It's your Electric Scotland newsletter meaning
the weekend is nearly here :-)
You can view what's new this week on Electric Scotland at
http://www.electricscotland.com/update.html and you can unsubscribe to
this newsletter by clicking on the link at the foot of this newsletter.
See our Calendar of Scottish Events around the world at
http://www.electricscotland.com/familytree/calendar_help.htm
CONTENTS
-----------------
Electric Scotland News
Scotland on TV
2007 Fall Colloquium at Uni of Guelph
The Flag in the Wind
The Scottish Nation
New Statistical Account of Scotland (1845)
Clan Donnachaidh (Robertson)
The Misty Valley (A children's story)
Clan Newsletters
Poetry and Stories - lots to read :-)
Good Words - Edited by the Rev Norman MacLeod
Transactions of the Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland in 1876
Book of Scottish Story
Reminiscences of Old Scots Folk
History of the County of Bruce
The True Roots and Origin of the Scots
Caroline Baroness Nairne: The Scottish Songstress (new book)
ELECTRIC SCOTLAND
---------------------------------
Got this in from Scotland...
I am most sincerely hoping that you might be able to generate some
world-wide Scottish minded people to support a very important Scottish
Parliamentary Petition that our Save Your Regional Park campaign are
sponsoring. Please look at
http://www.saveyourregionalpark.com, and have a look at the information
and then click on Petitions. This will take you directly onto the relevant
page and you will see the petition wording. For the full notes click on
Information.
It is then worth a quick read through the points under Discussion and then
have a look at the Full List of people that have signed. You will see that
we already have the support of a number of people internationally including
someone who headed up the Alberta Parks. We are VERY keen that many more
thousand Scotland supporters around the world should be made aware of the
almost unbelievable threat that our Regional and National parks are under at
present and I can think of no better medium for this than your Newsletters
and website.
END.
So if anyone out there can help by signing this petition that would be great
:-)
Not a lot happening this week other that getting a lot more work done on
getting content ready for the web site.
I have been on another search for the good old "British Sausage". I
especially liked the Richmond thick Irish sausage when back home in Scotland
and haven't yet found one I like in Canada. And I'm still hunting for cooked
Ox Tongue. I know someone makes it but just can't find them.
This week I was presented with an oil painting of a croft scene by a river
by Scottish artist Jim Shields who is now living in Ontario. The scene is on
an autumn evening with the sun peeking through the clouds. You can see the
painting at the foot of the index page at
http://www.electricscotland.com
ABOUT THE STORIES
-----------------
Some of the stories in here are just parts of a larger story so do check out
the site for the full versions. You can always find the link in our "What's
New" section at the link at the top of this newsletter and pick up poems and
stories sent into us during the week from Donna, Margo, Stan, John and
others.
Scotland on TV
-----------------------
Visit their site at
http://www.scotlandontv.tv
How we suffer with the Scottish weather on Scotland on TV! We’re starting
out to produce a strand called ‘the view from...’ so that, no matter where
you are in the world, if you want to see the view from, say, Arthur’s Seat,
or the Wallace Monument, or any other place in Scotland with a great view,
we’ll have it for you.
So, today was day one, in shooting the first view – from Stirling Castle.
And guess what? The weather is diabolical! Pouring down and very low cloud.
Sigh! Scotland’s a great country but the weather doesn’t half test the
spirit sometimes.
I suspect the weather will also have put a dampener on the 40th anniversary
celebrations for the QE2. The majestic cruise liner was built in John
Brown’s Clydebank shipyards and it reached the grand old age of 40 this
week. stv news was there for the celebrations, including meeting people who
recall her launch.
From further afield, stv News reporter Nichola Kane takes us all the way to
the Red Square in Moscow where the first 'Kremlin Zoria', Russia's first
International Military Festival, proved a success with nearly eight thousand
people attending the event. Modelled on the Edinburgh Military Tattoo, the
event’s programme covered performances from all around the world including
hundreds of Scottish Pipers and Drummers who received a standing ovation.
We’re also still enjoying producing the series about malt whisky. There’s a
new episode this week. Balvenie's Global Brand Ambassador, David Mair
reveals what's involved in the third stage of making malt whisky –
fermentation. This involves sweet liquid being transferred to 'megabarrels'
- large wooden vessels made of Scottish Douglas Fir. A natural chemical
reaction takes place over the next two days, producing lots of heat and some
interesting odours! See it all for yourself on
http://www.scotlandontv.tv/scotlandontv/foodAndDrinks.html
Slainte!
THE FLAG IN THE WIND
------------------------------------
This weeks Flag is compiled by Donald Bain. This issue he is talking about
Gordon Brown and how the economic life of the UK is going.
In Peter's cultural section he has an interesting story of Elis Presley's
Scottish roots...
In this week’s Scottish Quotations there is included one by Elvis Presley
from his short stop-over in Prestwick on 3 March 1960 on his way home from
military service in Germany. It was a reminder that ‘The King of Rock ‘n’
Roll’ had Scottish roots and newer visitors to the Flag might be unaware of
our story of the connection between Elvis and Lonmay which was featured in a
past Flag , so we repeat the tale for any who missed it first time round. I
stayed near Lonmay in the early days of ‘The King’s’ career but didn’t know
at that of his local connection.
Since earliest times Scots have roamed - as traders, scholars and soldiers -
they were known all over Europe. The desire to travel and explore continued
as European horizons widened and new continents opened up. Either
voluntarily or through forced emigration many Scots crossed the Atlantic to
find a new home in America and Canada or south to Australia and New Zealand.
Those of Scottish descent, by now, far outnumber the 5 million home-based
Scots. In his present American and Canadian travels our skielie webmaster,
Alastair McIntyre, continually comes across folk with Scottish ancestry.
