New Video Talk - Dundee City Archives: What We Do

What is an 'Archive' and what do Archivists do? New talk at https://youtu.be/SwsVAtXvfsk

In doing Family History, we depend on Archives. And here Martin Allan, City Archivist at Dundee City Archives, gives us an overview of the work of the Archives. Essential viewing for Family Historians! And Martin will be at our Q&A session on the last Monday of October (details and registration for our members below in this message).

While this talk is using Dundee City as the example - as that is where Martin is based - it gives insight to all Archives and Archivists' work.

Video copyright © Martin Allan.

REGISTRATION for Q&A - members of TVFHS only - https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/what-are-archives-and-what-does-an-archivist-do-qa-with-martin-allan-dundee-city-archivist-tickets-1040122443227?aff=oddtdtcreator - there is a limited number of registrations on there, so if you find you're in a waiting list contact us at tvfhs.

More great articles in this issue, and a wonderful cover image of the Balmashanner Monument, commemorating the men of Forfar and district who fell in the First World War.

Also an announcement of our theme for 2025 - The Sea!

Members please log in to view - clicking should take you direct to the journals archive. (Sorry non-members - you have to join us to read it!)
ToC attached below.

To Members of TVFHS - the documents for the AGM are now all available on this website. These include the Agenda and Notice of Meeting and the Accounts, which were already there, and also the Minutes of 2023 AGM (previously in the February Historian) and now added the Chair-Depute's Report 2024. These are all available in the Society Documents area - you will need to log in to view them, as this area is for members only.

We hope to see many people at the AGM, and are greatly looking forward to the Talk from our guest speaker, Sheriff George Way, His Majesty's Rothesay Herald.

(Glasite Hall, Thursday 26th September, doors open 7.00 and coffee/tea will be available.)

Just now we're in Summer - many members will be off on holidays. We hope that you're having a good time, and of course that your genealogy and history researches are proving fruitful. Here, we're planning for the many events of Autumn.

First, we're pleased to announce the Guest Speaker at our AGM (26th September in the Glasite Hall) - Sheriff George Way of Plean, CStJ FRSA, His Majesty’s Rothesay Herald of Arms. Sheriff Way will speak on the green dragons of Dundee - his talk is titled:

Four Legs Good, Two Legs Better

Now online! The Dean of Guild - our third annual President's Talk on the historic office-holders of Dundee, and the records from their times. This talk by Iain Flett traces the office from mediaeval to modern times - with particular mention of Dundee's links with Viking traders, the development of the Merchant Guild, and the resources that reveal many names of Dundee people not only in the Lockit Buik of burgesses, but in the accounts of the Guild from year to year.
The office of Dean of Guild still exists, the current holder being Dr Joseph Morrow - better known as the Lord Lyon King of Arms of Scotland, and Iain’s talk starts with St Clement, patron of 'Viking' traders, and finishes in our world of 2024, with Dr Morrow.

Link for the talk is https://youtu.be/X9TP7AyfGQQ - and Q&A is scheduled for Monday 29th July, 8.00 p.m. UK time. Registration (for members) is via Eventbrite - please include your membership number or (approx.) date of joining in your registration request.

When developing the talk, Iain said, ‘The Guild of Merchants, now known as The Guildry, would have been in with the bricks at the formation of Dundee as a burgh trading centre in the late 12th century. Although it's difficult to pinpoint accurately Dundee's burgh formation as its early charters were destroyed or ransomed in the Wars of independence, a formation date of 1191 was chosen and celebrated throughout the octocentenary in 1991. What we do know from the Latin charter rolls in The National Archives (TNA) Kew is that King John of England, he of Magna Carta, granted in 1199 the burgesses of Earl David (of Huntingdon) the valuable right to trade in the ports of southeast England.’ (That's the charter shown in this blog post.)

And if the foreign king, John of England, was making his 'free-trading' grant to merchants in the Scottish port of Dundee, as Iain points out in the talk, these merchants must have been developing their fleets of ships and trading connections for a long time previously...

