Beware the "Ear of the Hearer"

When researching Scottish Records, it is important to remember that the heavy Scottish brogue can add a twist to some words making your research a bit more challenging. When the census taker arrived at the door, he was likely the school master and, being literate, was given the task of asking questions of the locals in the village where he worked. It is also likely that the census taker was not raised in the local village, more likely having come from a larger city or burgh. So, his accent would be quite different to that of the locals. And his ear would be trained to hear things differently than the way the locals spoke. For example, I had a terrible time trying to find the marriage record of my great great grandfather, Henry Fowler. I tried every parish surrounding where I knew him to be. I tried a few years either side of the marriage year. Then I tried the "wildcard"  I used F*ler. This time I found him! He was listed as Henry FULLER. Once I saw the name, it made perfect sense. I could literally see him standing at the door and the census taker asking, "Surname?" and my great great grandpa answering "Foolur". The "oo" being the brogue when he was enunciating Fowler. And the census taker mistakenly thinking he had said that his surname was FULLER.

For more on using wildcards on Scotland's People, visit their website at:
http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/content/help/index.aspx?r=551&663

Do You Have Ancestors Who Were Miners?

A great resource for mining information, including accident reports, mine inspector reports, deaths and newspaper reports is Scottish Mining Website. This is a virtual treasure trove of information. You can search by surname, accident, year or parish.

Note that if your miner died as a result of a "roof fall" (the roof of the mine caving in) then it is unlikely that there will be a mine inspectors report. The reason being that roof falls were fairly commonplace and to inspect every accident would have been too time consuming for the limited number of inspectors. Two of my miners were killed together, father and son, in 1872 at Greenfield Colliery. At the time, I had been unable to locate the mine inspectors report, so contacted the website by e-mail. In return, I received not only the mine inspectors report but also newspaper articles relating to the accident. So, don't hesitate to ask for help if you are having difficulty finding information on your miner. Please note, however, that these wonderful volunteers are not able to do your research for you.

Happy Ancestor Hunting!