Among those of Scots descent is 'The King' himself, Elvis Presley. It has
been thought that he was descended from a Paisley blacksmith but recent
research shows that his roots lay in the small Buchan village of Lonmay. The
300-strong village lies six miles from Fraserburgh in Aberdeenshire, and
Lonmay now hopes to become a 'shrine' for Elvis fans.Elvis Presley's
great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandfather Andrew Presley married
Elspeth Leg in Lonmay on 27 April 1713. Their son, also Andrew Presley,
emigrated to North Carolina in 1745. Possibly the same Presley as described
as coming from Paisley. The Presley line then descends directly to 1933 when
Vernon Elvis Presley married Gladys Love Smith. Two years later their son
Elvis Aaron Presley was born in Tupela, Mississippi, on 8 January 1935. The
rest as they would say is history, as Elvis shot to international stardom.
Elvie Presley only paid one visit to the land of his fathers, a stop-off for
one hour at Prestwick in August 1960, during his service in the US army.
Records show a number of Presleys in Scotland during the 18th and 19th
centuries and with few exceptions, they lived in Lonmay or the nearby
villages of New Deer, Old Deer and Tarves. Lonmay's claim to Elvis Presley
looks very sound - just imagine if the 32 year-old Andrew Presley had never
left Scotland in 1745,thus missing the 45 Jacobite Rising, Elvis might have
been King of the Bothy Ballad singers instead of Rock 'n' Roll.
In honour of Elvis Presley's North-East roots we go to Aberdeenshire for
this week's recipe but how would he have got on with Neep Bree!
Neep Bree
Ingredients: 1 1/2 lb (3/4 kg) turnips (large yellow turnips - neeps in
Scotland, commonly known as swedes); 1 medium onion, finely chopped; 2 oz
(50 g) butter;1/2 pint (250 ml) milk; pinch of ginger; salt and pepper
Garnish: chopped chives and 1 tbsp cream per person
Method: Peel and chop the turnip roughly and blanch in boiling water for 2-3
minutes. Pour off water. Melt butter in a large pot and add onions and
turnip. Season with salt and pepper and add ginger. Cover and cook very
gently for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the water, bring to
the boil and simmer gently for 30-40 minutes when the turnip should be
tender. Liquidise till it is a very fine puree or pass twice through a fine
sieve. Adjust consistency with milk and check seasoning. Serve hot,
garnished with chopped chives and cream in each bowl.
You can read the Flag, listen to the Scots Language, enjoy the Scots Wit and
lots more at
http://www.scotsindependent.org
The Scottish Nation
----------------------------
My thanks to Lora for transcribing these volumes for us.
Now on the J's with Jamieson, Jardine, Jeffrey, Johnston and Johnstone
Here is how the account of Jeffrey starts...
JEFFREY, FRANCIS, the greatest of British critics, as he is styled by his
biographer, Lord Cockburn, and eminent also as an orator and judge, was born
in 7 Charles Street, George Square, Edinburgh, on 23d October 1773. He was
the elder of two sons of George Jeffrey, a depute-clerk in the court of
session, by his wife, Henrietta, daughter of John Louden, a farmer near
Lanark, who had been educated for the church. Besides his brother, John, a
merchant at Boston in America, his parents had also three daughters. In
October 1781, he was sent to the High school of his native city, where he
continued for six years. At this period he is described as “a little,
clever, anxious boy, always near the top of his class, and who never lost a
place without shedding tears.”
In the beginning of the winter of 1787, when in his fourteenth year, he was
sent to the university of Glasgow. His biographer thinks that Glasgow was
preferred, with a view to the Oxford exhibitions or bursaries on the Snell
foundation, which that university possesses, none of the other Scotch
colleges having such rich academic prizes; but if his father had any such
intention, it was soon abandoned. He remained at Glasgow for two sessions,
going home during the intervening summers. Though remarkable for his
quickness of apprehension, “he was,” says Lord Cockburn, “not only a
diligent, but a very systematic student; and, in particular, he got very
early into the invaluable habit of accompanying all his pursuits by
collateral composition; never for the sake of display, but solely for his
own culture. And it is now interesting to observe how very soon he fell into
that line of criticism which afterwards was the business of his life. Nearly
the whole of his early original prose writings are of a critical character;
and this inclination towards analysis and appreciation was son strong, that
almost every one of his compositions closes by a criticism on himself.” At
this time he is said to have been subject to what he deemed superstitious
fears, to cure himself of which he used to walk alone at midnight round the
High church or Cathedral burying-ground.
On leaving Glasgow, in May 1789, he returned to Edinburgh, where he remained
till September 1791, when he went to Oxford. Before this period his father
appears to have removed his residence to the Lawnmarket of his native city.
In the Edinburgh college, he attended a course of Scotch law, in the session
of 1789-90, and of civil law in that of 1790-91. Towards the end of
September of the latter year he went to Oxford, and entered Queen’s college;
but did not remain there longer than the following July. During his
residence there he failed to obtain, what was his great ambition, a pure
English accent. He succeeded, indeed, in abandoning his vernacular Scotch,
without acquiring an English voice in its place.
During the winter session of 1792-3 he again attended the Scots law lectures
of Professor Hume, and those on the civil law, and on history. On the 11th
December 1792 he became a member of the Speculative Society, the most famous
of the literary associations, or debating clubs, connected with the
university of Edinburgh. Among its members during the period that he
attended its meetings were Walter Scott, with whom he first became
acquainted there; Henry Brougham; Francis Horner; David Boyle, afterwards
lord-justice-general; Lord Henry Petty, afterwards marquis of Lansdowne;
John Archibald Murray and James Moncrieff, both afterwards lords of session;
and others who, in after-life, distinguished themselves in literature,
philosophy, science, law, or politics. In this society he read five papers;
on Nobility; on the effects derived to Europe from the discovery of America;
on the authenticity of Ossian’s Poems; on Metrical Harmony; and on the
character of commercial nations. In the discussions of the Society, his
speeches were almost as much marked by brilliancy of imagination, and
felicity of expression, as even the more mature orations of his middle age.
