May 2017 Tour SOLD OUT!

With some reshuffling among the tours, spaces had opened up in the May 2017 Genealogy Tour, taking place in Edinburgh May 1 - 10 2017. However, the tour is once again SOLD OUT!

Limited spaces remain for the Highland Tour April 14 - 23, 2017:

Tour fees include:

• 9 nights hotel
• 9 breakfasts
• Culloden Memorial Service
• Clava Cairns
• Glenfinnan Monument
• Loch Lomond
• Coach trip to Dornoch and Kildonan
• Research fees
• Transport to and from archives
• Coach trip to Skye
• Transport between Inverness and Fort William
• Transport between Fort William and Glasgow
• Coach to SAFHS conference
• SAFHS conference registration
• Lunch included with conference registration

 **not included - lunches, dinners, airfare, travel to Inverness, travel from train/airport/bus station to hotel in Inverness, transport from hotel to airport for departure home, hotel April 23 if staying for tour of Necropolis and Jewish Archives

Click to book your Highland Research and History Tour


Limited spaces remain for the Edinburgh Tour Sept 18-27, 2017

Included in Your Tour Fees

• ​pre-tour preparation webinars
• pre-tour preparation package
• assistance to plan a visit to your ancestral part of Scotland
• 9 nights accommodation
• 9 full breakfasts
• Overview of records in each facility
• 5 full days of research
• daily research fees
• daily transportation to research facilities
• time to travel to your ancestral home area
• additional day to research locally
• optional evening tours
• evening at the Taste of Scotland dinner and show

**Not included: airfare, ground transportation to and from airport**

Don't lose out on your chance for a research trip of a lifetime. Book NOW

ONE LAST SPACE FOR MAY 2017 GENEALOGY TOUR IN EDINBURGH!

There is just ONE space left  in the May 2017 Genealogy Research tour being held in Edinburgh.

Tour dates: May 1-10, 2017. 

The tour includes:

• pre-tour preparation webinars
• pre-tour preparation package
• assistance to plan a visit to your ancestral part of Scotland
• 9 nights accommodation
• 9 full breakfasts
• Overview of records in each facility
• 5 full days of research
• daily research fees
• daily transportation to research facilities
• time to travel to your ancestral home area
• additional day to research locally
• optional evening tours
• evening at the Taste of Scotland dinner and show

Don't miss out! Book NOW!

Are You Ready to Book Your Genealogy Research Trip to Scotland?

Are you ready to join me in Scotland to research your Scottish ancestors in the records that await you there? 

Choose your tour:

10 days researching in the Highlands:

• 4 days of research
• Memorial Service at Culloden
• Tour of Kildonan to see the area affected by the Highland Clearances
• Visit to Armadale Castle on Skye for a group tour and research time
• Photo stop at Eilean Donan Castle
• Glenfinnan Monument
• Loch Lomond
• Annual Conference of the Scottish Association of Family History Societies in Fife

10 days researching in Edinburgh:

• 5 days of research
• Weekend to visit the area of Scotland your ancestors came from
• Time to research in local archives
• Optional historic tours of Greyfriar's Cemetery and the Old Town of Edinburgh
• Ceilidh

For the Edinburgh tours, there are two spaces open for the May 2017 tour and limited spaces for the September 2017 tour.

Christine was awesome! So organized. So knowledgeable. I loved her little "pieces of useless information" She gave each of us her time and attention. She checked in  with us every day to see how our research was going and if we were stuck, she offered alternatives to try. Christine gave us the flexibility we needed to make the trip work for OUR needs. I can't wait to come back on another tour with her. 

Choose your trip: http://www.genealogytoursofscotland.ca/book-your-tour.html

"Excellent tour which I would recommend to anyone searching their Scottish ancestry"

Linlithgowshire Electoral Rolls Added to FindMyPast

The 1864- 1931 electoral rolls for Linlithgowshire, held by the British Library, have been added to the Findmypast databases. 

Hopefully we will begin to see more electoral rolls for Scotland get added over time. 

