Caithness family history publication issued ahead of national conference
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DETAILS about the lives of those commemorated in a Caithness village graveyard have been brought together in a new book ahead of next week’s Scottish family history conference in Wick.
The publication from Caithness Family History Society (CFHS) covers Olrig Second Cemetery at Castletown, where the earliest inscription dates from 1864 and the most recent from 2018, and is the latest in the group's Monumental Inscriptions series.
It will provide valuable information to anyone looking to carry out genealogical research that encompasses the Castletown area. The book's index makes for easy checking, while a map of the position of each stone will help those wishing to visit the site.
CFHS committee member John Nicolson transcribed the inscriptions on the stones and compiled the text for the book, which will be available to buy at the annual conference of the Scottish Association of Family History Societies (SAFHS) taking place in the Pulteney Centre, Wick, on Saturday, April 27.
Anna Rogalski, CFHS publications officer, explained: “Place of burial was only recorded on Scottish death certificates from 1855 to 1860, which makes the Monumental Inscriptions books very useful. Family historians can find out far more than dates of death on many of the gravestones in Olrig Second Cemetery.
“Sometimes the date of birth is given, sometimes the occupation. Along with the more usual jobs of postman and lighthouse keeper can be found a commander of the Imperial Chinese Navy! That was John Calder, who died in 1914.
“Members of the family who are buried elsewhere are sometimes mentioned. John Coghill, who died at Yakima, USA, in 1932, is commemorated on his parents' stone, which had been erected by his brother William Coghill of Valparaiso, Chile. Miss C C Younger and James Younger, of Johannesburg, South Africa, erected a stone to three people who may have been their parents, and a sibling.”
Anna pointed out that Olrig Second Cemetery has five war graves for aircrew of World War II. The men were from Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Norway.
She added: “Many people had quotations, sometimes Biblical, inscribed on their family gravestones and these can tell us much about the deceased. ‘Her goodness will ever be dear to our memories’ tells us so much about how Mary Ann Steven Hendry’s family felt about her.”
CFHS has also reprinted a book of transcriptions of the gravestones in the Olrig First Cemetery, which was originally published in 2010 but had been out of print for some years. Both books cost £3 to CFHS members and £4 to non-members.
Meanwhile, final preparations are in hand for the 30th annual SAFHS conference, under the title of Northern Roots. It combines a formal programme of talks for paying delegates with a family history fair open to the public.
Family history groups from the length and breadth of Scotland – from the Borders and Ayrshire to Moray and Orkney – will be descending on the Pulteney Centre for the day, ready to offer information and advice, as will the Association of Scottish Genealogical Researchers in Archives (ASGRA). Major genealogical websites will also be represented.
Organisers at CFHS see it as unique opportunity to showcase the county and they hope it will encourage more people to take an interest in ancestry and genealogy.
After an evening reception on Friday, the conference gets under way on Saturday morning. It will be officially opened by Lord Thurso, and master of ceremonies will be Wick historian Harry Gray.
Conference delegates will first hear from Doreen Leith, of the Wick Society, on how “oral history meets family history” through the Wick Voices project.
Nick Hide, archivist for Clan Davidson, will then talk about Clan Davidson family history projects in Caithness and elsewhere.
Neil Fraser of Historic Environment Scotland will give a presentation called From Caithness to China, outlining the organisation’s online research resources and photography collections.
After lunch, delegates will be taken over to the Nucleus archive centre.
The family history fair will run from 10am to 4.30pm and this will have free entry.
Ian Leith, vice-chairperson of CFHS, says the society is honoured in its 20th anniversary year to be hosting such a prestigious national event that will highlight the contribution Caithness people have made at home and abroad.
Ian, who sits on the council of the national body, says the Pulteney Centre has been very supportive in helping to set up the conference and in making its facilities available.
Janet Bishop, chairperson of SAFHS and ASGRA, said: “ASGRA is bringing a team to the conference to be on hand for enquiries from the public on both membership of our professional association and also as members of the ‘Ask the Experts’ panel. As SAFHS chairperson, I will also be there to represent the SAFHS trustees, and the publications officer is bringing the SAFHS bookstall. We are all looking forward to the trip very much.”
