Scottish burgess records added to FindmyPast

The latest records added to FindmyPast (www.findmypast.co.uk), including Scottish burgess records sourced from the Scottish Genealogy Society in Edinburgh:

Scotland, Burgess & Guild Brethren Index
Did your Scottish ancestors become masters of their trade? Uncover details of their lives with over 64,000 records spanning nearly 650 years of occupational records. Each transcript will reveal a combination of their occupation or trade, dates, locations and notable life events.

Medieval and early Scottish burghs were controlled by a minority of residents known as burgesses. The burgesses were merchants and craftsmen of the burgh, they had the right to elect the Town Council, and the merchants were more influential. The other residents of the burgh were 'unfree' and had no vote of special privileges from living in a town. Affluent householders such as chamberlains and lawyers were often 'unfreemen', although many were awarded the status of burgess 'gratis', this conferred citizenship but little else. Widows who were respectable, may also be awarded this citizenship. Becoming a burgess was viewed as the key to social position, it was evidence of economic success within the community.

(COMMENT: Check out this month's edition of Who Do You Think You Are? magazine for an article by yours truly on freeman/burgess appointment records!) 

Scotland, People of Banffshire & Moray 1150-1857
Over 23,000 additional records have been added to the collection. The names in this collection have been discovered across a number of sources. Each record will tell you the original source and a description of the text.

British India Office Deaths & Burials
Over 12,000 additional records have been added to our collection of India Office Deaths & Burials. Discover details about the deaths of your ancestors who died in the UK, British India, Burma and other territories connected to the India office (St Helena, Sumatra, Kuwait, Aden, Penang, Macao). Discover where, when and in some cases how they died as well as where they were buried.

1939 Register Update
Over 37,000 additional 'open' records have been added to the 1939 Register. Since the Register was launched, Findmypast has matched nearly five million 'closed records' to multiple data sources to correctly confirm the date and location of death for individuals recorded.

International Records Update – Bahamas
Discover your Bahamian ancestors in this online index of registered births from the British Crown Colony of The Bahamas, from 1850-1891. Birth records are essential to expanding your family tree. There are tens of thousands of records in this collection, giving information not only about relatives born in the Bahamas but also their parents.

British & Irish Newspaper Update
This week we have added 87,226 new pages to our collection We are delighted to welcome four new titles to our ever-growing collection, including an extensive run of Worcestershire publication the Evesham Standard & West Midland Observer, two Northern Ireland titles (the Protestant Watchman & Lurgan Gazette and the Ulster Examiner & Northern Star), as well as pages from West Sussex publication the Crawley News. This week also sees updates to nine of our existing titles covering various English counties, including five London publications. We have also updated the Crewe Guardian and the Reading Evening Post.

Further details ands links at https://blog.findmypast.co.uk/findmypast-friday-2635914256.html

Chris

My next Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the OPRs course starts May 13th 2019 - see https://www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=302. Details of my genealogical research service are available at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. For my Scottish and Irish themed books, visit https://britishgenes.blogspot.com/p/my-books.html. Further news published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Scottish Genealogy Society classes for 2016

The Edinburgh based Scottish Genealogy Society (www.scotsgenealogy.com) has the following free classes planned for the rest of this year:

17 September
Beginners: This module is just what it says - for beginners. Ken Nisbet, who has many years experience in researching family history will take this class.
Places Available

15 October
Pre-1841 Population lists: Bruce Bishop has expanded and updated his previous talks on this subject and will show where to find them and what they contain.
Places Available

12 November
WWI: Ken Nisbet, our resident expert on all things military, will take this class. Ken will show what resources are available both online and offline to begin and to further your research. However, this talk will be more focused on army records than previously.
Places Available

3 December
Health and history: Using medical records in genealogical research. Health records can be another source of information to help further your family’s history but they are not found on the usual websites, etc. Louise Williams, Archivist will show what these records contain and where to find them.
Places Available

Further details can be found via the society's website.

Chris

For details on my genealogy guide books, including A Decade of Irish Centenaries: Researching Ireland 1912-1923, Discover Scottish Church Records (2nd edition), Discover Irish Land Records and Down and Out in Scotland: Researching Ancestral Crisis, please visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html.