In the quick detection of fallacy, and readiness of debate, he had scarcely
a competitor, whilst in conversational qualities he even excelled, more than
in the formal delivery of well-arranged arguments or set harangues. At one
period he seems to have been ambitious of poetical renown, and in his
college days wrote a great deal of rhyme, besides a completed poem on
‘Dreaming,’ in blank verse, about 1,800 lines long; composed between May 4
and June 25, 1791. He also wrote two plays, one a tragedy. His closing
remarks on all his youthful writings, prose as well as poetry, are seldom
complimentary to himself; but it was thus, by the application of the
severest rules of criticism to his own compositions, and to all the works
which he read, that he was trained for his after post of editor of the most
critical literary journal in Europe. None of his poetical attempts, which
from the opinion passed upon them by his biographer, do not seem to have
risen above mediocrity, were ever published
You can read the rest of this entry at
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/nation/jeffrey.htm
You can read the other entries at
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/nation/index.htm
New Statistical Account of Scotland (1845)
--------------------------------------------------------------
Have made a start at this huge publication which will likely be with us for
a few years. The first volume I am dealing with is the one on Aberdeen.
There are some 85 parishes in this volume and a write up on each.
This week have added...
Parish of Drumblade at
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/statistical/drumblade.htm
Parish of Fyvie at
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/statistical/fyvie.htm
Here is how the account of Fyvie starts in relation to its Civil History...
No separate account of the parish is known, previous to that contributed by
the late incumbent, the Rev. William Moir, to the old Statistical Account;
but various interesting notices, especially in relation to the church, the
priory, and the chapel of St Rule at Folia, are contained in the "Chartularies
of Arbroath and Aberdeen," in the Advocates' Library of Edinburgh; in the
Char-tulary of Aberdeen, and Chaplain's Register, in the Library of King's
College; [For much that is contained in the department of Civil History, I
have to ac-knowledge my obligations to Mr Taylor, late librarian of King's
College, and Mr Gordon of Fyvie, who kindly permitted a full search of the
old charters and other papers connected with Fyvie Castle.] and in a view of
the Diocese of Aberdeen, manuscript, in the Advocates' Library, supposed to
be written by Sir Samuel Forbes of Foveran.
Historical Events.—In the year 1296, the Castle of "Fyvin" appears to have
been visited by Edward I. of England, in his progress through Scotland.
[Edward I.'s Diary, Bannatyne Miscellany, Vol. i. p. 278.] In 1395, the "Castel
of Fivy," which must have then been a place of considerable strength, was
defended by the "gud lady" of Sir James Lindesay, though "as-segit straitly"
by her undutiful nephew, Robert de Keith, son of the Marischal, till her
husband came to her relief, and "quyte discumfyted" the said Robert and his
adherents near the kirk of Bourty. [Wyntown's Chron. ii. p. 371-373.]
In 1644, Montrose took possession of Fyvie Castle; but not thinking it
tenable against the superior force of Argyle, he retired to an eminence a
little to the north-eastward, which he defended with great bravery for
several days, and then marched by night to Strathbogie. The entrenchments
are still distinctly to be seen, and the ground goes by the name of Montrose
Camp. One of Argyle's encampments also on the lands of Ardlogie is still
called the Camp-fold.
Papers and Charters.—Allusion has already been made to some documents in the
Chartularies of Arbroath and Aberdeen, connected with the parochial history
of Fyvie. Of these one relates to a perambulation held in 1325, in virtue of
a brieve from King Robert Bruce, to fix the marches between the King's park
of "Fyvin," and the lands of Ardlogie, belonging to the Abbey of Arbroath.
Several others refer to a dispute between the Bishop of Aberdeen and the
husbandmen of Formartine, in 1382, about payment of the second tithes; and a
considerable number are occupied with the affairs of the church and priory.
At Fyvie Castle the series of charters is numerous and extensive, beginning
towards the close of the fourteenth century, and descending in an almost
unbroken chain to the present time. The original charter of Sir Henry
Preston, obtained from Robert III. in 1390, is lost, but an official extract
is preserved. There are also preserved an extract of the appointment of
Alexander Seton, Lord Urquhart, to be President of the Court of Session, in
1593; the charter of erection of the barony of Fyvie into a lordship, with
all the privileges of a Peer of Parliament in his favour, in 1597; the
signature under the hand of James VI., with the commission under the Great
and Privy-Seal constituting him Chancellor of Scotland in 1604; and the
commission and patent of his creation as Earl of Dunfermline in 1605; with
his appointment as Keeper of Holyrood Palace in 1611. There is also an
interesting set of about thirty documents relating to the public
transactions between 1640 and 1770, in which Charles, the second Earl of
Dunfermline, bore a part. Of these may be specified the Conference at Ripon,
1640; the General Assembly at St Andrews, 1642, to which Dunfermline was
commissioner, and to which refers an order of the English Parliament to the
Assembly; the instructions of King Charles I. to Dunfermline, the
commissioner; two letters from the King to Dunfermline, and one from
Dunfermline in reply, during the sitting of the Assembly; the gift of the
Privy Seal of Scotland to Dunfermline; the King's leaving Holden-by, 1647;
the negociations between Charles II. and the Commissioners of the Estates of
Scotland, at Breda, 1650; and the meeting of the Scottish Parliament, 1661.
It may also be stated, that at Fyvie Castle, there is a considerable number
of paintings, both by ancient and modern artists, and an excellent library,
in the departments particularly of Scottish antiquities, history, biography,
topography, and poetry, well stored.
