuair chaidh mi sios dhan an abhainn an dé,
'g ùrnaigh 's a'foghlum facal Dhé,
Is có a dhleasas crùn nan seud?
Mhic Dhé, stiùir mi nad cheum.

O, pheathraichean, rachamaid sios,
rachamaid sios, thugnamaid sios;
O, pheathraichean, rachamaid sios,
dh'ùrnaigh san abhainn le cheil'.

Nuair chaidh mi sios dhan an abhainn an dé,
'g ùrnaigh 's a'foghlum facal Dhé,
'S có gheibh an trusgan 's crùn nan seud?
Mhic Dhé, stiùir mi nad cheum.

O, bhràithrean, rachamaid sios,
rachamaid sios, thugnamaid sios;
O, bhràithrean, rachamaid sios,
dh'ùrnaigh san abhainn le cheil'.

Nuair chaidh mi sios dhan an abhainn an dé,
'g ùrnaigh 's a'foghlum facal Dhé,
Is có a dhleasas crùn nan seud?
Mhic Dhé, stiùir mi nad cheum.

O, athraichean, rachamaid sios,
rachamaid sios, thugnamaid sios;
O, athraichean, rachamaid sios,
dh'ùrnaigh san abhainn le cheil'.

Nuair chaidh mi sios dhan an abhainn an dé,
'g ùrnaigh 's a'foghlum facal Dhé,
'S có gheibh an trusgan 's crùn nan seud?
Mhic Dhé, stiùir mi nad cheum.

Mhàthraichean, rachamaid sios,
thugnamaid sios, nach tig sibh sios?....

Mhàthraichean, rachamaid sios,
dh'ùrnaigh san abhainn le cheil'.

Nuair chaidh mi sios dhan an abhainn an dé,
'g ùrnaigh 's a'foghlum facal Dhé,
Is có a dhleasas crùn nan seud?
Mhic Dhé, stiùir mi nad cheum.

O, pheacaich, rachamaid sios,
rachamaid sios, thugnamaid sios;
O, pheacaich, rachamaid sios,
dh'ùrnaigh san abhainn le cheil'.

Nuair chaidh mi sios dhan an abhainn an dé,
'g ùrnaigh 's a'foghlum facal Dhé,
'S có gheibh an trusgan 's crùn nan seud?
Mhic Dhé, stiùir mi nad cheum

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Tour Scotland Videos Christmas Santa Fun Run Perth Perthshire

Tour Scotland video of Christmas Santa Fun Run on ancestry visit to Perth, Perthshire, Scotland. This first Santa Fun Run in Perth took place on Saturday 6th, December, 2014. 500 runners ran the 5k route which started outside the Perth Concert Hall and finished on the North Inch. The route included; Mill Street, Kinnoull Street, High Street, Tay Street, across Queens Bridge along Dundee Road, Gowrie Street then over the old Perth Bridge over the River Tay, ending with a circuit of the North Inch Park.





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Tour Scotland Video Christmas Torch Lit Parade Perth Perthshire

Tour Scotland video of the Christmas Torch Lit Parade led by Perth and District Pipe Band to the concert hall on ancestry visit to Perth, Perthshire, Scotland. Parade led by Perth and District Pipe Band to the concert hall on visit to Perth Perthshire. The parade started at Thimblerow and ended at Horsecross Plaza,

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Tour Scotland Video Outdoor Christmas Carols Service Perth Perthshire

Tour Scotland video of part of an outdoor Christmas Carols service by the Concert Hall at Horsecross Plaza on ancestry visit to Perth, Perthshire, Scotland.

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Tour Scotland Video Gaelic Mouth Music Song Perth Perthshire

Tour Scotland video of a gaelic mouth music song by the Horsecross Gle' singers on ancestry visit to Greyfriars Bar in Perth, Perthshire, Scotland. There are many examples in Gaelic tradition of the lively dance-songs known as Puirt-à-beul. Puirt-à-beul means 'tunes from the mouth' and they’re also known in English as mouth music. Puirt is the plural of the word port and so a single dance song would be known as a port-à-beul. These are not so much songs as instrumental tunes that are sung.