More on Scottish Valuation Roll from 1875

A quick note from Ken Nisbet of the Scottish Genealogy Society (www.scotsgenealogy.com), concerning the 1875 Valuation Roll on ScotlandsPeople (www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk):

Hi Chris, as you are aware the 1875 valuation rolls index is free to use. As you know the index does not tell you who owned the property if your relative was a tenant, a good way to do this is to go to the box marked Place and put the name of the street or farm name etc. in, this will tell you who owned the property

For example I know my relatives lived at Broomhill in the Parish of Cawdor Nairnshire. I got to the county, put in Nairnshire, then parish Cawdor, and Place Broomhill. It states there are 5 entries. I then click to access the index and it tells me that Earl Cawdor owned all the properties and the the names of the tenants including my relative Charles Macarthur who rented the farm.

(With thanks to Ken)

Chris

Now available for UK research is the new second edition of the best selling Tracing Your Family History on the Internet: A Guide for Family Historians, whilst my new book British and Irish Newspapers is also now out. And please consider purchasing the great new version of Caledonia by The Libations at 79p via www.caledonia2014.com - all profits go to help fund Scottish foodbanks

Scottish Genealogy Society - temporary closure for building work

From the Scottish Genealogy Society, news about its library in Edinburgh:

TEMPORARY CLOSURE OF THE FAMILY HISTORY CENTRE AND LIBRARY

The library will close at the end of the day on Thursday 19 December 2013 and will remain closed until the end of January 2014.

The extended closure is due to the necessity of getting a small amount of building work done in the library.

Whilst we realise that this may be a disappoinment to those intending to visit the library we feel that this is the least disruptive way of getting the work done, as part of it will be completed during our festive closure.

If the work is completed early, and we are able to reopen during January 2014, a notice will appear on the Society website to that effect.

The online shop and sales should not be affected and orders may be placed in the usual way.

For full details and updates, visit the society's website at http://scotsgenealogy.com

Chris

My latest book, Discover Scottish Civil Registration Records, is now available from http://www.gould.com.au (print) and http://www.gen-ebooks.com/unlock-the-past.html (ebook), whilst Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet is available at http://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Irish-History-on-the-Internet/p/3889/.

Scottish Genealogy Society - conference and new RCE book

A huge thank you to the Scottish Genealogy Society yesterday for their hospitality at Augustine United Church in Edinburgh, where the 60th anniversary conference was held. I gave a talk on the use (and for many, existence!) of Irish records used in genealogy, with an emphasis on the north of Ireland. I had a great reception, it was a wonderful venue, and I got a bottle of whisky for my troubles, which goes to show how awfully civilised the good folk of Edinburgh are! lol

I also spoke with Ken Nisbet, who have the preceding talk before me on Australian sources, and he kindly gave me a copy of a new book that he has just written, published by the society, entitled The Register of Corrected Entries and Its Use for Family History. It's a short guide at some 35 pages in total, but provides an in depth look at many examples of why entries were made into the register used to note corrections for entries first made noted in the statutory birth, marriage and death registers. There are separate sections dealing with examples made for each category, some slightly more unusual than other! At just £3, this is an excellent guide, available from http://scotsgenealogy.com.

(With thanks to all at the SGS)

Chris

My latest book, Discover Scottish Civil Registration Records, is now available from http://www.gould.com.au (print) and http://www.gen-ebooks.com/unlock-the-past.html (ebook), whilst Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet is available at http://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Irish-History-on-the-Internet/p/3889/. My next Pharos Scottish course, Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the OPRs, starts Nov 13th - see http://pharostutors.com.

Scottish Genealogy Society - 60th anniversary conference

I'll be participating at the Scottish Genealogy Society's anniversary conference next Saturday - the following is an outline of what to expect on the day, with details on how to book tickets.

Scottish Genealogy Society 60th Anniversary Conference
5 October 2013
“Scots on the Move”
Tracing records of our Scottish ancestors who emigrated

The Scottish Genealogy Society will be holding a special family history conference to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Society. The theme of the Conference will be “Scots on the move - tracing records of our Scottish ancestors who emigrated”.

The all-day Conference will be held at the Augustine United Church on George IV Bridge, Edinburgh and will feature talks by Ken Nisbet on Australasia, Chris Paton on Ireland, Eric Graham on Crossing the Atlantic before steam and Naomi Tarrant on English records. Delegates will also have an opportunity to consult specialists on other aspects of family history - such as military and maritime records, OPRs, censuses, land records, European sources etc.

