The Troon @ Ayrshire Family History Society founded in 1989 has built up a wide range of knowledge on the people of Dundonald and the other parishes in South Ayrshire. Please browse our website to learn more about us and the assistance we can give to people researching their Scottish Ancestry.

Latest News

Meetings Programme 2023/2024

Our February meeting was a very interesting explanation of the various records that can be accessed. from the archives of Historic Environment Scotland. The speaker, Neil Fraser, took us through the websites with many examples including historic views and maps of Troon. We can now with confidence follow up on our own particular interests.

The next meeting is on the 21st of March when Richard Wiggins will take us on a pictorial tour By the Seaside in Bygone Days.

In May the society will again have an outing to a place of interest: on this occasion to Dean Castle in Kilmarnock. This will be on the afternoon of the 16th of May and is instead of an evening meeting that day. It may be possible to run a bus if sufficient numbers wish it but otherwise car sharing arrangements will be made.

The full programme of events for the 2023/2024 session can be found on the Meetings page of the website.

SCOTTISH JEWISH ARCHIVES OPEN DAY

Thanks to Chris Paton for notice of a forthcoming Open Day at the Scottish Jewish Archives Centre in Garnethill Synagogue. Full information about the Archives can be found at www.sjac.org.uk

Scottish Jewish Archives Centre April Open Day
Garnethill Synagogue, 129 Hill Street, Glasgow, G3 6UB
Sunday 14th April 2.30pm-4.30pm

Booking is essential. This is a free event but donations are always welcome!

This offers visitors the chance to see the displays of the Archives Centre which tell the story of the history of the Jewish community in Scotland. There will also be the opportunity to view the A listed heritage Garnethill Synagogue where the Archives Centre is based.

To book visit https://www.trybooking.com/uk/events/landing/57268?fbclid=IwAR3sFyUq74-9LqdDQZokHmi2x8Prj-xNRUC32OV1O6Q02B5A1izSP3-XyGg

Canadian Census 1931

FamilySearch adds 1931 Canadian census

From FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org):

FamilySearch, the world's largest genealogical organization, and Libraries Archive Canada (LAC), are happy to announce the completion of the free, fully searchable index and images of the 1931 Census of Canada. This significant achievement is a remarkable resource for genealogists, historians, and anyone interested in uncovering their Canadian roots. Search the census now at FamilySearch.org.

The digital images of the 1931 Census of Canada, the 7th census for Canada, were made available by the Libraries and Archives Canada in June 2023. Ancestry, and nonprofit FamilySearch, then went to work extracting information written on each enumerated page to create a name-searchable index of over 10 million people waiting to be discovered from its 234,678 pages.

Thanks to Chris Paton's Scottish GENES Blog for this information.

ScotlandsProple update

In accordance with closure regulations the Scotland's People website now has records for births up to and including 1923, marriages up to 1948 and deaths up to 1973. Later records can be viewed at a ScotlandsPeople Centre. eg the Burns Centre in Kilmarnock.

NEW PUBLICATION

Our latest publication is Volume 7 in the Airshire News Series based on the collected writings of Walter Clearie. In this volume he continues his trawl through the pages of the Ayr Advertiser looking for items of interest concerning Troon and its surrounding area in the years 1851 to 1861. Many of the articles in the paper are now becoming longer and, rather than copy the whole entry, Walter often just makes reference to the entry followed by ...etc. In other words if you want to find out more you will need to go to the Carnegie Library in Ayr and consult the original newspaper.

Ships and shipping news in various forms are prominent throughout the decade. The Portland Ship Building Company continues to flourish, building many fine ships including a clipper built in 1854 which was the largest vessel, up to that date, to be built in Scotland. Ships were continually moving in and out of Troon Harbour. The volume of timber coming from North American ports was increasing and coal was regularly being shipped to to places as far apart as Ireland and India.

People were on the move too. Some vessels were offering immigrant passages to Quebec and Montreal as well as to the West Indies. On a smaller scale Summer works outings from Kilmarnock factories were now coming to Troon on the railway before embarking on steamers for day trips to Arran, Rothesay and Cambeltown.

In April 1854 a detailed account of the death and funeral of the 4th Duke of Portland is given followed later by a mention of his will in which he gave a considerable sum of money to be divided among his servants.

Specimen pages from this fascinating publication can be accessed on the Publications Page of this website together with full details for purchase.