You can read the rest of this account at
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/statistical/fyvie.htm
On the index page of this volume you can see a list of the 85 parishes and
also a map at
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/statistical/volume12.htm
Clan Donnachaidh
--------------------------
Our thanks to James Irvine Robertson for sending us in articles from the
Clan Donnachaidh annual magazines of which he has been editor for some 10
years. You can see the collection of articles at
http://www.electricscotland.com/webclans/dtog/donnachaidh/index.htm
Got up additional articles this week including...
The Appin of Dull
Ronald Stewart-Menzies of Caldares
Here is how The Appin of Dull starts...
‘When we look back into other years, unto the Appin of our early
recollection, our minds are in an old order, very little of which remains.
It is not merely that things are greatly changed; we are surveying what
might be called “the world before the Flood”. Besides the benefits of social
legislation and medical progress, our time has witnessed so many inventions
and new departures that it is impossible to say which has been the greatest
or with the most far reaching consequences. It is difficult to imagine human
life without motors, yet it is only forty years since their legalised
arrival, and the modern era may be said fairly to have begun. Prior to that,
machinery had hardly come into its own, and now we have conveniences and
mechanical contrivances of all sorts, un-dreamt of in olden times. Today
what would be then deemed incredible, neither carriage nor cart is seen on
the road. Before the voice of the mower or the binder was heard in the land,
hay and grain alike went down before the scythe, and every field was alive
with harvesters. The thatched houses always required attention, as the wind
in a frolic might come anytime. Another circumstance was the amount of work
people had to do on the hill. Peats – what with casting, spreading on the
greenan. And afterwards lifting and shifting and carting, involved a great
deal of work. Casting was generally considered as trying as the scythe. When
carting, we started at four o’clock in the morning, and like Duncan Ban and
Lloyd George, saw the sun rise on the hilltops. Peats must have formed the
main item of fuel for a protracted period, of which indelible evidence is
afforded us by the tracks of the “carns” on the braeface. Those “carns”
(sledges) gave place to wheeled carts in the last quarter of the eighteenth
century. Consequently the moor was almost as well known to the men of the
Strath as to the men of the Aird. Can and. corr and crag - seemingly all had
names. Some remain, but doubtless the great majority are irreparably lost.
The peat industry, after languishing a good while, completely disappeared
about forty years ago.
Of the many old customs that are past along with the fairs, shows and
gatherings, perhaps the one most easily remembered is Halloween Night with
its two lines of bonfires, one on each side of the Tay Valley, in which we
took such delight when we were boys.
Most likely when we think of that time and this, the other thing that
strikes us is that we were a much bigger company of folk then. When I first
entered School there were considerably over 100 in it. In fact, there was a
fair attendance both at Church and School till the opening of this century;
more inhabitants in the villages, and more working the land; but now the
population is going, because the three sources of supply have been
interfered with. The Family of Chiefs with their retainers and workers is
ancient history. Mechanical science enables agriculturists to carry on with
fewer hands. Mass production has done for the workmen of the olden villages
and their workshops. The wheels of the old mills are not going round, and
it’s an empty School and an empty Kirk. However far back we go, it was
pretty much the same tale. As far as we recollect, we were hearing from our
seniors of the great Dull of yore, and had various particulars of the former
state of our surroundings. There had been 23 houses in Camserney west of the
Burn. Of the 15 standing within my memory, 13 have gone down, and 6
including Tighnabruaich, in Milton. In the Village of Dull in the same time,
another 19; 38 hearth-stones cold. There were ever so many more tenants, and
at one time 20 cottars’ cows summered in Easter Moan; 19 from Dull and 1
from Tullicro. The Crofters’ Brae, east of the Burn, had likewise its
compliment. Everything was then so different. High rents and cheap labour
instead of low rents and dear labour. Land in keen demand, so that every “to
let” attracted its offerers. It was the same everywhere. At the General
Election of 1885, the slogan throughout the country was “three acres and a
cow” Compared with that, we read now in the Gaelic Edition of Life and York,
“No man in Atholl to-day will thank you ‘for offering him a croft” and Appin
is in Atholl. It may also be remarked that the community was one and
indivisible, under one man who held the reins with a steady hand, and
socially and recreationally there was neither East nor West, neither Weem
nor Dull, but Menzies Appin. Cordial relations existed, neighbour helping
neighbour, and the community of which we were citizens might have taken for
its motto “Bon-Accord’.
Again, as regards the language, it was Gaelic almost universally with young
and old alike, though evidently falling into disfavour with the authorities.
In Church, the unvarying English morning service, in course of time,
displaced the Gaelic service, which used to follow. In School, thanks to the
Reformers of 1872, the vernacular got its parting kick with dramatic
suddenness. It is indeed curious in the light of recent and present day
Celtic activities, that we should have had the wonderful arrangement of not
a word of Gaelic being allowed in School at a time when it was the only
language heard in the play-ground. This is no criticism; it is merely a
statement of facts.
You can read the rest of this entry at
http://www.electricscotland.com/webclans/dtog/donnachaidh/article14.htm
The Misty Valley
------------------------
By Margo Fallis
A new children's story from Margo which is in three books and is a Halloween
story which of course comes in at an appropriate time of the year :-)
The first chapter starts...
“Poe, come out from under the bed!” Mrs. Merlin knelt and pulled up the
bedspread. “Poe! You can’t stay under there for the next month. Come out on
your own or I’ll come and get you.”
Poe scooted as far back against the wall as he could. “No, Mom. Tomorrow is
October. I’m scared.” He saw his mom lay on her tummy. She gave him a stern
look. “You asked for it. I’m coming in.” Inch by inch she slid on her back
until she was face to face with her son.
“I know it’s a frightening time for you; it is for all of us; but it’s part
of living here in Misty Valley. This is our home and we just have to deal
with it. It’s stinky under here.” Mrs. Merlin slid out from under the bed,
stretched and pulled the curtains open. “It’s beautiful today. The hills are
green and the trees are covered with red and gold leaves.”