The cost of the Conference will be £15 per delegate. Book early to avoid disappointment.

Bookings forms available on our website: www.scotsgenealogy.com; by email to enquiries@scotsgenealogy.com, by telephone on 0131 220 3677, by post or in person at the Society’s Family History Centre at 15 Victoria Terrace, Edinburgh EH1 2JL

Chris

My latest book, Discover Scottish Civil Registration Records, is now available from http://www.gould.com.au (print) and http://www.gen-ebooks.com/unlock-the-past.html (ebook), whilst Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet is available at http://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Irish-History-on-the-Internet/p/3889/. My next Pharos Scottish course, Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the OPRs, starts Nov 13th - see http://pharostutors.com.

Scottish Genealogy Society news

From the Scottish Genealogy Society (www.scotsgenealogy.com):

At a loose end on a Saturday?
We are experiencing difficulties staffing the library on Saturdays, particularly in the afternoons. Anyone who would like to volunteer to be a helper is very welcome to come along. Please call our Librarian (Moira Stevenson) on 0131 220 3677or e-mail: enquiries@scotsgenealogy.com

Next Meeting
Our next meeting will be our AGM on Monday 25 February. This is your opportunity to come along and meet members of the Council and put forward any suggestions (or grievances!) you may have. The AGM will be followed by a talk by Richard Torrance on the history of 15 Victoria Terrace and the surrounding area. As always, the meeting starts at 7.30pm at the Augustine United Church Centre at 41 George IV Bridge (with tea, coffee and biscuits afterwards).

Family History Workshops
The next class in our Family History programme will take place on Saturday 2 March. Joy Dodd will give a talk on Taxation Records and how they can help with your research. As before, the class starts at 10am and lasts approx. two hours. There is a charge of £10 for the class.

Spring Fling! Arts Fair for Older People
Organised by the South Edinburgh Arts Fair Association, the Spring Fling! Arts Fair for Older People will take place at Polwarth Parish Church on Saturday 9 March 2013. This is a free event and will have exhibitors showing off their arts/crafts etc. The SGS has taken a table to publicise the Society and will also be giving a short talk. I hope many of you will come along to support this worthwhile event.

Having problems with the new www.familysearch.org set up?
Anyone who has been researching their family tree for a few years will be more than familiar with familysearch.org. However, over the past year or two the set-up of this website has changed substantially and is not quite as 'user friendly' as before. We still have the familysearch.org discs here in the library, which can offer better results when searching for family relationships.

Edinburgh City Libraries
Edinburgh City Libraries has e-mailed us regarding its 'Our Town Stories' and 'Capital Collections' websites:

Our Town Stories (www.ourtownstories.co.uk is an attractive new interactive website from Edinburgh Libraries. It explores the history of Edinburgh through images, maps and stories from 1700 to the present day. Users can access heritage material from our own rich collections but also the online resources we offer for local and family historians, including SCRAN and the Scotsman Digital Archive. Our Town Stories will appeal to anyone interested in the history of Edinburgh. You can:

• Use the map to find images of Edinburgh both past and present
• Discover how familiar places like George Street, the Meadows and North Bridge have changed through Then and Now images
• Explore historical maps tracing Edinburgh's development since 1700
• Read stories of Edinburgh's people, places and city life; including the story of Greyfriars Bobby; the hidden gems of Edinburgh's literary connections and the stories behind some of Edinburgh's famous landmarks and monuments.

You might also want to take a look at Capital Collections www.capitalcollections.org.uk
www.capitalcollections.org.uk which has recently changed. It still has the same amazing images of Edinburgh and beyond but there are now more ways to enjoy them. You can explore images of Edinburgh by date or on a map interface. Capital Collections has always had fabulous exhibitions but now you can scroll through all the images in an exhibition with ease.

For anyone supporting learning, Whose Town? Edinburgh Past and Present, our interactive resource for schools (www.edinburgh.gov.uk/whosetown tells the story of Edinburgh through the real life stories of 14 people who lived in Edinburgh from 1850-1950. It is available as a free CD or on Glow. Contact informationdigital@edinburgh.gov.uk for more information.

(With thanks to Ken Nisbet)

Chris

Pre-order my new book, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet, through Pen and Sword (30 April 2013), or purchase early at Who Do You Think You Are Live 2013 in London. For my other genealogy books, please visit  http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html; whilst for my online Scottish based genealogy courses please visit the Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd site.

