Harris families on Hebrides People

From Hebrides People (www.hebridespeople.com)

Harris families revealed!

Northton Heritage Trust is happy to announce that the second instalment of their www.hebridespeople.com database is now available. The first stage was the publication of the emigrant database, and this has now been followed with the database for families connected with the Isle of Harris, Berneray and St Kilda.

The site works on the principle of purchasing credits, which will be familiar to those who have used the scotlandspeople website. Entering a name will show all persons of that name on the database, their date of birth and parish of birth, and by choosing the appropriate entry you can find access directly to place of birth, parents (where known) date and place of marriage and death, together with a note of where that person appears in the census records from 1841 to 1901. Dates are only shown as years, but with this information exact dates and certificates etc. can be accessed from scotlandspeople if desired.

The database also allows access to two further unique features - family notes and family sheets. These take the researcher beyond research into individual persons to research into whole families. The family notes give a summary of the family history. They are based on the 1851 census as a datum-line, working back as far as possible – usually to the generation born in about 1750/60, and forward as far as 1920. The family sheets are hand-written work-sheets, compiled by Bill Lawson for each family, showing the lines of descent in the male line, together with cross referencing of the female line to their spouses’ family sheets. There is also a gazetteer available, with a summarised history of each township for those less familiar with Harris.

So there we have stage 2 of the database. Stage 3, comprising the families of the Point peninsula in Lewis should be ready soon, and it is hoped to gradually add all the other parishes of the Outer Hebrides over the next few years.

The project is funded by HIE, LEADER Innse Gall, Heritage Lottery Fund and Comunn na Gaidhlig. The website has been created and managed by Reefnet Ltd.

(With thanks to Bill and Chris Lawson)

Chris

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