Scottish Genealogy Society

27/07/2025

Important Notice – Friday Afternoon Closures at the Research Centre

Due to a combination of illness and summer holidays, we currently do not have enough volunteers to keep our Research Centre open on Friday afternoons. As a result, the Centre will be closed on Fridays from 1pm onwards until further notice.

We hope this will only be temporary—but we need your help to make that happen.

If you have a few hours to spare and would enjoy helping others with their family history research, we’d love to hear from you. Full training and support will be provided, and you don’t need to be an expert—just enthusiastic, friendly, and willing to learn.

If you’re interested or would like to know more, please send an email to chairman@anesfhs.org.uk.

Let’s work together to keep the Centre open and thriving!

27/07/2025

On the 15th of August our charity partner, Legion Scotland is hosting a service in the Scottish National War Memorial to commemorate the 80th anniversary of Victory in Japan leading to the end World War 2 at 11am.

This is a ticketed event with the tickets being available on the day at the Edinburgh Castle Esplanade from 9.30am – 10.15am.

This is a free event and will only allow access to the SNWM if you wish to visit the castle a ticket must be purchased from them.

If you have any questions please email events@legionscotland.org.uk

27/07/2025

Cardiganshire ancestors difficult to find in 1841 census? Check out FreeCEN! 15.5k new records were added to the database last month. Search now at www.freecen.org.uk

27/07/2025

Brigadier General John Monash, 4th Brigade, A&NZ Division, AIF.

Meanwhile one of the great Australian soldiers was beginning to attract attention and in 1915 John Monash had news from Birdwood that he was promoted to Brigadier General.

In fact he had heard unofficially three days earlier from an unusual source - his wife !

Read more - https://www.gallipoli-association.org/on-this-day/july/24/

27/07/2025

27/07/2025

It’s one thing to see their names in a census record. It’s another to imagine the space they called home 🏠

It’s 1921 in the heart of Durham, a city still bearing the weight of post-war Britain and the harsh realities of industrial life. For many working-class families, like the Browns and the Cloughs, home was not a house but a single room at 9 Chapel Passage in Old Elvet: cramped, cold, and crowded.

George Brown was a young coal miner supporting his wife and their infant son. George Clough was also a coal miner, but he was out of work. He and his wife, Carrie, had three children, all under the age of seven.

They were just two of the six households living at number 9.

What did life look like for these families, do you think? ❤️

Delve into your family's home life with the 1921 Census ➡️ https://bit.ly/3Zw57Nc

27/07/2025

📚 Local Studies Book of the Month 📚

The Statistical Accounts of Scotland Step back in time and discover how people lived, worked & worshipped from the 18th to the 20th centuries.
Explore these wonderful contemporary resources and discover your parish’s story and uncover forgotten details of daily life.

27/07/2025

On this day in 1869 it was resolved that the Belfast Charitable Society should affix signs to the streets on their land - Clifton Street, Duncairn Street, Regent Street and later Glenravel Street. While the signs, and in some cases even the streets themselves, cease to exist, the history and heritage in this part of Belfast is here to see and experience. And it is vast, fascinating and diverse.

This weekend we have TWO tours which take in the surrounding areas of these streets mentioned:

🪦Clifton Street Cemetery Tour - Friday 25 July, 2pm & Saturday 26 July, 10am
Tours last 90minutes, starting from Clifton House.
Tickets are £12.50 and can be book online here: https://cliftonhousebelfast.ticketsolve.com/ticketbooth/shows/873643966

🕍North Belfast Heritage Walking Tour - Saturday 26th July, 2pm
Tours last 90 minutes, starting from St Anne's.
Tickets are £12.50 and can be booked online here: https://cliftonhousebelfast.ticketsolve.com/ticketbooth/shows/873670317


Visit Belfast That's TV Belfast Belfast Live www.whatsonni.com Love Heritage NI LoveBelfast Discover Northern Ireland North of Ireland Family History Society North Belfast News GreatPlace North Belfast

27/07/2025

27/07/2025

A GREAT MAIL DAY — Today, I received a reprinted version of a regimental history classic — “Under the Maltese Cross: Antietam to Appomattox, the Loyal Uprising in Western Pennsylvania, 1861-1865; Campaigns 155th Pennsylvania Regiment.”

This work was orginally compiled and edited by the regimental historian — Charles F. McKenna — a veteran of the 155th’s Company E. My reason for wanting to get a copy was due to the fact that my great-great-grandfather served in the 123rd Pennsylvania — a sister regiment in the very same brigade (Allbach’s) as the 155th from 1862-1863. Over that time together in General Andrew A. Humphreys’ Fifth Corps Division, these units arrived outside of Sharpsburg the day after Antietam, charged Marye’s Heights at Fredericksburg, and were in reserve positions at Chancellorsville.

This book has both a good amount of material on and rare photos of members from the 123rd as it chronicles some fascinating day by day experiences of these common men in the ranks. It truly is something to imagine what my ancestor may have experienced with these boys in the 155th. For years, I’ve been keeping my eyes open for any original 1910 copies available (some can still be found but are not cheap) but this reprint makes for an incredible addition to my personal library…