Father and three sons lost at sea?

My father grew up next door to his paternal grandfather John Ross; consequently he knew a good deal about his grand-uncles and grand-aunts, siblings of that grandfather. My father would recount how the oldest brother, Walter, and his three sons were all lost at sea. Apart from Walter himself the details were rather sparse and,  |  more…

Crofters’ Commission records for family history

Were your ancestors crofters? That is, living in one of the seven crofting counties of Scotland – Shetland, Orkney, Caithness, Sutherland, Ross and Cromarty, Inverness-shire and Argyll – with a holding of not more than £30 in annual value or rent. If the answer is yes and they were there from 1886 onwards there’s a  |  more…

Nice moniker

Helen McCaulay Ritch. That name stands out among my ancestors; it has a nice ring to it. Helen was a great-great-grandmother on my father’s side, wife of Ralph Nicolson. She was born in Rackwick, Hoy, Orkney on 10 March 1815, the second known daughter of Thomas Ritch and Ann Mckay. I came across Helen fairly  |  more…

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