Scottish Genealogy Society news

From the Scottish Genealogy Society (www.scotsgenealogy.com):

New Server
As part of a major upgrade to our computer system, The SGS is having a new server installed in the Library over the weekend of Friday 7th to Sunday 9th December which may cause some disruption. It will still be open on Saturday 8th December but warns that there will be no access to computers.

Festive Holidays
The SGS Library will be closed over the holiday period from close on Thursday 20 December and will re-open at 10.30am on Monday 7 January 2013.

Family History Classes
The next class in the Society's programme will be on Censuses and will take place on Saturday 12 January at 10am-12pm. Censuses are an invaluable source of information for family historians, giving details such as places of birth, occupations, etc. Ken Nisbet will show how they can be best used to further enhance your research. There are still places available for this class so if you are interested, please e-mail enquiries@scotsgenealogy.com or call 0131 220 3677 to book a place. There is a charge of £10 for this class.

New Syllabus
The first meeting in the Society's syllabus for 2013 will take place on Monday, 28 January when we will have a talk by David Affleck entitled "The History of Gladsmuir Curling Club and Links with the SGS Library". As usual, the meeting will be held at Augustine United Church, 41 George IV Bridge, Edinburgh and will commence at 7.30pm. Entry for members is free but there is a small charge of £2 for non-members.

Family History Fairs & Conferences
The next SAFHS Annual Conference is entitled "Comings and Goings". Organised by the Borders Family History Society, it will take place on Saturday 11th May at the Scottish Borders Campus, Nether Road, Galashiels. The talks will be on Scots migration, entitled: "Scotland and Migration"; "Border Shepherds in Caithness"; "Emigration & Immigration Records on the Internet"; "Droving and Drove Roads in Northumberland"; and "Exploring the Buccleuch Archives". As always a Family History Fair will run alongside the Conference with opportunities to meet experts from other Family History Societies, Archives, etc. Booking for the Conference is essential and you should contact the Borders FHS to book direct: www.bordersfhs.org.uk/BFHSConference.asp. The Family History Fair will be open to everyone.

Also:
Lanarkshire Family History Society (http://lanarkshirefhs.org.uk) is planning a Family History Fair and Conference next year. As part of "Celebrating Lanarkshire 2013" this event will be held on Saturday 24 August 2013 in Motherwell Concert Hall & Theatre and will include local/social history as well as family history.

The Scottish Genealogy Society is holding a 60th anniversary Family History Conference on Saturday, 5th October at the Augustine United Church, George IV Bridge, Edinburgh. Speakers have still to be confirmed.

Chris

Having a Christmas present crisis?! Check out my range of genealogy books at http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html - perfect for the family historian's Christmas stocking...! Also now out - new Kindle edition of Tracing Your Family History on the Internet, from http://tinyurl.com/d3vqtz5

Scottish Genealogy Society classes programme

The Scottish Genealogy Society (www.scotsgenealogy.com) has an update for its forthcoming programme of classes:

Programme of Classes

The Society has put together a programme of family history classes which go beyond the usual birth, marriage and death information. The schedule has now been updated (see below). As already mentioned, the classes will be held mostly on a monthly basis at our Family History Centre at 15 Victoria Terrace and will cost £10 each.

The schedule is as follows-all dates are Saturdays from 10am-12pm:

2012

3 November Maritime: John Stevenson, our resident expert on all things maritime, can help if you have a query on anything regarding the Royal or Merchant Navy. This will be in the form of a workshop, so come along with your questions and research so far.

1 December Emigrants: With so many ancestors emigrating to the far flung corners of the British Commonwealth and beyond, this is an important part of Scottish family history. Ken Nisbet can help you find the best sources of information to help you trace their whereabouts.

2013:

12 January Census: The censuses are an invaluable source of information - giving details such as places of birth, occupations, etc. Ken Nisbet can show how they can be best used by family historians.

2 February Scottish Handwriting: Just when you think it's great because you have researched your family back into the 18th Century, you suddenly find the writing on the OPRs changes and you can't read it! Kirsty Stewart, who was involved in setting up the Scottish Handwriting website, will give a talk on how to decipher it.

16 February Beginners: This class is just what it says -for beginners.
The lecturer will be Ken Nisbet who has many years of experience in researching family history.

