Your Ancestors

09/01/2026

There are convict ancestors on Scotland’s people.

in 1868, the Hougoumont, the last ship to carry convicts to Australia, arrived at Fremantle.

If you're related to one of the thousands of convicts transported Down Under, find out more with our guide:

08/01/2026

Medieval people did clean their teeth. They just did it without toothpaste tubes and plastic brushes.

Daily care was simple and physical. Teeth were rubbed with a linen cloth or picked clean with small wooden sticks. Some dipped these in salt or crushed herbs. The goal was not whiteness. It was keeping rot and pain away for as long as possible.

Written household and medical texts mention tooth powders. These were not used every day, but when ingredients could be found. Charcoal scraped clean. Pumice scoured surfaces. Burnt rosemary, sage, mint, or spices were added to improve breath and leave the mouth feeling fresh.

Rinsing mattered too.

Wine, vinegar, or herbal infusions were swished around the mouth. Medieval medicine believed illness came from imbalance and corrupted air. A clean mouth meant fewer chances for sickness to take hold.

Diet played a role most people did not understand, but benefited from anyway.

Refined sugar was expensive for much of the Middle Ages. Most people simply could not afford it often. That likely reduced cavities compared to later centuries. Bread, however, caused its own problems. Stone mills left grit in flour, and that grit slowly wore enamel down over time.

Gum disease and tooth loss were common, especially as people aged.

When pain began, cleaning stopped and action followed.

Barber surgeons and traveling tooth drawers pulled bad teeth using iron tools that looked closer to pliers than anything medical today. These extractions often happened in public spaces where crowds gathered to watch.

Pain relief came from what was available. Clove and garlic were common. Warm oils were applied. Stronger substances like o***m or henbane were used when pain became unbearable, even though they carried real risks.

Wealthier households owned metal toothpicks and early brushes. Monasteries stressed cleanliness as part of discipline and routine.

For most people, a serious toothache ended the same way. Extraction. A rinse. A short prayer. Then life moved on.



This scene was conjured with a little help from AI. This is my take on how it might have looked.

07/01/2026

University of Glasgow

575 years old today!

Ten reasons why it is world class!

1. Fourth-Oldest University in the
English-Speaking World�Founded in 1451 by a papal bull from Pope Nicholas V, it is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world (after Oxford, Cambridge, and St Andrews) and one of Scotland’s four ancient universities.

2. James Watt and the Steam Engine�Engineer James Watt perfected his separate condenser for the steam engine while working at the university in the 1760s, a breakthrough that powered the Industrial Revolution.

3. Home to “Father of Economics” Adam Smith�Adam Smith, author of The Wealth of Nations, studied and later taught at the university, laying the foundations of modern economics.

4. Lord Kelvin’s Legacy�Physicist William Thomson (Lord Kelvin) held the chair of Natural Philosophy for over 50 years, inventing the Kelvin scale of temperature and contributing to the transatlantic telegraph cable.

5. Invention of Television�Alumni John Logie Baird demonstrated the world’s first working television system in 1926, pioneering mechanical television while associated with the university.

6. Pioneering Ultrasound�Professor Ian Donald published the world’s first ultrasound images of a fetus in 1958, revolutionizing prenatal care.

7. Albert Einstein’s Lecture�In 1933, Albert Einstein delivered a notable lecture at the university on the origins of his general theory of relativity.

8. First UK Professor of Engineering�In 1840, it became the first university in the UK to appoint a Professor of Engineering, reflecting its early commitment to practical sciences.

9. Seven Nobel Laureates�The university is associated with seven Nobel Prize winners, including figures in physics, chemistry, and peace, highlighting its research excellence.

10. Home to Scotland’s Oldest Public Museum�The Hunterian Museum, founded in 1807 based on the bequest of alumnus William Hunter, is Scotland’s oldest public museum and features world-class collections in art.



University of Glasgow
University of Glasgow Alumni Glasgow University Union (GUU)

07/01/2026

Free!

This January, join our experts on Saturdays to learn how you can begin your journey into family history.

07/01/2026

Entries in statutory registers are recorded by year of registration, not necessarily in the year when they took place.

For example: it’s likely that a birth in late December would be registered in January of the following year.

07/01/2026

07/01/2026

A tapestry of Gaelic, Norse and Scots writ large on the archaeological landscape of .

But how many brochs retain the names given to them by the broch builders themselves?

For the Broch builders themselves likely spoke a language long lost - possibly Pictish!

This was an Insular Celtic language, closely related to Brittonic languages, such as Welsh or Breton, with some scholars suggesting it was a Brittonic dialect.

These Brittonic (or Brythonic) languages are known as "P-Celtic", which came after "Q-Celtic" language such as Gaelic and Manx.

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We'll not get bogged down in linguistics here but essentially Q-Celtic was the earlier form which retained the Proto-Celtic '*kw' - written as a 'c', as in 'Ceann', Gaelic for 'head', and pronounced "known" or "key-ann".

This was gradually modified by speakers of Breton and Welsh who changed that 'c' or 'kw' sound to a 'p' sound: hence "P-Celtic!!

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Pictish mostly lingers on in Scotland in placenames - attested through places with 'Aber' (meaning 'Rivermouth of') or the 'Pit's and 'Pet's (which means 'place' or 'portion') which can be found throughout eastern and central Scotland.

But such was the rate of Gaelicisation in the north that the Pictish language was obliterated; further Norse intrusions finished off what was left of up here.

It seems tragic, in a way, that we might never know the names of brochs as they were once known in the north.

Maybe we need to come up with a good Pictish-style name for our own to honour the words of those builders.

07/01/2026

At 2am on Wednesday 8 February 1587, Mary, Queen of Scots wrote what is believed to be her last letter, writing to her brother-in-law in France to put her affairs in order. Her ex*****on at Fotheringhay Castle was to take place six hours later.

Several centuries later, Mary remains a significant figure in Scotland’s history and culture. Her last letter will be displayed at Perth Museum from 23 January to 26 April 2026, as part of ‘OUTWITH: National Library around Scotland’, a special programme of loans, events and activities taking place at locations around the country to mark the National Library’s centenary.

This letter is rarely seen outside storage due to its historical and cultural importance and conservation needs, and will be the centrepiece of an exhibition and events programme that highlights Mary's story and her ties to Perthshire.

You can read more about the exhibition and the events programme on our website here: https://perthmuseum.co.uk/inside-the-museum/the-last-letter-of-mary-queen-of-scots/

07/01/2026

07/01/2026

We're offering an exclusive 30-day free trial of TheGenealogist, with free access to millions of family history records including the 1910 Domesday Survey. Find out more with our guide:

https://www.whodoyouthinkyouaremagazine.com/feature/thegenealogist-putting-genealogy-on-the-map

05/01/2026

Whiteout here in Aberdeenshire