THE CELTIC CONNECTION • MARCH 1993
Page 13
GENEALOGY
Scottish Research Can be Complicated but Rewarding
Scottish Festival in Vancouver
By EUNICE ROBINSON
As I mentioned last month, research in Scotland is very rewarding, but in addition to the vital records (birth, marriage and death certificates) there are many more avenues to follow.
Once you have investigated your roots back to 1891, you can refer to the census records. The census was taken in Scotland the same dates and years as England and Wales: 1891, 1881, 1871, 1861, 1851 and 1841. The 1841 census is not the most beneficial one as it did not state the country of birth. However, it did mention the parish - so if your people moved from their birth county to another, you have some real work ahead of you.
As an illustration, I will refer to my own ancestry of the McQueen family from Lanark. George McQueen was born in 1838 in Crawfordjohn, Lanark. In 1959, he married Agnes Cairns in Cambusnethan, and on the 1861 census I find them listed: George McQueen, 22 years of age, coal miner, born in Crawfordjohn, Lanark; Agnes McQueen, 21 years of age, born in Cambusnethan, Lanark; Janet L. McQueen, 2years of age, born in Cambusnethan, Lanark; and Helen McQueen, 5 months, born in Cambusnethan, Lanark.
As you can see, for me to assume that all the family roots are all in Crawfordjohn, and for the McQueen family they are, research there for Agnes Cairns and her ancestry would have been pointless. Thanks to the 1861 census, I was directed to Cambusnethan. Also, I found that both daughters were born in Cambusnethan, with the family living at Tarbush Row, Village of Morningside, Parish of Cambusnethan, Lanark.
Ten years later, in 1871, I located the family again, not in Cambusnethan but in the village of Hayworth in the Parish of Carnwath: George McQueen, 32 years of age, coal miner born in Crawfordjohn; Agnes, 31 years of age, born in Cambusnethan; John, 8years of age, a scholar, born in Whitburn, Linlithgow; Andrew, 6 years of age, a scholar, born in Cambusnethan; Agnes, 5 years of age, born in Carluke, Lanark; George, 3 years of age, born in Carluke; Isabella, 1 year of age, born in Carnwath.
From this entry, you can see how much information I was able to gain about the family, such as the names of George and Agnes' other children and where they were born. It is evident, that because of the father's occupation, the family moved a fair bit. You can imagine how much more difficult it would be to locate all these family members
without the benefit of the census information.
There are a couple of items I would like to point out regarding the above two extractions and some conclusions you can deduce.
First, these people tended not to tell the truth about their ages and followed this trend right up to the 1891 census. You will often find that from census year to census year, some people tended to age enormously, while others become more youthful. Bear in mind, in those times, many people were rather unconcerned about the date and year of their birth.
Second, you will notice the absence of Janet L. It might be concluded that she died. I must confess this was my deduction. However, this woman lived 95 years and had several children, one of whom was the source of considerable family information. At the time of the census, the enumerator counted people on a specific day. If someone was not at home, they were not listed. If Janet had died, there would be a ten-year period to consult the death indexes.
Another logical ded uction could be, that depending on the age of the child, he/she could have married and you would find them living in another residence. One should also consider that when looking at the places where all the McQueen children were born, consider perhaps Agnes went to her mother's home to have a child. Remember, this was in pre-hospital days when most babies were born at home.
Last month I suggested obtaining a map. Maps can often reveal the topography of an area: the rivers, mountains and other land formations that may determine why your ancestor went south-east instead of west.
Other reading which can give your family history "meat on its bones" is a study of the local customs, clothing and language. Were your people from an area that had their own dialect? What religion was practised? What songs and stories or legends existed at the time?
One trait that was especially strong in the McQueen family, and appears to have carried down to the members who came to Canada in the early 1900's was the love of recitation, sing-
ing and elocution. When I went to Scotland in 1979 and visited the daughter of Janet L. McQueen — a Miss Jean Waugh — she told me that her family loved to put on little concerts. In fact, she had a program from about 1900 that she gave me. It was done on lined paper and decorated with flags of Scotland and England. It gives a lovely glimpse of life before television.
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The British Columbia Genealogical Society is planning a research trip to Salt Lake City from April 18 to 25. If you are interested, please contact the society via our mailing address: Education Committee, British Columbia Genealogical Society, P.O. Box94371, Richmond, B.C. V6Y 2A8.
By MIKE PAUL
VANCOUVER — Enthusiasts of all Celtic music are invited by the Vancouver Gaels to participate in a very special and colourful three-day Gaelic music festival.
The event is sponsored by the Gaelic MOD Musical Association of Vancouver. MOD Vancouver will take place on May 6, 7 and 8 at the Scottish Cultural Centre, 8886 Hudson Street in Vancouver.
The festival attracts international competitors including harpists, fiddlers and both solo ana choir singers.
MOD Vancouver, now in its fourth year, has helped define the ethnic significance of Gaelic culture in this part of Canada. Numerous workshops will be offered on the Gaelic language and song, kilt-making, fiddling,
harping and whisky tasting.
Some of Scotland's finest entertainers, TV, and radio personalities have agreed to adjudicate and perform at the the three-day event. Two choirs will travel from Scotland to participate. The Dingwall Gaelic Choir and Strath Choir from the Isle of Skye will compete with the Vancouver and District Gaelic Choir.
It seems appropriate to be staging a MOD on the West Coast at a time when Gaelic culture is enjoying such a strong revival. As Maureen Lyon, President of MOD Vancouver, said, "The support and enthusiasm for the culture ensures that we can now look to the future, knowing that continued dedication to the Gaelic cause will flourish to create a stronger international bond of Gaelic unity."
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