2 March Taxation Records: Joy Dodd will give a talk on how these records can help with your research.

6 April Military Records: Our resident expert on all things military - Ken Nisbet - will give a talk about military records - where to find them, how to interpret them, etc.

4 May Land Records: Did your ancestors own property? Then this class can help you find out how to source such information. The speaker for this class will be Gregory Lauder-Frost.

1 June Beginners: with Ken Nisbet - another class as per above.

(With thanks to Ken Nisbet)

Chris

Scotland 1750-1850 - 5 weeks online Pharos course, £45.99, taught by Chris Paton from 2 NOV 2012 - see www.pharostutors.com
New book: It's Perthshire 1866 - there's been a murder... www.thehistorypress.co.uk/products/The-Mount-Stewart-Murder.aspx (from June 12th 2012)

Scottish Genealogy Society journal index

An index to all articles printed in the Scottish Genealogy Society's journal from 1987 can be consulted online through the National Library of Scotland's Scottish Bibliographies Online database at http://sbo.nls.uk/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?DB=local&PAGE=First. An alphabetical list of articles is also available at http://sbo.nls.uk/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?DB=local&SL=none&Search_Arg=scottish+genealogist&SL=None&Search_Code=TALL&CNT=50

Indexes to earlier pre-1987 editions can be purchased from the Scottish Genealogy Society at www.scotsgenealogy.com.

(With thanks to Chris Halliday @scotsgen on Twitter and the NLS at http://blogs.nls.uk/modernscot/?p=781)

UPDATE: Put that purse or wallet away! From Ken Nisbet of the SGS - "if you go to the download secion of the societies web-site the index from all journals from 1953-2011 can be downloaded. The download section also has information on taxes, the census, the Black Book and the sales catalogue". The download section is at www.scotsgenealogy.com/Downloads.aspx

(With thanks to Ken)

Chris

British GENES on Facebook at www.facebook.com/BritishGENES and Twitter @chrismpaton

Scotland's Greatest Story research service www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk and www.facebook.com/ScottishGenealogyResearch

Scottish Genealogy Society news

News from the Scottish Genealogy Society (http://scotsgenealogy.com):

Next Meeting
Our next meeting, on Monday, 16 April, will include a talk about the people and history of Corstorphine Village here in Edinburgh and will be given by Mr Ian Anderson of the Corstorphine Trust. As usual the meeting will start at 7.30pm at the Augustine United Church Centre, 41 George IV Bridge, Edinburgh. Entry is free to members of the Society with a charge of £2 for non-members who wish to attend.

SAFHS Conference 2012
Another reminder that the 23rd Annual Conference of the Scottish Association of Family History Societies will take place on Saturday 21 April. This year's event will be hosted jointly by Tay Valley Family History Society and Fife Family History Society, and will be held within the University of Dundee complex. The theme for the Conference will be "Crops, Cloth, Cod 'n' Coal", and it will be held in the D'Arcy Thomson Lecture Theatre in the tower Block of the Dundee University. The Book Fair will be in the Bonar Halls, Dundee University. For further information, please contact SAFHS (www.safhs.org.uk) or either of the host societies.

Family History Taster Sessions
We have decided to host one last FREE family history taster session. This will take place here at Victoria Terrace on Saturday, 28 April and will commence at 10am to 12pm. If anyone is interested in coming along, or knows someone who might be interested in starting their family tree, please let us know as places are limited. Contact: publicity@scotsgenealogy.com.

(With thanks to Ken Nisbet)

Chris

British GENES on Facebook at www.facebook.com/BritishGENES and Twitter @chrismpaton

Scotland's Greatest Story research service www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk and www.facebook.com/ScottishGenealogyResearch

Scottish Genealogy Society news

Several items of news from the Scottish Genealogy Society (http://scotsgenealogy.com/) in Edinburgh:

Next meeting
Our next meeting will take place on Monday, 26 March. The talk will be given by Elaine MacGregor about the Families in British India Society (FIBIS). As always, the talk will start at 7.30pm in Augustine United Church Centre, 41 George IV Bridge, Edinburgh. Members are free to this event but if anyone has friends who would like to come along, there is a small charge of £2 for non-members.