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Tour Scotland Video Violin Music Coffee Morning Perth Perthshire

Tour Scotland video of violin music at a coffee morning on ancestry visit to Perth, Perthshire, Scotland.

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Tour Scotland Video Arbroath Smokies Christmas Market Perth Perthshire

Tour Scotland video of cooking Arbroath Smokies at a Christmas Market in Perth, Perthshire, Scotland. Arbroath smokies are a type of lightly smoked small haddock with a particularly good flavour and texture. The bright yellow, coarsely flavoured smoked haddock sold in most supermarkets is not a very good substitute for the real thing.

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Old Photograph Station Road Moffat Scotland

Old photograph of a horse and cart on Station Road in Moffat in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. Moffat was a notable market in the wool trade, and this is commemorated with a statue of a ram by William Brodie in the town's marketplace. The ram was presented to the town by William Colvin, a local businessman, in 1875. From 1633 Moffat began to grow from a small village into a popular spa town. The infamous murderer and alleged grave robber William Hare may have stayed in the Black Bull Hotel during his escape to Ireland after turning King's evidence against William Burke. Robert Burns came for the waters and frequented the local bars. Blog post of interest to folks with ancestry, genealogy or Scottish Family Roots in Scotland who may wish to visit one day.



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Old Photograph Cadets HMS Caledonia Rosyth Fife Scotland

Old photograph of Cadets at HMS Caledonia in Rosyth, Fife, Scotland. HMS Caledonia was a shore based Royal Navy training establishment located within the naval dockyard at Rosyth, and was responsible for artificer apprentice training from 1937 to 1985, with many thousands of young men said to have undergone training at the establishment. Blog post of interest to folks with ancestry, genealogy or Scottish Family Roots in Scotland who may wish to visit one day.



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Old Photograph Crofter Carrying Peat Basket Isle Of Lewis Scotland

Old photograph of a crofter carrying a basket of Peat on the road to Stornoway, Isle of Lewis, Scotland. Lewis has a Presbyterian tradition and a rich history. It was once part of the Norse Kingdom of Mann and the Isles. Today, life is very different from elsewhere in Scotland, with Sabbath observance, the Gaelic language and peat cutting retaining more importance than elsewhere. Lewis has a rich cultural heritage as can be seen from its myths and legends as well as the local literary and musical traditions. Blog post of interest to folks with ancestry, genealogy or Scottish Family Roots in Scotland who may wish to visit one day.



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Old Photograph Egg Hunting Shetland Islands Scotland

Old photograph of hunting for eggs on the Shetland Islands, Scotland. For a population living in some of the harshest conditions in the British Isles, the eggs and the birds were an essential source of vitamin D and other essential nutrients. Gannet hunting was also an essential survival skill which gave the community a measure of independence, while gannet numbers were soaring. Blog post of interest to folks with ancestry, genealogy or Scottish Family Roots in Scotland who may wish to visit one day.



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Old Photograph Dalswinton House Scotland

Old photograph of Dalswinton House near Dumfries, Scotland. This Scottish mansion house was commissioned by Patrick Miller, born 1731, died 1815, sometime after 1785 when he bought the Dalswinton Estate. Miller, a banker, entrepreneur and inventor, became a friend and landlord of the poet Robert Burns whose Ellisland Farm was on the Dalswinton Estate. Blog post of interest to folks with ancestry, genealogy or Scottish Family Roots in Scotland who may wish to visit one day.



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Old Photographs Whale Shetland Islands Scotland

Old photograph of cutting up a whale at Ronas Voe, Shetland Islands, Scotland. A sizeable inlet in the northwest of the Shetland Mainland, the most substantial in the district of Northmavine, Ronas Voe penetrates that peninsula for 6 miles almost dividing it in two as it approaches Quey Firth to the east. Ronas Voe opens into the North Atlantic between The Faither and Ketligill Head. Two Norwegian owned whaling stations operated in Ronas Voe between 1903 and the outbreak of the First World War, when the catching of whales in British waters was suspended on the orders of the Admiralty. Blog post of interest to folks with ancestry, genealogy or Scottish Family Roots in Scotland who may wish to visit one day.

