ScotlandsPeople access in Alloa, Clackmannanshire

On Friday I carried out some family history research in Alloa, Clackmannanshire, using the registrar's service for access to ScotlandsPeople, as well as some local resources. As with other local centres, Alloa offers unlimited access to the ScotlandsPeople records from 9am-4.30pm for a flat out fee of £15.

It was my first visit to the Family History Centre in the Registration office at the Speirs Centre, Primrose Place, Alloa, and I have to say that I was extremely impressed with the facility. It was not very busy, the ScotlandsPeople system worked perfectly (having experienced yet more disruption in Glasgow on this last Wednesday, this mattered!), and there was free wifi available.

The team were helpful with their local knowledge. I had one issue about boundaries, concerning a family who lived in Menstrie, Clackmannanshire, who workshipped in Logie, Perthshire, which they helped to resolve, as well as useful advice on poor law records for the area. 

All in all, a great service, and heartily recommended. To book a seat, visit https://www.clacks.gov.uk/culture/genealogy/.

For ScotlandsPeople access in Glasgow, Kilmarnock, Hawick, Inverness and Edinburgh visit https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/research/local-family-history-centres and https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/research/visit-us/scotlandspeople-centre.

A few pics from the day!

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.

Inverness Castle to become a family history centre?

The Sheriff Court in Inverness, located at Inverness Castle, is intending to relocate to a new site in the city once a location and funding has been secured. As such, Highland Council is keen to use the castle as a hub for cultural activities at the heart of the town.

There are several ideas on what can be done with the building, but an exciting option is to relocate the family history service and registrar's service from the current Highland Archive building and install it there, similar to the set up at centres such as the Burns Monument Centre in Kilmarnock, Ayrshire. Personally, I'd be delighted to see this - but then I'm possibly a little biased as my grandfather and great grandparents used to live at View Place, next door to the building!

To view the proposals for the future of the castle, please visit https://www.highlifehighland.com/castle-hill/ - to make your opinion known, and to add any further suggestions, visit the survey at https://www.highlifehighland.com/castle-hill/tell-us-what-you-think/.

(With thanks to Chris Halliday at Highland Life)

Chris

For details on my genealogy guide books, including my recently released Discover Irish Land Records and Down and Out in Scotland: Researching Ancestral Crisis, please visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html. My Pinterest account is at https://www.pinterest.com/chrismpaton/.

Speirs Centre to re-open soon in Alloa

The Alloa based Speirs Centre (www.clacksweb.org.uk/culture/alloaspeirscentre/) in Clackmannanshire will be re-opening after a £3.13 million refurbishment on Saturday 18th October. The newly redeveloped centre will host a new modern library, a local and family history centre, a visitors gateway for information regarding the heritage of Clackmannanshire, displays and exhibits, registration of births deaths and marriages, wi-fi and computers for public use, plus relaxation areas. There will be a community fun day to celebrate the opening, further details are at www.clacksweb.org.uk/document/4704.pdf.

Because of the opening, some useful details for the next two weeks... The Library and Leisure booking service at Lime Tree House will close at 5pm on Tuesday 7th October. The Registrars will be operating a limited service on Friday 17th October for death registrations only. (See www.clacksweb.org.uk/document/4553.pdf)

It is expected that the centre will be the latest area in Scotland to provide access to the ScotlandsPeople computer system, as currently available in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness, Kilmarnock and Hawick. More news on that hopefully soon!

(With thanks to Buzzy Garden)

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

Family History Centre at Highland Archives on Facebook

A quick plug for genie chum Chris Halliday, now working as a family history leader at the Family History Centre at Highland Archives. The centre now has a new Facebook page up and running at
www.facebook.com/FamilyHistoryCentreAtHighlandArchives which Chris and the team will be regularly posting updates to.

Highland Archive itself has a separate Facebook page at www.facebook.com/highlandarchives (although in the same building, the archive and family history service are separate bodies within the building).

Chris

My new book, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet, is now available from Pen and Sword. My Scottish land and church records ebooks are available at http://www.gen-ebooks.com/unlock-the-past.html, whilst my next Pharos Scottish course, Scottish Research Online, starts Sep 4th - see http://pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=102. Time to smash a few brick walls...!