“Yeah, for now; but tomorrow that all changes. I hate October.” Bruja, Poe’s
orange tabby, trotted into the room and jumped on his bed. “Get used to it,
Bruja. For the next month you have to stay inside.” The cat snarled and
hissed and ran back out of the room. “See, even Bruja hates October. Why do
we have to live here?”
“It’s been like this for a thousand years. My grandma had to deal with it
and so did her grandma. Ever since Witch Lilith’s ancestor put a curse on
Misty Valley because one of the residents in town insulted her, it’s been
this way. Every year during October, we have a month of Halloween ghouls,
zombies and vampires. Our lawns change from green to black. The trees die,
the sky changes to a weird pastel orange and every creature you can imagine
walks our streets. It’s going to continue this way until someone in that
family makes it right with Witch Lilith’s family”
“Whose family was it, Mom?”
“Old Mr.Death’s family. One of his ancestors punched a witch in the nose
because she made fun of his name.”
“Gosh, Mom. Who can blame the witch. I wouldn’t want the last name Death.
You’re just asking to be teased!” Poe giggled. “That’s probably why Witch
Lilith has the ugliest nose in the world.”
We have the first three chapters up now at
http://www.electricscotland.com/kids/stories/mistyndx.htm
Clan Newsletters
-------------------------
Added the Clan Munro of Australia Newsletter for August 2007 at
http://www.electricscotland.com/familytree/newsletters/munro/index.htm
Added the Clan MacKenzie September 2007 Newsletter at
http://www.electricscotland.com/mackenzie/images/news907.pdf
Poems and Stories
----------------------------
John sent in a doggerel, "Devotion" at
http://www.electricscotland.com/poetry/doggerel220.htm
Commemorative Biographical Record of the County of Kent, Ontario.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kindly typed in for us by Nola Crewe
I have added one more biography about Peter Glasgow and here it is to read
here...
PETER GLASGOW, a retired farmer of the Gore of Chatham, residing on Lot 30,
Concession 1, owns a fine farm of 151½ aces to which he came in 1865 from
Glencoe, Ontario. He was born in Scotland July 1st, 1829, and is a son of
Thomas and Euphemia (Burns) Glasgow, the former a farmer in that country.
Thomas Glasgow was born in Linlithgowshire, Scotland, and died in 1843, aged
fifty-six years, and his widow died in 1848, aged fifty-seven years. Both
were members of the Presbyterian Church. Their children were: Janet; Agnes,
wife of Thomas Gillen; Elizabeth; Sophia; John; Thomas; Peter; and James, of
Australia. Peter and James are the only survivors. The paternal grandparents
were John and Agnes (Gray) Glasgow, natives of Linlithgowshire, where they
were farming people and spent their entire lives. The maternal grandparents
were Robert and Janet (Hume) burns, of Scotland.
On March 4th, 1856, in Newbury, Ontario, Peter Glasgow married Janet Bryden,
and children as follows were born of that union: (1) James, a farmer of
Glencoe, Ontario, married Phoebe Stenson, and has three children, Peter B.,
Loretta and Florence May; (2) Thomas J., a farmer on the old homestead,
married Sarah Hood, and has three children, William J., Mary I. and Hugh
Archie; (3) Gordon K. Mrs. Glasgow, who was born in Dumfries, Scotland, died
in July, 1888, aged sixty-four years, and was interred in the cemetery at
Dresden. She was a daughter of John and Janet (Lockerby) Bryden, of
Scotland, who came to Canada in 1855, locating in Newbury, Ontario where the
father carried on his trade of blacksmithing.
Mr. Glasgow remained with his parents until after the death of his father,
at the age of sixteen years commencing to work for the railroad, and thus he
continued, coming to Canada in 1852, at which time he located at Montreal.
For two years he continued there, employed in railroad serviced, and then
removed to Newbury, still continuing with the railroad, being section boss
for thirteen years. He then purchased his present farm, which was all wild,
and which he has since developed into one of the finest pieces of property
in the township. Since his retirement from active work Mr. Glasgow has given
the property to his son, and built him a beautiful brick home on one portion
of the homestead, while he himself occupies the old home. Fraternally Mr.
Glasgow is a member of the Blue Lodge of the Masonic Order. In religious
belief he is a Presbyterian and takes an active interest in the good work of
that denomination. His political views make him a staunch Reformer, but he
has never aspired to office. While advance din years, he retains all his
faculties and is remarkably active, taking a deep interest in the work of
the farm and the management of affairs. During a long and useful life he has
made and retained many friends, all of whom deeply esteem this honourable
old gentleman, who in his declining years is still so useful a member of
society, and an entertaining companion as well.
Other biographies of this area can be read at
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/canada/kent/
Good Words - 1860 Edition
---------------------------------------
Edited by Rev. Norman MacLeod
You should note that as this is a weekly publication you'll find larger
articles are continued week by week.
This week have added articles on...
Illustrations of Divine Providence (Pages 95-96)
The Goblin and the Cowherd (Page 96)
Praise The Lord (Page 96)
The Story of Ninian (Pages 97-99)
Concerning the Better Country (Pages 99-100)
The Broken Link in our Social Chain (Pages 101-103)
One Question, Many Answers (Pages 104-105)
Here is The Goblin and the Cowherd for you to read here...
AN ICELANDIC STORY.
[The following quaint parable is taken from a MS. collection of Icelandic
Fairy Tales and other Stories, translated by the Rev. Olaf Palsson, Dean and
Hector of Reykjavik Cathedral, and sent to the writer of this by him, to
edit and get published in this country.
I visited the worthy pastor last summer, and received much kindness at his
hands. He reads, speaks, and writes English fluently. On his bookshelves I
observed a presentation copy of Lord Dufferin's "Letters from High
Latitudes," the "Life of the Rev. Ebenezer Henderson"—whose travels are as
freshly descriptive of Iceland to-day as when they were penned forty years
ago — Stanley's "Sinai and Palestine," and Caird's "Sermons." There is often
a peculiar terse raciness in the English of a learned foreigner—especially
when a Northman. This arises partly from the idiom, and partly from the use
of obsolete words, or of modern ones in their primary significations.