TWO Spaces Open for May 2017 Genealogy Research Tour

The addition of the Highland Research Tour has opened up space in the May 2017 Tour which will be taking place in Edinburgh. The reason for this is people moving from the Edinburgh Tour to the new Highland Research Tour.

The Edinburgh Tour dates are May 1 - 10, 2017 with May 1 being the day of arrival. This tour is the one that has been taking place for about 5 and a half years. We spend three full days at the ScotlandsPeople Centre, which also houses the National Archives. We spend two full days at the National Library of Scotland, with one of those days being in the Maps building.

The weekend is free for you to go to the area of Scotland where your ancestor lived and if you would like, I can connect you with my colleague, Ian, who will create a tailor made ancestral experience for you. The Monday following the weekend is free for you to conduct research in the area of Scotland where your ancestor lived, to research at the Scottish Genealogy Society, return to either the ScotlandsPeople Centre or National Library. If you would prefer time off to enjoy the country, you can opt to sight-see or shop.

This is the most popular genealogy research tour. It includes pre-tour preparation for several months ahead of time so that you are well prepared for your time in Scotland.

There are two spaces open for the May 2017Edinburgh Tour. If you are interested, simply send me an email. This is the only tour that accommodates spouses, cousins, sisters, friends or any one who is not researching. The Highland tour does not. Non genealogy companions travel for 40% of the tour fees.

Highland Research Tour 50% Booked!

Although still freshly "on the market" the Highlands Research Tour is already 50% filled. Spaces are being kept limited to enhance the research experience. 

If your ancestors were from the West Highlands of Scotland this research trip is the one for you. Research will take place in Inverness, Fort William and Armadale Castle in Skye. 

The tour ends with attendance at the annual conference for the Scottish Association of Family History Societies which will be held in Queensferry, Fife. 

Aside from research time, the Highland Research Tour will include attending the commemorative ceremonies at Culloden and a trip through the villages that were affected by the Highland Clearances. A visit to the Glenfinnan Monument and Loch Lomond will round out the tour.  

Like the Glasgow Research Tour, the Highland Research Tour will sell out very quickly. There are, currently 6 spaces left. 

Don't miss out! Register now: 
http://www.genealogytoursofscotland.ca/highland-research----history-tour.html

NEW FOR 2017: HIGHLAND RESEARCH TOUR

Highland Research Tour for 2017

Thanks to those of you who showed interest in the Highland tour. 

The plans have been confirmed and the tour dates set. The tour will run April 14-23, 2017. The Highland Tour will begin in Inverness and will end in Glasgow with attendance at the annual conference for the Scottish Association of Family History Societies. 

Tour fees include:

• 9 nights hotel
• 9 breakfasts
• Culloden Memorial Service
• Clava Cairns
• Glenfinnan Monument
• Loch Lomond
• Coach trip to Dornoch and Kildonan
• Research fees
• Transport to and from archives
• Coach trip to Skye
• Transport between Inverness and Fort William
• Transport between Fort William and Glasgow
• Coach to SAFHS conference
• SAFHS conference registration
• Lunch included with conference registration

**not included - lunches, dinners, airfare, travel to Inverness, travel from train/airport/bus station to hotel in Inverness, transport from hotel to airport for departure home, hotel April 23 if staying for tour of Necropolis and Jewish Archives
 
This will be a small group tour, limited to 12 participants. Spaces will be on a first come first served basis only. There are, at this point, only 8 spaces left, with people having been transferred into the Highlands tour from other tours they were registered for and had paid for. 

To register:
 http://www.genealogytoursofscotland.ca/highland-research----history-tour.html

Online Access to New Record Sets

Two incredibly detailed records for researching your Scottish ancestors are the Kirk Session records, a record of discipline meted out by the Kirk Elders for such things as swearing, breaking sabbath, drunkenness, pre-nuptial fornication, and anything else that fit into loose morals or un-Christian living. These records have all been digitized and will be coming online later this year via the ScotlandsPeople website. 

