I remember as a kid growing up in Glasgow that I was brought up under the belief (as instilled by my father) that I was Scottish “through & through” and not to forget it. As I got older I realised this was quite obviously wrong as my mothers had been born in Darlington, albeit to a Glaswegian Father and that her maternal Grandmother had been of Irish extraction. So 100% Scots TOTALLY blown out of the water there then!

I have always had an interest in both who came before me and indeed where they came from and in ‘trying’ to find out their stories. As a novice in genealogy I have already unearthed a mass of information that, as previously mentioned, blows my “100% Scot” to smithereens. Primarily my forebears were drawn from Ireland (North & South), Aberdeenshire here in Scotland, the North East of England and strangely the most exciting for me Cornwall, specifically Newlyn and the beautiful fishing village of Mousehole (pronounced Mowzel) near Penzance.

So, the majority of my ancestors came to Glasgow, which must have been a shock for folk from rural Scotland & Ireland. What they found was a City undergoing a one helluva growth spurt and in the grip of the industrial revolution which over time took fragmented Burghs and quite literally dragged them together to form the Glasgow we know now. Also at the time Glasgow was also experiencing the first flush of sectarianism that had previously been unseen in this scale in Scotland. Some of my forebears were protestant Ulstermen whilst others where Roman Catholics from the poorer South escaping the wave of famines and economic depression. Most stayed and made their lives here although some returned back home unable to settle or took off looking for a new start elsewhere.

What I’m going to ATTEMPT to do with this blog is share some interesting or even important aspects of my family history. So’ here’s to the next post then.

Thanks for reading.