Strange effects are also produced by common words being introduced in
unfamiliar and unexpected ways.
I have, therefore, with the exception of one or two trifling corrections,
given the text as I find it. This story—an original and conclusive argument
against swearing—might not inappropriately have been called "Bad Words."]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sœmunder once had a cowherd whom he found too much addicted to swearing, and
he very often reprimanded him for this. He told this cowherd that Old Nick
and his servants had people's curses for their food.
"Then I never would say a bad word," said the cowherd, "if I knew that Old
Nick should lose his meals by that."
"I'll soon see whether you are in earnest or not," replied Sœmunder; and he
lodged a goblin in the cowhouse. The cowherd did not like this guest, for
the goblin did every kind of mischief and annoyance, and it was very
difficult for the cowherd to refrain from cursing. Yet for a time things
went on tolerably well, and he saw how the goblin grew leaner every day. The
cowherd was glad of this, and never did slip out an oath. One morning, when
he entered the cowhouse, he found everything broken, the cows bound together
by their tails; and there were many of them. He then approached the goblin,
who, in his misery, was couched in his stall, and overwhelmed him in his
wrath with rude words and curses. But to his own great vexation, he in a
moment saw the goblin revive, and get so thriving, that he was almost
growing fat. Then the cowherd checked himself, and left off swearing. He now
understood that Sœmunder was right, left off cursing, and never afterwards
said a nasty word. As for the goblin, who was to feed on his cursing, he is
long ago out of the tale.
Would that you and I were able to follow the cowherd's example!
You can read the other articles at
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/goodwords/index.htm
Transactions of the Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Am adding a variety of articles from this publication and this week have
included...
On the Agriculture of the Counties of Ross and Cromarty which is a huge
account of the area and well worth a browse. Here is how the account
starts...
General and Introductory.
The counties of Ross and Cromarty are so thoroughly dovetailed into each
other geographically, and so intimately connected politically, that they are
usually spoken of as one county, and in this treatise we propose to abide as
closely as practicable to this convenient rule. Together the two form the
third largest county in Scotland, and extend in one grand whole from the
German Ocean to the Atlantic; while separately both are cut up, unconnected,
and incomplete.
These combined counties are bounded by the German Ocean on the east, by the
Atlantic Ocean on the west, by Sutherlandshire on the north and north-east,
and on the south by Inverness-shire. The island of Lewis, which stands away
out about 30 miles from the mainland, forming a huge natural breakwater to
check the rolling waves of the Atlantic, and a few smaller islands, also on
the west coast, belong to Ross-shire. The most northern point of the
mainland, at the mouth of the rivulet Fin (meaning boundary), is in north
latitude 58° 7' 20"; the most southerly, near Loch Luing, in 57° 7' 40"; the
most easterly point, Tarbetness, lies in west longitude 3° 45'; and the most
westerly, in the north of Applecross Sound, in 5° 46. The greatest distance
in a straight line from north to south is close on 70 miles, and from east
to west about 67 miles. From north-east to south-west Ross-shire extends 84
miles. According to the census of 1871, the area of the two counties is
about 3151 square miles, or 2,016,375 imperial acres. Cromarty claims 19,247
acres, and Lewis 417,416.
In 1871 the population of Ross-shire was 77,593, and the number of inhabited
houses 15,028. In Cromarty the population was 3362, and inhabited houses
685; together, population 80,955, inhabited houses 15,713. The Parliamentary
Return of owners of lands and heritages in Scotland, drawn up in 1872-3,
shows that in Ross-shire there are 324 proprietors of lands of one acre and
upwards in extent, whose total acreage is 1,971,309, and total annual value
L.247,833, 17s.; and that there are 1719 owners of land of less than one
acre in extent, their total extent being 373 acres, and total annual value,
L.21,508, 3s. The total number of landowners is thus 2043; their total
acreage 1,971,682 acres, and their total annual value, L.269,342. In
Cromarty, according to the same authority, there are in all 231 landowners;
217 having each less than one acre. The total annual value of the lands of
these small owners amounts to L.1966, 7s. The 14 owners of one acre and
upwards hold among them 718,184 acres, the total annual value of which is
L.10,268, 1s. The Valuation Roll for 1876-77 shows that the gross annual
value of the county of Ross, exclusive of railways and royal burghs, is
L.252,908, 10s. 9d.; that the annual value of burghs is, L.14,886, 0s. 6d. (Dingwall,
L.6,922, 15s. 3d.; Tain, L.4744, 5s.; and Fortrose, L.3219, 0s. 3d.); and
that the annual value of railways is L.21,268; grand total, L.289,060. 11s.
3d. The valuation of the county of Cromarty, exclusive of the burgh, for the
year ending 1876-77 is, L.9909, 12s. 6d.; burgh of Cromarty, about L.1900;
total, L.11,809, 12s. 6d. The valuation and area of Cromarty, quoted above,
do not include the detached portions of the county (about 20 in number),
which are scattered throughout Ross-shire. These portions are estimated to
extend to about 182,000 acres, of which the Duchess of Sutherland owns
149,800 acres, and for valuation and all practical purposes they are
considered as part of the county of Ross.
According to the Board of Trade Returns for the present year (1876), the
number of acres under all kinds of crops, bare fallow, and grass, was
124,826 acres; wheat, 6019; barley or bere, 10,461; oats, 29,509; rye, 1192;
beans, 86; peas, 146; total, under cereals, 47,413. The acreage under green
crops was—turnips, 17,126; potatoes, 9256; mangold, carrots, cabbage, &c,
63; tares, &c, 814; total, 27,259. Grasses under rotation extend to 29,987,
and permanent pasture (exclusive of heath and mountain land, to 19,395; and
bare fallow, or uncropped land, to 772 acres. Of the 1,891,549 acres in both
counties, exclusive of the area under "all kinds of crops,bare fallow, and
grass," about 600,000 are under red deer, and 1,291549 under sheep, wood, or
water, &c.