The other record set that provides a detailed view into the lives of our ancestors were the Poor Law records. And Stirling Archives has taken the lead on indexing their Poor Law records and making the indexes fully searchable and available online. This is an incredible accomplishment. While the records need to be viewed in person in the archives, you can at least check to see whether the records in fact exist for your ancestors in Stirling. 

Seeking Interest in Highland Tour For 2017

Friday April 14 - Good Friday - this would be a day of arrival. Participants would need to get to Inverness on their own. 

Saturday April 15 - There will be a memorial/commemorative service at Culloden Battlefield today to celebrate the anniversary of the battle. This is an incredibly moving experience. We will spend time at the battlefield after the ceremonies so that people can really drink in the significance of the historic events that took place here.

Sunday April 16 - Easter Sunday - Church Service at Dornoch Cathedral, followed by a coach tour through the Strath of Kildonan to see the areas that were cleared following the Sutherland Clearances. This is now quite barren but really shows the aftermath of the Clearances. Easter Dinner as a group.

Monday April 17 - This will be our first day of research. We will spend the day at the Highland Archives in Inverness.

Tuesday April 18  - Our second full day of research

Wednesday April 19 - We will check out of the hotel after breakfast and take a coach down the Great Glen to Fort William. The afternoon will be free time in Fort William. For anyone interested, I will organize a tour of the West Highland Museum which shows more of the Jacobite story.

Thursday April 20 - We will spend the day at the Lochaber Archives. This will be a full day of research

Friday April 21 - We will check out of the hotel, and then head to the Lochaber Archives once again. We will only have a half day of research today. After lunch, we will head by coach to Glasgow, with a slight detour into Glenfinnan to see the monument. In Glasgow, I will be meeting up with my Glasgow tour in the evening.

Saturday April 22 - We will be up bright and early and head by coach to Queensferry, Fife, for the annual Scottish Association of Family History Society Conference. This will be a full day of talks and a good sized marketplace where a number of Family History Societies from across Scotland will have displays. The Glasgow tour will be joining us for the day at the conference. Lunch is included today.

Sunday April 23 - This will be a day open to your choosing. Essentially, the tour is over. However, I hope to be taking the Glasgow group on a tour of the Jewish Archives as well as on a guided tour of the Glasgow Necropolis. You would be welcome to stay and enjoy the day with us. Or, you may choose to sightsee, head home or head further afield in Scotland. I only need to know whether to have the hotel room available to you on Sunday night since Sunday night it is not included in the Highland tour. You will need to pay for the additional night on your own, but I can ensure that the room is held for you.

If this tour sounds like something you would find interesting, please let me know fairly soon so I can make the necessary arrangements with the hotels, archives and coach companies.

Like the Glasgow tour, this will be a small group of no more than 12 researchers. Spaces for Glasgow filled within 2 weeks. I anticipate that the Highland one may as well.

Tour fees include:

·         8 nights hotel

·         9 breakfasts

·         3 Coach trips (gratuities not included)

·         Research fees

·         Transport to and from archives

·         Coach to SAFHS conference

·         SAFHS conference registration

·         Lunch included with conference registration

**not included - lunches, dinners, airfare, travel to Inverness, travel from train/airport/bus station to hotel in Inverness, transport from hotel to airport for departure home, hotel April 23 if staying for tour of Necropolis and Jewish Archives

Edinburgh's Bobby

Edinburgh's Bobby. In 1867, when it had been mandated that all dogs in Edinburgh must be licenced (to alleviate the number of strays) and that any unlicenced dogs would meet an early death, the city cried out since wee Bobby's master was dead, so could not purchase a licence. 

William Chambers, Lord Provost (Mayor) of Edinburgh, was also the Chairman of the SPCA. He paid for Bobby's licence, which reads "Greyfriar's Bobby from the Lord Provost 1867. Licenced" This essentially meant that wee Bobby now belonged to the City of Edinburgh and was free to remain at his master's grave, and wander onto the street to get his lunch at 1:00 when he heard the one o'clock gun fire from the Castle. 

