Caithness group helps people from far and wide reconnect with their roots – how a woman from Nova Scotia discovered ancestors in Latheron and Dunbeath
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Since its formation in 1999, Caithness Family History Society (CFHS) has been helping those in the county, and further afield, who are researching their roots.
The local knowledge of office bearers and committee members, and their experience in research, has often succeeded in "breaking down brick walls", says CFHS committee member Anna Rogalski.
Anna added: "Many members from all over the world have visited Caithness to see where their ancestors lived and worked and often met local members at the CFHS library, to use the society’s resources and get more help. The Covid pandemic resulted in planned trips to Caithness being postponed and so, this year, many members are looking forward to fulfilling their dream at last."
One member who will be visiting Caithness this year is Cathy Greig from Nova Scotia. For 2020, she had booked a genealogy tour, which offered three days at the ScotlandsPeople Centre, one in the National Library and two half-days in other research centres in Edinburgh. She intended to add a week to her trip in order to visit Caithness but her visit was postponed five times.
Cathy said: “My mother was very interested in family history and considering she did her research before the internet, I am impressed and baffled as to where she found all of her information.
"After she died, all of the documents and photos came to me. My first serious research project was to compile a history of my dad’s boxing career from the 1930s. My first steps into genealogy were in 2013. I did a lot of reading and then eventually completed the certification program with the National Institute for Genealogical Studies. My first efforts were aimed at my mom’s side, my Irish side. But the puzzle of my Caithness roots captured my imagination and, soon, most of my research efforts. I use DNA as much as I use traditional records. By using the DNA to confirm my research, I feel I can get one step closer to the answer.
“My great grandfather, James Wilson Sutherland (1851-1936) of Dunbeath, came to Canada in 1868. He was a seafarer so this first trip to Canada could have been a working voyage. He married Catherine Anne MacFarlane in 1884 and made North Sydney, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia his home base until his retirement.”
Cathy had information going right back to her great great grandmother Robertina/Robina Bain, who was baptised in June 1823. Her mother was recorded as Widow Bain and was living at Reisgill, Parish of Latheron. Sadly, her father, Donald Bain had drowned the previous year.
It was discovered that Widow Bain was a daughter of Alexander Gair, one of the “Men” of Latheron. The “Men” were catechists, who were needed to give religious instruction to those who lived in more remote areas of the extensive Latheron Parish. Many of them became lay preachers.
Sandy Gair, a carpenter, was born near Tain in 1772 and, after a spell in Sutherland, he and wife Lucy came to Caithness in 1817, where he worked for nearly 30 years among the Highlanders – seasonal workers at Wick, “teaching, exhorting and reproving with divine authority” until a Gaelic preacher was appointed after the Disruption of 1843. The Gairs lived at Reisgill but later moved to Blackburn, just south of Dunbeath. Sandy held meetings in his own home and throughout the parish. He has been described as “by far the most gifted, original and talented” of the “Men”. It is thought by many that Neil Gunn’s character, Sandy Ware, in the Silver Darlings was based on Sandy Gair.
Last year, Cathy’s research was supported when a direct descendant of Sandy Gair’s daughter, Mary Gair, matched with her DNA. “Everyone has an interesting family with unique characters, like Sandy Gair, just waiting to be discovered. Researching from a distance – even within Scotland – means you may not know all the local resources," said Cathy.
"If you join the Society and become part of a group of like-minded people in the actual area where you are researching, you have the opportunity to go from a list of dry records to actual family stories about your ancestors. Reaching out to the Society, even reading through the material available to members on the CFHS webpage, can give you a boost. Getting an idea on new a way to approach your research can renew your focus and keep you going.”
Visit the group's revamped website at www.caithnessfhs.org.uk and the Facebook page which hosts a discussion group. CFHS says it welcomes new friends and members readily, so please get in touch if you have an interest in the history of Caithness.
