James Young Simpson

 James Young Simpson is a name I grew up knowing a great deal about. My Edinburgh trained nurse mum spoke of him and his discovery of chloroform as an anesthetic. I’ve read quite a bit about him as well. 

While walking to the ScotlandsPeople centre on Wednesday I happened to notice a plaque on the side of the Balmoral hotel:

I’ve wanted to go and see the house where Simpson once lived and decided to do so on Friday. But first, I walked along Princes Street to the western end of the gardens where there is a statue of Simpson. 

From there, I walked over to 52 Queen Street to pay homage. 

I also attempted to visit his grave in Warriston Cemetery but that proved an effort in futility given the overgrown state of the graveyard not to mention the lack of any signage differentiating one section from another. Even with the map provided by the Friends of I was unable to determine what section of the cemetery I needed to be in or its relation to any other part of the cemetery. 

Teething Pains

 Wednesday was our first day of research and it coincided with the first full day after the ScotlandsPeople Centre rebranded their website. The day was not without teething pains. Unfortunately ScotlandsPeople didn’t have the foresight to have a 2 minute video on their website showing the changes. Had the done so, I’m sure there would have been far less criticism. Their rebrand as “easier than ever” went to dust as soon as people started using the website again Tuesday afternoon. The biggest complaint was that the panel on the left hand side of the screen that allowed you to switch seamlessly between datasets, change dates or other details has been removed. It wasn’t until complaints on social media started pouring in that ScotlandsPeople directed everyone to the “refine search” button to once again be able to perform the tasks once easily accessible on the wee panel. 

To be fair, “refine search” used to, and still should, mean adding or reducing information in the search fields, no switch databases or change dates so it’s little surprise that no one thought to look there.

In the centre, my tour participants quickly discovered that they were unable to save any of the documents and were instead directed to print them. We also discovered that to now save a search, it once again requires using the “refine search” button where the “save” button van be found. Three steps instead of one. 

The “refine search” seems to be a catch all for any function IT couldn’t easily see fit elsewhere. “Refine search” not only pertains to functionality but also database changes. 

All in all, the rebrand seems a complete waste of resources. A new logo and header was all that was really needed and that would have saved a great deal of aggravation and negative attention from users. This was clearly a case of “it wasn’t broken so why did you change it.”

A Free Day in the City

 Thanks to the ScotlandsPeople rebrand, the group ended up with a free day on Tuesday. Some took advantage of touring the city while others chose to use the day for research in other facilities. 

I started with an early morning walk to Victoria Street to see it without throngs of tourists. This is likely the most photographed streets in Edinburgh.

It winds its way from the North Bridge down to the Grassmarket where you can quickly find yourself steeped in centuries of history. The Covenanters, Maggie Dickson, Burke & Hare. Hawkers and Hangings. 

Then it was over to the Cowgate. The Cowgate was once home to tanners, flashers, fishmongers, whisky distillers. With the ever growing population, the Cowgate soon became an area of the city rife with poverty. 

I had the opportunity to attend the Council meeting for the Lanarkshire Family History Society that evening, so made my way to the train station. It was wonderful to be able to see everyone in person and enjoy a quick meal with them ahead of the meeting. 

I was late getting back to the hotel after the meeting, quickly closing in on midnight. After all of the walking and the late ending to the day I was looking forward to a good night’s sleep. Not to be. The hotel fire alarm rang at 12:45. It was close to 2 am before I was finally able to get some sleep. 

HES Archives

 On Monday morning, the group was treated to a behind the scenes tour of the archives and library at Historic Environment Scotland. The archives are currently at John Sinclair House in Edinburgh. 

They have a large collection of architectural and archeological records, models, photographs and aerial photographs. 

There is a conservation lab on site 

There is a large reading room where the library is also located 

And a special treat was being able to speak with the digital imaging photographer. He was able to give us a demonstration of some of the equipment. 

The Ancient Burgh of Culross

 After visiting the grave of Lillias Adie we made our way to the beautiful wee village of Culross. Culross is an ancient royal burgh, believed to have been founded in the 6th century by St Serf. 

The village was a port on the Firth of Fourth. The village is now managed by the National Trust for Scotland. Outlander, Kidnapped and Captain America were all filmed in Culross,

On our way through the village I came across this clootie tree. Strips of cloth (“cloot”) are tied to the tree and a wish is made. As the wind blows, your wish is carried by it. 

Clootie trees near wells or water springs are generally used for healing. The clootie is dipped into the water and as it is tied around the tree, a wish/prayer for healing is made. 

This tradition dates back to Celtic times and the trees or wells can be found in various locations across Scotland

This wooden pillar is the remnants of the tron weighbeam where goods being shipped or arriving from the harbour across the street would be weighed. The excise man would then impose duty on the goods according to the weight

The village is now in the care and management of the National Trust for Scotland 

 

The Watery Grave - Torryburn

 I have been staying with aunts since I arrived in Scotland. They live in “my neighbourhood. I took a walk to the local grocery store a couple of days ago. One block from my aunt’s house is my Granny’s house. Another block further along is the house where the family lived when I was born and where I spent the first three years of my life. Another block along is the high school that my younger aunts and uncles attended. “I’m home”

Yesterday we ventured out on a wee day trip. First stop was Torryburn in Fife. I was eager to visit the watery grave of Lillias Adie. Lillias was from Torryburn and in 1704 was accused of being a witch. The time frame is really towards the end of the frenzied witch trials. Lillias was accused of being a witch by another local woman, Jean Bizet. Lillias was taken to the local minister and subsequently imprisoned. After a month of intense interrogation, sleep deprivation and other torturous activities, Lillias confessed to being a witch. Lillias died before her trial, therefore she couldn’t be convicted. However she has “confessed” albeit under duress. 

Taking no chances, the decision was made to bury Lillias on the beach, at the high water mark. This leaves Lillias between this world and the nether world. 

Glasgow Research Tour 2025

Being in Scotland allows you to view documents that are not available online. Here is where you can fill in the stories of your ancestor's life. ​Being in Scotland lets you experience the sights, sounds, culture, accent, food of your ancestral homeland and deepens your connection not only to your Scottish ancestors, but to the country itself and the wider Scottish diaspora.​Being in Scotland, making genealogy discoveries, walking where your ancestors walked, worshiping the in the same church they worshipped in, paying homage at their graveside will touch you on such a deep and emotional level and brings life to the hours and hours of research you have undertaken. ​Come, explore, discover, connect. 

Join me in Glasgow Sept 7-13, 2025 for a week of research:

• Mitchell Library/Glasgow City Archives
• Lanarkshire Family History Society
• Glasgow and West of Scotland Family History Society

For more information or to register:

 https://www.genealogytoursofscotland.ca/glasgow-2025