Old Photograph Mill And Cottage Isle of Gigha Scotland

Old photograph of a Mill and cottage on the Isle of Gigha, a small island off the West coast of Kintyre, in Argyll, Scotland. Gigha has a long history, having been inhabited continuously since prehistoric times. It may have had an important role during the Kingdom of Dalriada and is the ancestral home of Clan MacNeill. It fell under the control of the Norse and the Lords of the Isles before becoming incorporated into modern Scotland and saw a variety of conflicts during the medieval period. The population of Gigha peaked at over 700 in the eighteenth century, but during the 20th century the island had numerous owners, which caused various problems in developing the island. By the beginning of the 21st century resident numbers had fallen to only 98. However a community buy out has transformed the island, which now has a growing population and a variety of new commercial activities to complement farming and tourism.



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Old Photograph Cromwell Street Stornoway Scotland

Old photograph of shops, people, buildings and horses and carts on Cromwell Street in Stornoway, Isle of Lewis, Scotland. Notable people born in Stornoway include; Colonel Colin Mackenzie, born 1754, died 8 May 1821, who was a Scottish army officer in the British East India Company who later became the first Surveyor General of India. He was a collector of antiquities and an orientalist. He surveyed southern India, making use of local interpreters and scholars to study religion, oral histories, inscriptions and other evidence initially out of personal interest and later as a surveyor. He was ordered to survey the Mysore region shortly after the British victory over Tipu Sultan in 1799 and produced the first maps of the region along with illustrations of the landscape and notes on archaeological landmarks. His collections consisting of thousands of manuscripts, inscriptions, translations, coins and paintings were acquired after his death by the India Office Library and are an important source for the study of Indian history. Sir Alexander Mackenzie, or MacKenzie, born 1764, died 12 March 1820, who was a Scottish explorer. He is known for his overland crossing of what is now Canada to reach the Pacific Ocean in 1793. This was the first east to west crossing of North America north of Mexico and preceded the Lewis and Clark expedition by 10 years.





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Old Photograph Fishwives Stornoway Scotland

Old photograph of fishwives gutting herring by the harbour in Stornoway, Isle of Lewis, Scotland. This Scottish town was founded by Vikings in the early 9th century, under the name Stjórnavágr. This town, and what eventually became its present day version, grew up around a sheltered natural harbour well placed at a central point on the island for fishing boats and for the convenience of people from all over the island, to arrive at the port of Stornoway, either by family boat or horse drawn coach for ongoing travel and trade with the mainland of Scotland and to all points south.





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Old Photograph Post Office Kilbirnie Scotland

Old photograph of the Post Office in Kilbirnie in North Ayrshire, Scotland.

James Jameson was born in Kilbirnie on 15 August 1837. He was a notable British army surgeon during the late 19th century, seeing service during the Franco-Prussian War and heading the Army Medical Services from 1896 to 1901, during which time the Royal Army Medical Corps was established. He was educated at Glasgow University, and entered the Army as a staff assistant surgeon in 1857. He saw service in Canada in 1862 and in Trinidad in 1870, where he was promoted to Surgeon for service during a yellow fever epidemic. He commanded a division of the English Ambulance during the Franco Prussian War from 1870 to 1871 and was promoted to Surgeon Major in 1873. He was appointed Brigade Surgeon in 1883, deputy Surgeon General in 1888, and Surgeon Major General in 1893. In 1896, he succeeded Sir William MacKinnon as Director General in 1896, retaining the post until his retirement in 1901, by which time he had overseen operations in the Second Boer War. Jameson married the daughter of the Reverend Robert David Cartwright, of Kingston, Canada, who survived him with five sons and a daughter. He died at his home in Eltham on 13 September 1904 and was buried with military honours in Greenwich Cemetery on 17 September 1904.



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Old Photograph Commercial Street Dundee Scotland

Old photograph of shops, people and buildings on Commercial Street in Dundee, Scotland. The upper part of Commercial Street was rebuilt in the re-planning of the old central area of the town. The eastern side was designed in an approximation to the Paris of 1876 but it was not finished until 1892. William Mackison, burgh engineer, began the design, in 1871. Its name indicates the considerable commercial activity in the town, especially in Trust business. The lower part of Commercial Street was laid out and partially completed by the Town Council in 1834, chiefly to give easy access to Exchange Street.



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