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Old Photograph Brydekirk Scotland

Old photograph of cottages in Brydekirk in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. The original village was called Bridechapel and was north west of what is now Brydekirk Mains farm. In 1507, over 500 years ago, it was known as Bridechapel, in 1517 Brydekyrk and in 1660 Brydekirk. It had its own water at St Brydes Well and the spring is still there 500 years later. In 1837, over 200 years ago the list of people in the village were, 1 minister, 2 clog makers, 1 cooper, 3 grocers and whisky spirit dealer, 4 mason builders, 1 miller, 1 tailor, 1 vinter, 1 flax dresser and 2 blacksmiths. Blog post of interest to folks with ancestry, genealogy or Scottish Family Roots in Scotland who may wish to visit one day.



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Old Photographs Kippford Scotland

Old photograph of people, cottages, shop and houses in Kippford in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. This is is a small village along the Solway coast. It stretches along the banks of the Urr estuary and in places is only one house wide. Kippford is a popular sailing village, with many small yachts moored in the tidal estuary of the River Urr, and events organised by the Solway Yacht Club. Kippford can only be accessed by car from Barnbarroch, passing by Craigieknowes Golf Course. Between Kippford and Rockcliffe lies the Mote of Mark, a hill fort. Victorian Kippford had interests in the granite quarrying industry. Blog post of interest to folks with ancestry, genealogy or Scottish Family Roots in Scotland who may wish to visit one day.



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Old Photograph Wallace Hall Academy Scotland

Old photograph of Wallace Hall Academy in Closeburn, South of Thornhill which is located north of Dumfries, Scotland. The original Wallace Hall was founded by John Wallace, a merchant in Glasgow and a native of Closeburn, who left £1.600 for the purpose of erecting the Academy in 1723. The deed specifies distinctly the object he had in view: " To teach the whole children of the united parish of Closeburn and Dalgarno that shall be put to learn English, Latin, Greek, writing, and arithmetic, or such of these as the scholars or their parents shall desire, and that gratis, without any fee or reward other than is hereby provided for him, excepting any gratuity that the parents of the children may, out of their own good will, think fit to give him."



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Old Photograph Bishop Hill Scotland

Old photograph of Bishop Hill from cottages in Lochgelly, Fife, Scotland. Lochgelly, a town in West Fife. It is separated from Cowdenbeath by the village of Lumphinnans. From the 1830s until the 1960s Lochgelly was a mining town. An area of Lochgelly was known as the Happy Lands, or Happy Valley. The town is served by Lochgelly railway station on the line between Edinburgh and Markinch. The town derives its name from the nearby body of water, Loch Gelly. The name comes from the Gaelic Loch Gheallaidh which, loosely translated, means Shining Waters or Loch of Brightness. Blog post of interest to folks with ancestry, genealogy or Scottish Family Roots in Scotland who may wish to visit one day.



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Old Photograph Union Terrace Gardens Aberdeen Scotland

Old photograph of people in Union Terrace Gardens in Aberdeen, Scotland. The sunken gardens opened to the public in 1879. The traditional industries in Aberdeen were fishing, paper making, shipbuilding, and textiles. Blog post of interest to folks with ancestry, genealogy or Scottish Family Roots in Scotland who may wish to visit one day.



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Old Photograph Horses And Coaches Loch Katrine Scotland

Old photograph of horses, coaches and tourists on the road by Loch Katrine, Trossachs, Scotland. This Scottish loch has always been a popular destination for tourists and day visitors from Glasgow and other nearby towns. The loch derives its name from the term cateran from the Gaelic ceathairne, meaning cattle thief. Historically this referred to a band of fighting men of a clan; hence the term applied to marauders or cattle-lifters, the most notorious of whom was Rob Roy MacGregor who was born at Glengyle House at the northern end of the Loch. It is the fictional setting of Sir Walter Scott's poem The Lady of the Lake. Blog post of interest to folks with ancestry, genealogy or Scottish Family Roots in Scotland who may wish to visit one day.