Great articles in this issue, and a wonderful cover image from The Dundee Tapestry, of 'Muggie Sha' - also information about our upcoming AGM (September 26th). Members please log in to view - clicking should take you direct to the journals archive. (Sorry non-members - you have to join us to read it!)   ToC attached here:

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Tonight was the final of our 'Introductory' class in Genealogy/Family History. The image shows a little bit of the room (couldn't get everybody in the picture of course)... We talked about ways of organising data, the importance of looking beyond the 'basics' of BMD and the very numerous other resources available here in Scottish records, a bit on Wills and Testaments and what could be got from these, and a little on what's on our website (this site!) including our 'Where to Find'  links in the members' area (special mention of Fasti Ecclesiae Scoticanae) and about our Talks including the most recent one, on using 'objects' in your Family History quests.
And, our participants got a wee tour of our Library, then spent a little while on their own research with our assistance.

Our Advanced Class runs from 15th May for three weeks - same time, 7-9 p.m. Wednesday evenings. Topics will include reading older writing (especially Secretary Hand), DNA and its uses in Family History research, and more details of records beyond the basics - some topics were touched on in the Introductory class, but here we'll pursue them in more depth. There is space for one or perhaps two more participants - you need to have some expertise, from your own research or from an introductory class, but please contact us at the usual tvfhs email if you'd like to join.

How do 'objects' figure in our family history research? How do items inspire us to search, find, uncover the stories?
Here our guest Jennifer Jolly looks at three 'objects' from her family, and tells us how they have informed her searches. Video-talk is online at https://youtu.be/8h0Pee6QLvk?si=8Tf_HuERiZWKPRKL and will be added to our videos Playlist for members. (Video and content copyright © Jennifer Jolly.)

What are your own 'objects' that have mattered in your quest?

Question and Answer session (for TVFHS members) is on the last Monday (29th) of April, at 8.00 p.m. UK time. For information and zoom link for the Q&A with Jennifer, please register at EventBrite giving your membership number or (for newer members) your date of joining TVFH Society.
(UK is now in 'summer time'.)

Here's details about our classes!
Our series of Family History/Genealogy classes starts on 20th March, on Wednesday evenings, as '6+3' - six sessions of 'Introductory' followed by three 'Advanced' classes. You can sign up for the basic, the advanced, or for both!

The six Introductory sessions give a basic introduction to family history, essential records and where to find them, keeping records, and some less obvious sources such as the Kirk Session minutes and Statistical Accounts of Scotland, while touching briefly on use of DNA testing and on making use of Welsh and English resources.

Our set of three 'advanced' sessions, starting on 15th May, will have much more detail on reading older writing including Secretary Hand, Wills and Testaments, DNA and its interpretation, and use of more obscure resources such as Sasines. For this, you need to have some familiarity already with Scottish Family History resources.

Classes are held in our Centre at 179-181 Princes Street, so that participants can make use of our resources and our computers and software. Time 19.00-21.00 on Wednesday evenings.

Because Easter and school holidays occur during the period of the introductory classes, we plan to be flexible with a two-week 'break' either during the 'basic' classes or at their end, according to what participants decide. The charge for the classes will be £30 for the basic 6-week course, £15 for the advanced 3-weeks, or if participants sign up for both, £40.

To sign up for the classes, email us at tvfhs@tayvalleyfhs.org.uk

We're running our Genealogy/Family History Classes again, starting mid-March. This year we'll have six weeks of 'Basic' evening classes for people needing a brush up and for beginners - yes you can be an absolute beginner and this will get you up and running! Or you can be just a bit rusty or wanting to know a bit more, learn some new techniques, learn more about the kind of documents we use. Something for everyone here.

Then we'll have three weeks of 'Advanced' class, dealing with topics like DNA, reading older writing, and finding more obscure resources. You can enrol for the whole 9 weeks, or for the first 6 or for the Advanced 3.

We'll be giving out the dates and the fees very shortly - Watch our 'News' space for details.