The 1921 Scottish Census

The 1921 census records, made up of over 9000 volumes of enumeration district books, have now been released by the National Records of Scotland (NRS) on the online research service, ScotlandsPeople.

#ScotlandsPeople 1921 Census is searchable online - containing 9,000 volumes comprising over 200,000 images, with details of 4.8 million people, all at your fingertips on scotlandspeople.gov.uk

Ayrshire Archives

The Ayrshire Archives have now opened the search rooms at the new Headquarters in South Harbour Street, Ayr and for East Ayrshire Council at the Burns Monument Centre in Kilmarnock. Access to search rooms is by appointment only. To book an appointment contact the archives at archives@south-ayrshire.gov.uk

1921 Census for England & Wales

The National archives in conjunction with Findmypast has now released online the 1921 Census of England and Wales. To access go to Findmypast.co.uk. Transcripts cost £2.50 per page viewed while views of the original pages completed by the head of the household cost £3.50 each.

eMagazines available on application to info@troonayrshirefhs.org.uk

The following family history journals/ newsletters are available in pdf format to members by email quoting their membership number.

The British Columbia Genealogist. The journal of the British Columbia Genealogical Society. Volume 53 Number 4. Among a number of interesting articles there is a "Whisky Galore" type story. On this occasion the cases of whiskey were in a box car of a train that became wrecked in a swampy area in British Columbia. Allegedly the locals spirited away some of the whiskey and since then the swamp has acquired the name "Whiskey Fill". Soldiers commemorated in the ongoing Holten Project are a John Brunscomb (1913 - 1945) and a Roy James Sim (1924 - 1945). NEW

Aberdeen & North East Scotland Journal No. 161 November 2021, No. 162 February 2022. Interesting articles and full meeting reports in both issues.

The Journal of Glasgow and West of Scotland FHS The following journals have been received from GWoS FHS. NEW

October 2022, No. 125. This edition of the Journal is focusing on ways in which we can unlock our family history through storytelling. There are some family stories from our members, and articles outlining a number of methods and tools you might consider using.

March 2023, No. 126. The DNA theme for this edition has provided articles on discoveries of unknown cousins, and tracing long-unknown ancestors. There are also articles about how to go about using your DNA results and a review of a course which might help if you are struggling to get your head around the myriad of DNA data presented to you by Ancestry or other providers.

June 2023, No. 127. Exploring our family links to Ireland.

October 2023, No. 128. Exploring our family links to Ireland.

The Quarterly Newsletter of the Lothians Family history Society.Winter 2023 (Dec. - Feb.) Articles od local interest including a report on the Dalkeith Palace Exhibition held by the Royal Scots Museum in November. NEW

Ancestral Searcher - Volume 44, Vol 1, March 2021 This issue has a number of fascinating family histories some relating back to Scotland or Ireland.

Volume 43 No. 4 December 2020 The E M Fletcher Writing Awards. This is awarded for short stories with a connection to family history. This year's winner was a story about the tragic life and death of a Chiltern Hills Shepherd as told by one of his lambs. The real shepherd on which the story is based was a 2X great uncle of the author. The other stories printed were all highly commended by the judges.

Scots News Magazine - Queensland, Australia, August/September 2021 Apart from items of Scottish interest in Queensland there are also articles on The Battle of Stirling Bridge, as well as a piece on Flodden Field.

Cedar Log - Richmond Tweed FHS, New South Wales, Issue No.159 March 2024. Two interesting historical articles. One concerns the sinking of the RMS Niagara off New Zealand by German mines in June 1940. She was carrying 590 bars of gold bullion valued at the time of £2.5 million. Over the years much of the gold has been salvaged but 5 bars still remain in the wreck with an estimated value today of $4 million. The other interesting article is an obituary from 1924 which, in covering the life, gives a good description of the lives of settlers in the 1860s.

Kiwi Kith and Kin - Scottish Interest Group NZSG, Issue 126 October 2021 Contains reports of meetings in a land where such events are possible now. Other articles include one on Mortcloth records (A mortcloth (from the latin mors meaning death) was a ceremonial cloth which was draped over a coffin, or body if the family couldn’t afford a coffin, at a funeral prior to burial. Most families didn’t have their own mortcloth so instead hired one for the occasion, mostly from the Kirk Sessions. There were small cloths for children and larger ones for adults.