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Old Photographs Colquhoun Arms Hotel Luss Scotland

Old photograph of the Colquhoun Arms Hotel in Luss, by Loch Lomond, Scotland. The lands of the Clan Colquhoun were on the shores of Loch Lomond. During the reign of Alexander II of Scotland, Umphredus de Kilpatrick received from Malduin, Earl of Lennox, the estates of Colquhoun, Auchentorily and Dumbuck. The Clan Colquhoun chief's early stronghold was at Dunglass Castle, which is perched on a rocky promontory by the River Clyde. Dunglass was also close to the royal Dumbarton Castle, of which later chiefs of Clan Colquhoun were appointed governors and keepers. The chief's title was that of the Barony of Luss which came to the Colquhouns when Sir Robert of Colquhoun married the heiress of the Lord of Luss in about 1368. The Clan Colquhoun lands were particularly vulnerable to clan raids due to their strategic nature. In 1603 Alasdair MacGregor, of Clan MacGregor marched into Colquhoun territory with a force of over four hundred men. The chief of Clan Colquhoun had been granted a royal commission to suppress the MacGregors. Colquhoun assembled a force of five hundred foot and three hundred horse and advanced to Glen Fruin to repel the Highland raiders. MacGregor split his force in two and while the main MacGregor force and the Colquhouns engaged in combat the second MacGregor force attacked the Colquhouns from the rear. The Colquhouns were driven into the Moss of Auchingaich where their cavalry was useless and over two hundred Colquhouns were killed. At the end of the eighteenth century the chiefs of the two clans met and shook hands on the very site of the former slaughter.

In 1625 Sir John Colquhoun of Luss was created a Baronet of Nova Scotia. However in 1632 he was accused of absconding with his wife's sister, Lady Catherine Graham, daughter of the Earl of Montrose. He was accused of using sorcery and witchcraft and perhaps wisely he did not return to answer these charges. He became a fugitive and his estates were forfeited. Sir John's eldest son recovered the estates in 1646.

In 1703 Sir Humphrey Colquhoun, fifth Baronet represented Dunbartonshire in the last Scottish Parliament. He strongly opposed the Treaty of Union. He died without male issue and the title passed to his daughter's husband, James Grant of Pluscardine. However when Pluscardine's elder brother died he re-assumed the name of Grant. He was the ancestor of the Earls of Seafield and Barons of Strathspey, on whom the baronetcy devolved. The estate was succeeded to by Sir James Grant Colquhoun who was the fourth son of James Grant and Ann Colquhoun. He built the mansion of Rossdhu which remains the seat of the chiefs of Clan Colquhoun.





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Old Photographs Balgrayhill Road Springburn Glasgow Scotland

Old photograph of shops, buildings, Trams, and people on Balgrayhill Road in Springburn in Glasgow, Scotland.



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Old Photograph Parkhead Cross Glasgow Scotland

Old photograph of shops, buildings, people and Tram on Parkhead Cross, Glasgow, Scotland. Parkhead is a district in the East End of Glasgow. Its name comes from a small weaving hamlet at the meeting place of the Great Eastern Road, now the Gallowgate and Tollcross Road, and Westmuir Street. Duke Street and Springfield Road also meet there, to form a turreted Edwardian five way junction at Parkhead Cross. Glasgow's Eastern Necropolis was laid out in 1847 beside the Gallowgate. The area flourished with the discovery of coal in 1837 and grew into an industrial centre. In 1897 William Beardmore and Company became famous with the production of high grade steel and castings at the local Parkhead Forge, founded about 1837 and extended between 1884 and 1914. After years of decline, the massive plant was closed in 1976.





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Old Photograph Yachting Pond Ayr Scotland

Old photograph of boys by the yachting pond in Ayr, Ayrshire, Scotland. Ayr Model Yacht Sailing and Power Club was formed on 8th March 1910 at a public meeting held in the YMCA rooms, Hight Street, Ayr. Ayr Town Council had begun building a model yachting pond at Newton Park, and that had prompted the meeting which led to the formation of a yachting club. Blog post of interest to folks with ancestry, genealogy or Scottish Family Roots in Scotland who may wish to visit one day.



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