Old Photograph Katie Wearie's Tree Linlithgow Scotland

Old photograph of Katie Wearie's tree in Linlithgow, Scotland. According to local folklore, Katie used to herd cattle, probably sometime in the early 19th Century. Legend has it that she would rest beneath the willow tree at the West Port on a warm day and was heard to say “ Katie’s Weary. ” 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 Shawlands Cross Glasgow Scotland

Old photograph of Shawlands Cross, Glasgow, Scotland. Shawlands is a district of Glasgow, located less than 2 miles south of the River Clyde. Neighbouring districts include the areas of Crossmyloof, Langside and Pollokshaws with Shawlands itself overlapping the Glasgow City. Within walking distance of Shawlands is Queens Park, acquired in 1857 and designed by the world renowned Sir Joseph Paxton, also responsible for noted public parks in London, Liverpool, Birkenhead and the grounds of the Spa Buildings at Scarborough, England. The park was dedicated to the memory of Mary, Queen of Scots and not Queen Victoria.



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Old Photograph Finnieston Cross Glasgow Scotland

Old photograph of shops, people and Tram at Finnieston Cross, Glasgow, Scotland. The village of Finnieston was established in 1768 on the lands of Stobcross by Matthew Orr, the owner of Stobcross House. Orr named the new village " Finnieston " in honour of the Reverend John Finnie, who had been his tutor.

Orr is a surname common throughout the English speaking world, but especially in Scotland, Ulster, the United States, Canada, and northern England. The name is considered to have numerous origins: such as being derived from an Old Norse byname; a Gaelic nickname; and an Old English topographical name, or similar place-name. In Scotland, the name is first known to have been recorded in Renfrewshire. A tradition of some of the Orrs in Northern Ireland has it that they were descended from outlawed brothers whose original family name was McLean; they crossed this river and then made their way by boat to Donaghadee in County Down in the early 17th century. Having escaped persecution, they took river's name as their surname and settled in Newtownards.



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Old Photograph Ury House Scotland

Old photograph of Ury House by Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. This Scottish mansion house was built in the Elizabethan style in 1885 by Alexander Baird. Originally the estate belonged to the Frasers, then the Hays starting in 1413, but eventually became the property of the Earl Marischal. Over the years Ury has been rebuilt three times. In early times the property was known as Urie. In the 17th century Ury was established as the North East Scotland headquarters of the Quaker organisation by David Barclay. Bronze Age cists have been found at the site of the Ury House. Roman legions marched from Raedykes to Normandykes Roman Camp nearby as they used higher ground evading the bogs of Red Moss and low lying mosses associated with the Burn of Muchalls. That march used the Elsick Mounth, one of the ancient tracks crossing the Mounth of the Grampian Mountains, lying west of Netherley.



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Old Photograph Ross Memorial Hospital Dingwall Scotland

Old photograph of nurses outside the Ross Memorial Hospital in Dingwall, Scotland. James Alexander MacDonald was a 20th century Scottish botanist and plant pathologist. Friends and family called him Jay MacDonald. He was born in Dingwall on 17 June 1908 one of five children to Eliza Kelman and James Alexander MacDonald, HM Chief Inspector of Schools for the Scottish Highlands and a former Rector of Leith Academy in Edinburgh. He was home educated by his mother at Kilmacolm then at Inverness Royal Academy. He then went to Edinburgh University to study Agriculture but then decided to also study botany as a joint degree. He continued as a postgraduate in Botany, gaining his doctorate in 1935. On gaining his doctorate he began lecturing in Botany at St Andrews University in Fife and was given his professorship in 1961. In the same year he became the joint founder and official Keeper of St Andrews Botanic Garden. In the Second World War he served as a Flight Lieutenant in the RAF in India and Malaya, mainly working in radar. In 1940 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. His proposers were Robert James Douglas Graham, Sir William Wright Smith, Sir D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson and Alexander Nelson. He served as Vice President of the Society from 1961 to 1964. He retired in 1977. Although sickly in his early life he developed a love of active sports by his late teens, including rugby and hockey. By later life he had also developed a love of golf, and was ideally located in St Andrews for this pastime. He was also a keen angler. He died in St Andrews on 26 April 1997.



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