ScotlandsPeople Vouchers
We are pleased to say that we now have these available each day for selling over the counter to Members at Victoria Terrace. Our Sales Team will however continue to post out vouchers for those who cannot come in. The current price is £5.70 per voucher. (NB: These are discount vouchers which can also be purchased at certain libraries in Scotland - Chris)

New Publications
Our latest publication - Berwickshire Miscellany - has just been published this week. Transcribed by Mr Russell Cockburn from Kirk Session Records held at the National Records of Scotland, it includes: Ayton Register of Certificates for Communion 1829-1848 (all indexed), Ayton Register of Communion Certificates Received 1830-1839, Chirnside Male Head of Families in Communion 1834-1837 and Chirnside Register of Interments 1817-1841. This publication (and other recent similar books) is a great source of information, helping to keep track of people's movements from one parish to another both before and in between the recorded censuses. Priced at £4.50, it is available from our website: www.scotsgenealogy.com/shop or call 0131 220 3677.

Midlothian Archives
For those with family connections in Midlothian, the Council there have produced a new guide to their archive collection. The guide will be launched at a free event at Dalkeith Arts Centre on Saturday, 24 March, starting at 10am. There will also be a short talk about the collection - which holds items such as school logbooks, valuation rolls and family & estate papers (some dating from the 1700s). Refreshments will also be available.

SAFHS Conference 2012
A reminder that the 23rd Annual Conference of the Scottish Association of Family History Societies will take place on Saturday 21 April. This year's event will be hosted jointly by Tay Valley Family History Society and Fife Family History Society, and will be held within the University of Dundee complex. The theme for the Conference will be "Crops, Cloth, Cod 'n' Coal", and it will be held in the D'Arcy Thomson Lecture Theatre in the tower Block of the Dundee University. The Book Fair will be in the Bonar Halls, Dundee University. For further information, please contact SAFHS (www.safhs.org.uk) or either of the host societies.


May Meeting
There are still places available for our outing on Saturday, 26 May which this year is a visit to The Peace Garden at St John's Church, Princes Street, with a guided tour given by Mr Angus Mitchell. However, numbers are limited so booking is essential.

FIBIS
In addition to the talk next Monday, FIBIS have also arranged to have a 'Hit a Brick Wall' Workshop and Seminar on the British in India on Saturday, 31 March, and this will take place in the Kinross Museum (situated at the Loch Leven Community Campus, Kinross, KY13 8FQ). This is restricted to 25 delegates, so booking is essential. The programme is as follows:

10.00-12.00 - 'Hit a brick wall' surgery
12.00-12.45 - Lunch break and general discussions
12.45- 1.00 - Introduction by Professor David M Munro, MBE - Chairman, Kinross (Marshall) Museum Trust, about their holdings
1.00-1.30 - PowerPoint presentation by Graham Holton from the University of Strathclyde
1.30.-2.00 - PowerPoint presentation by Caroline Brown from the University of Dundee
2.00-2.15 - Break
2.15-2.45 - PowerPoint presentation by Peter Bailey, FIBIS Chairman, on the Scots in India
2.45-3.00 - Q&A

There is no charge for the actual workshop and seminar, but delegates may be asked to donate a small amount to the Kinross Museum for hosting the event. There is apparently plenty of parking and a sandwich bar and coffee machines in the foyer, or delegates can bring their own packed lunch. If anyone wishes to attend, please contact Elaine MacGregor of FIBIS (e-mail: sales@fibis.org). Also, Cheryl Lindsay (a FIBIS member) is coming from East Lothian and has kindly offered to pick up anyone (max of 3) en route - please let them know if you wish to be considered for this. 

(With thanks to Ken Nisbet)

Chris

British GENES on Facebook at www.facebook.com/BritishGENES and Twitter @chrismpaton
Scotland's Greatest Story research service www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk and www.facebook.com/ScottishGenealogyResearch

Edrom parish - testificates book

Borders Family History Society has news of a new book from the Scottish Genealogy Society entitled Edrom Parish - Certificates of Character - Given and Received. The book looks at the certificates, also known in Scotland as "tesitificates", which provide evidence of character for those moving to a new parish for work or other opportunities. The book covers the period 1797-1815 for those given such certificates from the minister of Edrom parish, and 1796-1854 for those who brought them to the parish from elsewhere.

For further details visit http://blog.bordersfhs.org.uk/2012/03/edrom-parish-certificates-of-character.html

(With thanks to Borders FHS) 

Chris