Ralph Nicholson (c1816-1898), my great great grandfather, had a narrow escape from drowning in 1860. Here’s the story. Brims is an area in the parish of Walls, Orkney, part of the island of Hoy. This map shows Brims and the North Bay. The loss of a boat load of peats, fuel for the winter, would | more…
The “Burmese gong” stood on a shelf at my parents’ house for as long as I can remember. I knew that “hid cam fae [it came from] Thistlebank” but little more. Perhaps it is not even Burmese. The man who brought | more…
Keep reading! They are far more than numbers. The Statistical Accounts are two fascinating sets of reports on each Scottish parish in the 1790s and the 1830s/40s. They cover economic and social activities as well as natural resources. What, when, who, how? Sir John Sinclair of Ulbster sent out 171 queries to the ministers of | more…
