Week 6: Social Media #52Ancestorsin52weeks

In the future, our descendants will have access to a wealth of information about us and the sort of life we led from the internet and from our use of social media. But how can we find out information about our ancestors, the type of information not recorded on official records or censuses?

Very simply, by researching and viewing the ‘social media’ of our ancestors’ day - newspapers. From big events to local gossip, that’s where everything was chronicled.

The British Newspaper Archives have newspapers from the 1700s-2000s online. That’s where I found and read a murder trial report from the High Court in Edinburgh in the Scottish Chronicle dated June 1811. The murder victim was my 3 x great grandfather, Alexander McAra. The defendant was his brother, James, my 3 x great uncle.

The report goes into great detail. The circumstances leading up to the offence, graphic detail of the ‘attack’, the witnesses’ statements, the judge’s summation and verdict. Much more detail than we would get for the report of a trial in today’s newspapers.

(Source: The British Newspaper Archives)

A really interesting, but quite horrific, read – when you realise this actually happened to your ancestors. These brothers were real people and the account given makes them so much more than just names on a family tree. It puts skin on their bones.

More recently, newspapers.com. which gives similar access to USA newspapers, was really helpful in research I was doing for a friend. An obituary notice from 1978 in the Minneapolis Star, gave names and locations of family members attending a funeral. Other articles showed that the family was very active in the community, attending many local events.

Our ancestors might not have recorded their lives on Facebook and Instagram, but aspects of their lives may be waiting for you to find in their local newspapers.

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2025 Week 26 : Favourite name #52Ancestorsin52Weeks

As well as researching my own family, one of the other trees I have spent a lot of time on is that of my daughter-in-law, Lucy. Whereas my heritage is Scots and Irish, Lucy's is English and therefore some of the names I came across were quite different to those found in my own tree. One of my first favourites was a Francis Badger who appeared in the 1851 census for England! He wasn't actually a relative, but an apprentice to Lucy's 3 x great grandfather and who also lodged with the family. I did wonder how that surname came about - did the original Badger have a funnily shaped face? or perhaps a white streak through his hair?? Or was he just an annoying person?? I'll never know, but it was fun to find him! Francis Badger's entry at the bottom in the 1851 census for England. Source: Ancestry.co.uk However, my all time favourite name - and character - from Lucy's tree is a man named Golden Bridge ! He is Lucy's 5x great grandfather and he was born in Essex...

2024 Week 19: Preserve #52Ancestorsin52Weeks

A few years ago, I came into the possession of a family bible. It was the family bible of my paternal grandparents, John McAra and Christina Walker. Until her death in 2018, the bible had been in the hands of my Aunt Inez, widow of my Uncle Will McAra. When I started enquiring as to its whereabouts, I found that it was her grandson, John, who now had it. John himself had no real interest in it at all, so he was quite happy to hand it over to me. However, it was, to say the least, in a bit of a state. The front cover was completely detached and there were many loose pages as the spine of the book was also damaged and detached. I had no choice but to take it to a book repairer in Glasgow, where it was repaired as best it could be. The bible itself had been originally published in Glasgow in the late 19th century. In Victorian times it was common for Christian families to have such a large bible in which they could record events such as births, marriages and deaths. The one I have al...

2025 Week 12: Historic Event #52Ancestorsin52Weeks

The Battle of Arbroath, one of Scotland's bloodiest battles, was fought in the summer of 1345 between rival claimants to the post of Baillie of the Regality. The Baillie of the Regality chosen by the monks of Arbroath Abbey at that time was Alexander Lindsay. This post gave Lindsay power and prestige and he was responsible for upholding the law in the lands around the abbey. However, like many men in positions of authority both past and present, he chose to abuse his position of power and his fighting men caused mayhem within the walls of the Abbey. This led to the monks deciding to replace Lindsay with Alexander Ogilvy, who had hereditary claims to the position, but who unfortunately was Lindsay's enemy ... and my 15 x great-uncle! His sister, Isobel had married into Clan Oliphant and, on paper at least, Isobel is my 15 x great grandmother! Of course, the appointment of Ogilvy was not acceptable to Lindsay, who then raised an army of 1000 men and marched to Arbroath Abbey to r...

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