A Clan Map

Scotland is famous for it's clans and often non-natives have a romanticized view of what they are. Learning about clan history in school was not one of my favorite moments because I was not fond of the "blood and guts" aspect of it all. Having said that here's an interesting article http://www.scotclans.com/scottish_history/articles/clan_system.html

Images of Scotland

I went blog hopping yesterday and have decided to add a new section to my sidebar. The links will take me/you to blogs that highlight Scotland in images and some of them also give information that would be useful for writing family histories. Some will be there just because I like them :)

Using YouTube for family research

I bet YouTube is not a source many people automatically think about but there's a lot of interesting information there. When you write a family history it is always good to set your ancestors in context. This means researching the area they came from. Here's a very interesting example about the history of Edinburgh that would be a great start off for further research.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkjEzYaP9Sk "Birth of a City."
Some of my direct ancestors lived in Edinburgh and even though I grew up in Scotland, loved history in school and lived in Edinburgh myself I still learned a lot from this video.

Armistice Day

Today we remember and reflect, give thanks for the freedoms we have gained through the sacrifices of others and pray we never have to endure what they endured.

We should also show appreciation to and for those who are currently fighting and are away from their loved ones.
The photographs show some of my relatives who fought during WWI and lived through a number of experiences.
Horseback - Patrick Lindsay (my grandfather)
Pyramids - (my great uncle) David McEwan (back row)ANZACS
Standing portrait - John Hall (my grandfather)
Two of my McEwan great uncles died at Gaba Tepe, Gallipoli (1915) and Albert, France (1916).