Tales of a Pagan Den, stone carvings and an ancient Druid’s Well were told to me when I first visited the area that our Webster family from Fife, Scotland came from. My husband and I were staying in nearby Crail township and while chatting to the host, I told him about my purpose in visiting Dunino, the birthplace of my Webster ancestors. He relayed the local folklore, and as my visit was in 2008, it was many years prior to … Continue reading
by Bob McAllister So, I had agreed to take a Christmas break from my single-minded focus on family history. (Don’t you think that single-minded is a much nicer word than obsessive.) Apparently, most “normal” people devote time in mid-summer to watching television and browsing magazine articles, so that what was what I would do. Unfortunately, our friends at Ancestry DNA see seasonal holidays as an ideal time to advertise their wares on TV, so I could not fail to notice … Continue reading
History was one of my favourite subjects at school, and I love nothing better than wandering around castles, museums, churches and lately graveyards. Family history or rather, genealogy has proved to be new found love. When we start researching our family trees, questions about our families often go unanswered, our busy lives take over, family members come and go, and often we have no-one left to ask. Oh, how I wish my mother was still alive to ask her about … Continue reading
As I looked at the face on the computer screen, I felt goosebumps rising. It was if I was looking at a blend of my father’s two sisters, Jean and Betty. I’d been idly typing names into good old Google late one night… Mary Steven, Mary Ainslie, James Ainslie, Mrs James Ainslie… and up she popped “Mary, Mrs James Ainslie”. I was looking straight into the eyes of my 2x great grandmother, Mary Ainslie! I couldn’t believe it! Amazingly, … Continue reading
