Book picks similar to
The Scottish Family Tree Detective: Tracing Your Ancestors in Scotland by Rosemary Bigwood
scotland
genealogy
genealogy-genetics
geneology
In The Shadow Of The Hill
Helen Forbes - 2014
Detective Sergeant Joe Galbraith starts what seems like one more depressing investigation of the untimely death of a poor unfortunate who was in the wrong place, at the wrong time. As the investigation spreads across Scotland it reaches into a past that Joe has tried to forget, and takes him back to the Hebridean island of Harris, where he spent his childhood. Among the mountains and the stunning landscape of religiously conservative Harris, in the shadow of Ceapabhal, long buried events and a tragic story are slowly uncovered, and the investigation takes on an altogether more sinister aspect. In The Shadow Of The Hill skilfully captures the intricacies and malevolence of the underbelly of Highland and Island life, bringing tragedy and vengeance to the magical beauty of the Outer Hebrides.
Mrs Keiller's Marmalade
S.M. Boland - 2015
“Well written and I was left wanting to read on.... It is certainly an intriguing concept” (Troubador)“Writing is dynamic and fast-paced. There's a definite charm about the novel that, I think, would appeal to the kind of audience cultivated by writers such as Marina Lewycka” (HHB Agency)“What a charming novel. I’m from Dundee myself, and the masterful way you wove together setting and culture was admirable. Your characters, too, were powerful yet compassionate, and the prose had a lovely twisting quality” (Canongate Press)“This is fresh and intriguing” (Andrew Lownie)Mrs Keiller's Marmalade is a book about marmalade, the isolation of old age, respect for tradition and the pain of abandonment. Maggie Keiller is a fictional descendent of John Keiller, the last patriarch of Keiller marmalade, whose clan famously created the first ‘Dundee Marmalade’. She is married John's son Billy Keiller in 1909 but lost him in the same year to a storm which visited their small enclave of Auchobane, a village perched precociously on the Dundee coastline of North-East Scotland. Forward fifty years, and Maggie lives a lonely life in Rose Cottage surrounded only by her jars of fine and vintage homemade marmalade. Her only visitor is Dougie, an elderly grocery man and decorated veteran. Maggie’s life is changed when she unexpectedly receives a letter from her estranged niece in London, asking for haven for her teenage daughter. Maggie takes her on, not out of affection for her niece whom she loathes, but to fill the void left by her childless marriage. Isla arrives in 1969, a year on the cusp of a revolution in the London she has just left, and in her own life, hiding the pregnancy she has kept from her mother. Maggie teaches Isla about her heritage, and hopes to pass on to her the tradition of marmalade making. For Isla, abandoned by mother and lover, and struggling to cope with the imminent arrival of an unwanted child, her bond with Maggie becomes a channel to help regain the self-esteem taken from her over her young years. The book culminates in Isla’s entry into the silver spoon Marmalade competition, fifty years after Maggie Keiller had taken the same prize.
Benjamin's Ghosts, An Enid Gilchrist Mystery
Sylvia A. Nash - 2014
His housekeeper guarded his secrets with her life. Now Enid Gilchrist must draw on her experience as a genealogist to replicate that search and protect those secrets while she unravels the clues that have crossed the years to spawn a new criminal and threaten those she loves. She also must draw on her strength of will to prevent her feelings for Chief of Police Patrick Mulhaney from hindering their mutual efforts to solve the mystery, bring peace to the dead, and protect the living.
Organize Your Genealogy: Strategies and Solutions for Every Researcher
Drew Smith - 2016
Organize Your Genealogy will show you how to use tried-and-true methods and the latest tech tools and genealogy software to organize your research plan, workspace, and family-history finds. In this book, you'll learn how to organize your time and resources, including how to set goals and objectives, determine workable research questions, sort paper and digital documents, keep track of physical and online correspondence, prepare for a research trip, and follow a skill-building plan. With this comprehensive guide, you'll make the most of your research time and energy and put yourself on a road to genealogy success.Organize Your Genealogy features:- Secrets to developing organized habits that will maximize your research time and progress - Hints for setting up the right physical and online workspaces - Proven, useful systems for organizing paper and electronic documents - Tips for managing genealogy projects and goals - The best tools for organizing every aspect of your ancestry research - Easy-to-use checklists and worksheets to apply the book's strategiesWhether you're a newbie seeking best practices to get started or a seasoned researcher looking for new and better ways of getting organized, this guide will help you manage every facet of your ancestry research.
Family Medical History: Unknown/Adopted: How One Inquiry Led to Many Unexpected Discoveries
Nancy Kacirek Feldman - 2014
They would ask her about her family’s health history, and she would hear the doctor’s familiar sigh after she answered, “I don’t know, I’m adopted.”Being perfectly happy with the loving family she had, Feldman never took an interest in finding her biological parents until diagnosed with a disease that she passed on to her son. Suddenly, Nancy’s lack of family history was affecting someone else.Writing to the Nebraska Children’s Home Society for help, the adoption agency assigned Nancy’s case to Rebecca Crofoot. This began a 17-year journey between the two women who were determined to find information about a family that might not know, or want to know, Nancy existed.Family Medical History: Unknown/Adopted is a heart-warming story of personal, medical, genealogical and emotional discovery.