Ross-shire is divided into 32 parishes, several of which are small, several
very large. The two counties are united into one sheriffdom, the sheriff
principal having three substitutes. One substitute sits at Dingwall and
Fortrose, one at Tain, and another at Stornoway, in Lewis. They are also
politically united, and the present representative is Mr Alexander Matheson
of Ardross. For civil purposes they are divided into five districts, viz.,
The Black Isle, Easter Ross, Mid-Ross, Wester Ross, and Lewis. The burghs of
Dingwall, Tain, and Cromarty are joined with Dornoch, Wick, and Kirkwall in
Parliamentary representation, the present representative being Mr John
Pender. Fortrose is united with the Inverness District of Burghs, which are
represented by Mr Fraser Mackintosh.
You can read the rest of this at
http://www.electricscotland.com/agriculture/page22.htm
You can get to the other articles at
http://www.electricscotland.com/agriculture/index.htm
Book of Scottish Story
--------------------------------
Kindly sent in to us by John Henderson
The Book of Scottish Story
Historical, Humorous, Legendary, Imaginative
by Standard Scottish Writers Published by Thomas D. Morison, 1896
This week we have the story of "Elsie Morrice" from the Aberdeen Censor and
here is how it starts...
In the neighbourhood of the pleasant village of----------, on the east coast
of Scotland, lived Janet Morrice and her grand-daughter Elsie. A small
cottage, overlaid with woodbine on the exterior, and neat and clean in the
interior, contained this couple; and a small farm attached to it served to
supply all their humble desires. The place was no doubt agreeable to look
on; but it was a pair of bright blue eyes, some light brown locks, and a
sweet and modest face, that drew all the male visitors to the house of Janet
Morrice. Elsie Morrice, her grandchild, had been left a young orphan to her
charge. She was the only child of an only son, and thus came with a double
call on the feelings of her old grandmother. Dearly was she loved by her,
and well did she deserve it; for a better and a kindlier girl was not in all
the country round. Out of the many young men that paid their attentions to
Elsie, it was soon evident that her favourite was William Gordon. In his
person he had nothing particular to recommend him above his companions; but
there was in him that respectful demeanour, that eagerness to please, and
that happiness in serving the object of his affections, which the eyes of a
young woman can so soon perceive, and her heart so readily appreciate. In
their dispositions, though not similar, they were drawn to each other. She
was timid, loving, enthusiastic—in every respect a woman. He was gifted with
those firmer qualities which bespeak a manly mind, but he had a heart that
could love deeply and feel acutely;
And, if sometimes, a sigh should intervene, Or down his cheek a tear of pity
roll, A sigh, a tear so sweet, he wished not to control.
There was also some resemblance in their situations; for William's mother
was dead, and though he still had a father, yet this parent had never seen
him, and took no concern about him; so that he was entirely dependent upon
his maternal uncle. To his uncle's farm he was to succeed; and William
Gordon and Elsie Morrice were considered by all the neighbours as soon to be
man and wife.
William was seated one evening in the public-house of the village, reading
the newspaper, when a party of sailors entered, and, calling for some drink,
casually asked if there were any seamen in the village. The landlady civilly
replied in the negative; but William, looking up, remarked, without noticing
the winks of the landlord, that he had seen Tom Sangster arrive that
morning.
"And where lives Tom Sangster, my hearty cock?" said the principal of the
party, slapping him on the back, while the rest got betwixt the landlady and
the door. He immediately informed them; and, drinking off their liquor
quickly, they left the house.
"Willie," cried the landlady, "what hae ye done? It's the press-gang, and
Tam Sangster 'll be torn frae his wife and bairns! "
You can read the rest of this story at
http://www.electricscotland.com/books/story/story6.htm
The index page of the book where you can read the other stories is at
http://www.electricscotland.com/books/story/index.htm
Reminiscences of Old Scots Folk
------------------------------------------------
By T. Ratcliffe Barnett (1913)
I might add there are a number of interesting wee colour pictures in this
publication. As it says in the book title...
TO THE OLD SCOTS FOLK WHO DELIGHT TO HEAR THEIR MOTHER TONGUE, AND WHOSE
HEARTS STILL TURN TO THE LAND OF HOME.
Stories added this week are...
Chapter XIII
Sacrament Sunday
Chapter XIV
The Old Doctor
Chapter XV
The Village Parliament
Chapter XVI
Summer Shielings in the Glen
Here is how "Summer Shielings in the Glen" starts...
YOU WILL FIND THEM ALL OVER THE hills of Scotland, in Highlands and Lowlands
and Hebrid Isles—little green hillocks and open spaces high up the hillside
or the glen, with rickles of grey stones and heaps of ruined walls by the
side of the brown burn. To come on them to-day, when the evening sun is
shining and the plovers and whaups are mingling their cries with the husheen
of the mountain stream, is like reading the romance of an olden Scots life
that has gone from us never again to return.
I can see them in many a remote place while I write— far up the sides of
Lawers; behind Schiehallion, where the deer are feeding now; among the
lonely Lammer-moors; or far out in Skye or Harris, where to-day the salt
Atlantic winds are blowing. But always in my dreamings of the shieling days
I come back to a place of ruins far up in a little glen that runs from the
spatey Lyon River right into the heart of Lawers and Ben Glass. For there,
one summer eve, I sat with one whose heart has in it the deep understanding
of the hills, and whose eyes can see far ben into the dim-lit regions of the
long ago. After a great day on the hills, whose sunbaked tops were still
patchy with winter snow, we sat down among the shielings to rest when the
sun was setting. Ballad and song floated out in the calm airs of evening to
the sound of the crooning stream as we talked of the shieling folk and the
ancient customs of the vanished races, till the silent glen was peopled once
more about us, and the cattle were lowing at milking time for Mary and
Ishbel to come with their stools and coggies.
