Roots, shoots and stories

The majority of my direct ancestors and their family members have lived and worked in Central Scotland for the last couple of hundred years. Therefore many have been involved in metal working, coal mining and weaving. My paternal grandfather was a miner and two of his sons followed him down the mine, one sadly dying in a roof collapse. Two of my great grandfathers were miners as well, the others metal workers. Lanarkshire was literally the 'Black Country' of Scotland, with the whole of what is termed the Central Coalfield located there. In the late 19th century more than half of Scotland's coal was mined there. Angus Watson, a cousin of my father's, was born in Cleland, Lanarkshire in 1884 into a family typical for that area. His father, John, was a coal face worker and all John's sons were to follow him down the pit. In 1891, when Angus was still only 8 years old, three of his brothers were already working in the coal mines - William, aged 16 was working at the coa...