Bobby's licence and bowl are on display at the Edinburgh Museum in the Cannongate area of the Royal Mile. The Museum is free and has a treasure trove of Edinburgh history on display.

The Witches Stone, Dornoch

In Dornoch, there is a rather unremarkable stone. It marks the spot where the last witch in Scotland was executed for witchcraft. The stone is actually in the back yard of a private home, but is well maintained and easily viewed from the street. Execution for practicing witchcraft was repealed 7 years after Janet Horne was executed.

If you believe your ancestor may have been accused of witchcraft, you can search the witch trials database at: http://webdb.ucs.ed.ac.uk/witches/

Memorial Cairn for Sir John A Macdonald's Grandparents

When I was in Scotland in late May, I wanted to visit the area affected by the Highland Clearances. I detoured slightly into Rogart. Sir John A Macdonald’s grandparents were from Rogart. They were part of the Clearances. I was struck by just how desolate Rogart was. However, I was able to find the memorial cairn erected on the sight of the former home of Sir John’s grandparents. The cairn was built using the stones that remained from the original home and was unveiled in 1968 when John Diefenbaker visited the area. 

John Diefenbaker’s maternal great grandfather was a Bannerman. The Bannermans were cleared from Kildonan and emigrated as Selkirk Settlers. They were to have been taken to York Factory, but ended up in Churchill and needed to make their way to the Red River Settlement from there. Diefenbaker’s great grandfather played the bagpipes along the way to help the Scots settlers keep their spirits up. Diefenbaker made an ancestral pilgrimage to Kildonan along with his brother in 1958 and returned in 1968.

Scottish Genealogy Research Course

Once again, I will be instructing the Scottish Genealogy Research Course being offered by Family Tree University.

The course is quite comprehensive and runs 4 weeks from July 18 - Aug 12. There is ample opportunity to receive instructor feedback and to ask questions about your research.

This course has been quite popular in the past. Don't miss out. You can register at:
https://www.familytreeuniversity.com/courses/scottish-genealogy-101

I look forward to meeting you online and sharing in your genealogy learning.

Scottish Diaspora Tapestry Visits Toronto

The Diaspora Tapestry is coming to Toronto. It will be at St Andrew's Presbyterian Church in Scarborough. St Andrew's was founded by Scots. The tapestry will be on display from Sept 19 - Oct 1. Admission is FREE. Hours for viewing:

Weekdays: Noon – 8 p.m. Sat.
Sept. 24, 10:00 - 6:00
Sun. Sept. 25, 
2:00 - 6:00 Sat.
Oct., 1, 10:00 - 4:00

Are YOU Ready?

A YOU ready to experience a depth of connection to your ancestors that you never dreamed possible? Are you ready to truly KNOW who you are? 

Come to Scotland. Research your ancestors. Read about their lives in the documents. Learn about them by understanding the geography, the language, the sounds, the smells. 

Here's what past participants have had to say about their Genealogy Tour of Scotland:

This has been such a wonderful experience. I have been to Scotland before but have never

experienced it like this. I feel such a deep connection to the country and to my ancestors now. I can’t thank you enough for all that you have done to put this tour together.

Thank you for organizing the tour. It has been amazing. I can’t wait to come back. I learned so much about my ancestors and about Scotland. The tour was a prefect mix of research and tourism. My time in the area where my ancestors lived was magical.

I feel like I have been drinking from a fire hose of knowledge! I have learned so much about the lives of my ancestors. I can’t wait to come back next year. Thank you, thank you.

This was beyond my expectations. I have been to Scotland before. I was a tourist then. I am a proud Scot now. I met some great people in the group and will definitely keep in touch with them. I am going home full of new leads, full of stories and full of understanding about my Scottish ancestors.

PLEASE organize another tour. I will be the first to sign up. I loved everything about my time in Scotland and can’t wait to join you again.

All of the pre-tour preparation made such a difference. I was ready to research and made

tremendous headway. I am taking home hundreds of documents. Thank you.

Are YOU Ready? Book NOW: http://www.genealogytoursofscotland.ca/