The summer shielings were little shelters or cot-houses which the glen folk
built high up on the hills or corries. There in summer-time the grass was
sweet and green, and in the cooler airs the cattle and sheep roamed free. A
whole highland township would flit for the summer months from the shoreland
or laigh-lying places to the summer shielings, driving their cattle be-fore
them; the men doing the herding, and the women following with the little
bairns, each carrying some essential dish or bundle of provender for the
long sojourn among the hills. The old done bodies, who could no longer climb
the steep braes, were left behind in the farm or croft with some to tend
them in case of need; and if in the summer-time a stranger came to the
township to seek his way, or do some troke of business, he might find the
place all empty and deserted.
Oh, it was a happy time of the year when the nights grew warm and light, and
the days long with the northern sun that scarcely sleeps, for then it was
time to be off to the shielings. The young folks laughed with glee, the
older folks got their goods and chattels all together, and the little bairns
knew that holiday-time had come, when they could run happy and free among
the cattle on the hills, or catch the brown trout in the clear streams.
You can read the rest of this story at
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/scotsfolk/chapter16.htm
You can get to the index page where you'll find the other stories to read at
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/scotsfolk/index.htm
The History of Bruce County
-----------------------------------------
By Norman Robertson, published in 1906
This week have added...
The County Town Contest Years, 1857-1866
Full Development Attained, 1867-1881
Thriving and Progressing, 1882-1906
Schools and Education, 1851-1906
The Militia and Volunteers of Bruce, 1857-1906
The Indian Peninsula, 1854-1906
Which you can see at
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/canada/bruce/
Here is how the "Thriving and Progressing" chapter starts...
The title given to this chapter is one by which the author would desire to
indicate that the period of rapid, lusty development within the county of
Bruce, which had been one of its marked characteristics, closed with the
final years referred to in the previous chapter. The era when the increase
of the county's wealth and population and of the development of its
resources took place by leaps and bounds, could not be enduring and
continuous; the change to a less rapid advancement must come, and the author
would place the date thereof, approximately, at the close of the third
decade of the county's history. High water mark for a long time to come, as
regards population, is to be found in the census of 1881.
The Redistribution Act passed in 1882 by the Dominion Parliament gave Bruce
three members in the House of Commons. In the election which followed the
passing of this Act, North Bruce returned Alex. McNeill, his opponent being
John Gillies, the late member. In East Bruce the late member also failed in
being re-elected, R. M. Wells being successful in this contest against Alex.
Shaw. The riding of West Bruce was contested by James Somer-ville and J. H.
Scott, in which contest the former was returned. R. M. Wells had to resign
his seat in the Ontario House of Assembly. to qualify for nomination in the
above election. This necessitated a by-election in South Bruce. The Liberals
nominated H. P. O'Connor, a lawyer of Walkerton, and the Conservatives, J.
C. Eckford, a leading farmer of Brant. This election resulted in Mr.
O'Connor's favor.
The last change in the number of minor municipalities within the county
which occurred for the next twenty years took place in June, 1882, when the
united townships of Lindsay and St. Edmunds were separated from Eastnor and
established as a separate corporation on and from January 1st, 1883.
In 1883 a change took place in regard to the wardenship. During the
twenty-six previous years this honorable position was frequently conferred
year after year upon the same person, so that only nine names occur during
that period among the list of wardens. Commencing with 1883, the honor and
the duties of the office have been passed around, and no one since then has
held the office for more than a single year, as will be seen by consulting
Appendix Q, which shows that altogether thirty-two individuals have attained
to the wardenship, commencing with the first County Council, that of 1857.
Of these, it is interesting to note, about one-third, having plumed their
wings in the County Council, have sought a loftier flight, and have stood
for parliamentary honors.
A general election for the Ontario House of Assembly took place February
27th, 1883. In South Bruce H. P. O'Connor was returned by acclamation. The
contest in North Bruce was between John Gillies and James Rowand. The former
was elected by a majority of 120 votes.
The burning question before the people of Bruce for the greater part of 1884
was the "Scott Act," the name by which the Canada Temperance Act of 1878 was
commonly known. The campaign commenced early in the year with the obtaining
of the signatures of 3,790 ratepayers to a requisition praying that the Act
be submitted to the electors to be voted upon. During the summer public
meetings were held in many localities to discuss the features of the Act.
Speakers from outside places were obtained by both parties to stump the
country and present their views either for or against the temperance
question in general and the Act in particular. Literature was freely
circulated, and every means used to enlighten the electors upon the question
on which they were called upon to vote on 30th October of that year. The
vote cast gave a majority of 1,321 in favor of carrying out the provisions
of the Act in the county of Bruce.
You can read the rest of this chapter at
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/canada/bruce/chapter8.htm
The True Roots and Origin of the Scots
--------------------------------------------------------
by Craig White.
We were sent in this article by Craig White in 2 .pdf files which you can
read at
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/articles/roots.htm
It starts with a quote...
“Wherever the pilgrim turns his feet, he finds Scotsmen in the forefront of
civilization and letters. They are the premiers in every colony, professors
in every university, teachers, editors, lawyers, engineers and merchants –
everything, and always at the front.” – English writer Sir Walter Besant
Caroline Baroness Nairne: The Scottish Songstress
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
by Her Great-Grand Niece.
This is a 50 page book which I have added as a single .pdf file which you
can read at
http://www.electricscotland.com/nairne/index.htm
And that's all for now and hope you all have a good weekend :-)
Alastair
http://www.electricscotland.com
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