The Highland Clearances
John Prebble - 1963
Following his magnificent reconstruction of Culloden, John Prebble recounts how the Highlanders were deserted and then betrayed into famine and poverty. While their chiefs grew rich on meat and wool, the people died of cholera and starvation or, evicted from the glens to make way for sheep, were forced to emigrate to foreign lands.‘Mr Prebble tells a terrible story excellently. There is little need to search further to explain so much of the sadness and emptiness of the northern Highlands today’ The Times.
The BCG Genealogical Standards Manual
Board for Certification Of Genealogists - 2000
They exchange research with others; copy information from books and databases; and write libraries, societies, and government offices. At times they even hire professionals to do legwork in distant areas and trust strangers to solve important problems. But how can a researcher be assured that he or she is producing or receiving reliable results? This official manual from the Board of Certification for Genealogists provides a standard by which all genealogists can pattern their work.
Why Me? The Very Important Emails of Bob Servant
Neil Forsyth - 2011
The economy is collapsing, his health is failing, and around his hometown of Broughty Ferry, Bob is struggling to get the respect he deserves. Fortunately his email junk folder is bursting with offers of assistance from around the world. In these genuine emails, Bob Servant looks to the Internet's worst con merchants and charlatans for answers to his many woes. The author of the bestselling Delete This At Your Peril and the critically acclaimed Radio 4 series The Bob Servant Emails is back with an all-new compilation of emails targeting a fresh batch of email spammers—the false lenders who have bravely stepped into the credit crunch, supposed doctors offering expensive treatments for Bob's ailments, and fake foreign soldiers offering him military advice in his campaign against a local bowling club. They all find a man from Broughty Ferry who is ready and willing to give them his valuable time.
Who Do You Think You Are?: The Essential Guide to Tracing Your Family History
Megan Smolenyak - 2009
Each one has its own stories: the black sheep, the Civil War hero, the ancestors who fled to the United States, or the lost family fortune. No matter how plain you think your background is, chances are there is a saga just waiting to be discovered. The ground-breaking NBC series "Who Do You Think You Are?" takes seven of America's best-loved celebrities-from Lisa Kudrow to Susan Sarandon-on an emotional journey to trace their family history and discover who they really are. The revelations are sometimes shocking, sometimes heartbreaking, and always fascinating. With the "Who Do You Think You Are?" companion guide, you will learn how to chart your own journey into your past and discover the treasures hidden in your family tree. Featuring step-by-step instructions from one of America's top genealogical researchers, "Who Do You Think You Are?" covers everything a beginner needs to know to start digging into their roots, including: * Full-color profiles of the celebrities' surprising revelations * Starting the search-it's as easy as pulling out the old family photos * Census information-where to find it and how to use it * What birth, death, and marriage certificates have to tell us * How to track down immigration and military documents * The latest breakthroughs in DNA testing * The best online resources to conduct your searches, and store your newfound discoveries to share with family and save for future generations It has never been easier to bring your family history to life. You will be amazed at how much there is to discover!
Shaking the Family Tree: Blue Bloods, Black Sheep, and Other Obsessions of an Accidental Genealogist
Buzzy Jackson - 2010
With a name like Jackson (the twentieth most common American surname), she knew she must have more relatives and more family history out there, somewhere. Her first visit to the Boulder Genealogy Society brought her more questions than answers . . . but it also gave her a tantalizing peek into the fascinating (and enormous) community of family-tree huggers and after-hours Alex Haleys. In Shaking the Family Tree, Jackson dives headfirst into her family gene pool: flying cross-country to locate an ancient family graveyard, embarking on a weeklong genealogy Caribbean cruise, and even submitting her DNA for testing to try to find her Jacksons. And in the process of researching her own family lore (Who was Bullwhip Jackson?) she meets legions of other genealogy buffs who are as interesting as they are driven—from the boy who saved his allowance so he could order his great-grandfather’s death certificate to the woman who spends her free time documenting the cemeteries of Colorado ghost towns. Through Jackson’s research she connects with distant relatives, traces her roots back more than 250 years and in the process comes to discover—genetically, historically, and emotionally—the true meaning of “family” for herself.
Anne Orthwood's Bastard: Sex and Law in Early Virginia
John Ruston Pagan - 2002
Orthwood died soon after giving birth; one of the twins, Jasper, survived. Orthwood's illegitimate pregnancy sparked four related cases that came before the Northampton magistrates -- who coincidentally held court in the same tavern -- between 1664 and 1686. These interrelated cases and the decisions rendered in them are notable for the ways in which the Virginia colonists modified English common law traditions and began to create their own, as well as what they reveal about cultural and economic values in an Eastern shore community. Through these cases, the very reasons legal systems are created are revealed, namely, the maintenance of social order, the protection of property interests, the protection of personal reputation, and personal liberty. Through Jasper Orthwood's life, the treatment of the poor in small communities is set in sharp relief.Anne Orthwood's Bastard was the winner of the 2003 Prize in Atlantic History, American Historical Association.
