New Forum Post - query about life in Brechin. Can you help?

We've a member enquiring about life in Brechin, mid 18th to mid 19th centuries. Any other members with knowledge of the area? - you can respond via the Forum.

Two from our bookshop, together - ideal for Christmas gifts! The two together £10 plus p&p. Email us to order - or drop by our Centre in Princes Street to buy your copies.

From Lamb’s ‘Dundee: its Quaint and Historic Buildings’ 1895

Dundee: its quaint and historic buildings - AC Lamb facsimile - ref. AN-028

More commonly known as Lamb’s Dundee, this book was compiled by Dundee hotelier, Dundee High School FP and Antiquarian Alexander Crawford Lamb and first published in 1895.  Concerned at how many of Dundee’s historic buildings were disappearing, he sought to document their existence.  This book, with fantastic illustrations by William Gibb, is an essential guide to Dundee which existed before the improvement act of 1879 and the subsequent pieces of what has been referred to as civic vandalism, which occurred during the twentieth century.

This is a facsimile produced for Tay Valley FHS. Image on right is of Gardynes Land as drawn for Lamb's volume - this place, in the High Street, is still here, has been renovated and is now part of a backpackers' hostel.

The Lengs - Dundee's Other Publishing Dynasty - ref. D-078

This book by Gordon Small traces the history of John Leng and his family - the ‘other dynasty’ who put Dundee on the map for professional Journalism. It includes fascinating accounts of many of the people connected with this family, and is illustrated by photographs of people and places, also of advertisements and drawings in some of the publications.

The image is of Kinbrae House. When John Leng first came to Dundee in 1851 he had little money, says Small, but by the 1870s he was able to build this mansion of Kinbrae.
Much more to discover in the book!

Email us for orders just now - or phone. Details on our Contact page.

Many people in our area of Dundee, Perthshire, Angus, Fife and Kinross have Irish ancestors. Ireland Reaching Out have a page discussing Irish church records and how to find them - we've added this to our 'Where To Find' list of links for our members, in the section on Ireland. (You need to log in as a member, and go to Research Information, then Where to Find.
The page mentions Irish Catholic records, of course - but doesn't add that FindMyPast has a searchable index for these, which is very useful. Then the digitised records are on the National Library of Ireland website, but it helps to know where/when you're looking for, hence the index.
Happy searching!

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.