Highland Yuletide Magic
Keira Montclair - 2019
When Moray Allen is left in charge of Muir Castle the fortnight before Yule, he doesn't anticipate any excitement. The excitement is all down south, where the Grant and Ramsay cousins are embroiled in their final battle with the Channel of Dubh, smugglers who trade in human cargo. But the chieftain hasn’t been gone for more than a day when Moray spots a golden-haired lass in the wilds surrounding Castle Muir. He suspects she’s lost and in need of food, but she runs from him. Meanwhile, the chieftain’s son, Steenie, is preparing for Yule with his beloved pet, Paddy, who seems to have his own plans for the holiday--plans that involve the mysterious stranger. Although Shona escaped the Channel of Dubh with her brother and three other bairns, she knows they’re not safe. Their food supply has run out and winter weather is settling in across the Highlands, seeping into the cave they're using for shelter. To protect herself and the others, Shona must place her faith in someone, although she’s hesitant to trust any man, even the handsome Highlander she keeps seeing. Moray and Shona are both in need of a little Yuletide magic. Who better to help them than Paddy the Pony?
Lasses, Lords, and Lovers: A Medieval Romance Bundle
Kathryn Le Veque - 2019
Welcome to this grand collection of bestselling Kathryn Le Veque novels, all in one bundle. This collection also includes an excerpt of a never-before published novel, The Champion. Brand-new material! Add this collection to your Kindle library or read for FREE in Kindle Unlimited! Escape to a land where the lasses are fair and fiery, where the lords are strong and noble, and the lovers are passionate and true. All of these elements combine into a great new collection of novels. Medieval England and Scotland have never been so adventurous or romantic. This collection also contains BRAND NEW material - a never-before published excerpt from a future Le Veque novel, THE CHAMPION. You'll want to read this fun excerpt, starring the children of characters from existing Le Veque novels. This collection includes: An except from The Champion - spoiled and lovely Kira MacRohan pits two suitors against each other. The Savage Curtain - A great English knight in a forced marriage with a Scottish captive. Swords and Shields - A de Winter son marries a woman of deception... and loses a brother in the process. Great Protector - An older knight and a young woman find love amidst intrigue. While Angels Slept - A widow and a great earl find danger and adventure amidst the Anarchy. Get your copy of this limited edition collection before it's gone!
Scotch on the Rocks
Lizzie Lamb - 2015
Her wealthy industrialist father has died unexpectedly, leaving her a half-share in a ruined whisky distillery and the task of scattering his ashes on a Munro. After discovering her fiancé playing away from home, she cancels their lavish Christmas wedding at St Giles Cathedral, Edinburgh and heads for the only place she feels safe - Eilean na Sgairbh, a windswept island on Scotland’s west coast - where the cormorants outnumber the inhabitants, ten to one. When she arrives at her family home - now a bed and breakfast managed by her left-wing, firebrand Aunt Esme, she finds a guest in situ - BRODIE. Issy longs for peace and the chance to lick her wounds, but gorgeous, sexy American, Brodie, turns her world upside down. In spite of her vow to steer clear of men, she grows to rely on Brodie. However, she suspects him of having an ulterior motive for staying at her aunt’s Bed and Breakfast on remote Cormorant Island. Having been let down by the men in her life, will it be third time lucky for Issy? Is she wise to trust a man she knows nothing about - a man who presents her with more questions than answers? As for Aunt Esme, she has secrets of her own . . .
It's All Relative: Adventures Up and Down the World's Family Tree
A.J. Jacobs - 2017
Jacobs undergoes a hilarious, heartfelt quest to understand what constitutes family—where it begins and how far it goes—and attempts to untangle the true meaning of the “Family of Humankind.”A.J. Jacobs has received some strange emails over the years, but this note was perhaps the strangest: “You don’t know me, but I’m your eighth cousin. And we have over 80,000 relatives of yours in our database.” That’s enough family members to fill Madison Square Garden four times over. Who are these people, A.J. wondered, and how do I find them? So began Jacobs’s three-year adventure to help build the biggest family tree in history. Jacobs’s journey would take him to all seven continents. He drank beer with a US president, found himself singing with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and unearthed genetic links to Hollywood actresses and real-life scoundrels. After all, we can choose our friends, but not our family. “Whether he’s posing as a celebrity, outsourcing his chores, or adhering strictly to the Bible, we love reading about the wacky lifestyle experiments of author A.J. Jacobs” (Entertainment Weekly). Now Jacobs upends, in ways both meaningful and hilarious, our understanding of genetics and genealogy, tradition and tribalism, identity and connection. It’s All Relative is a fascinating look at the bonds that connect us all.