DG p9 Family History Jul09.qxp 24/06/2009 14:14 Page 9
Homecoming
Family histories in focus
for Homecoming Year
As First Link was going to press, a
fantastic new competition was taking
place inviting the region’s schools
to take part in a special
family history
celebration as part
of Scotland’s
Homecoming Year.
As many readers of First
Link will know, this year is
officially Scotland’s
Homecoming Year.
To mark this
occasion,
Dumfries and
Galloway
Family History
Society held a
Homecoming
Family History
and Local History
Fair on 27th June in
Dumfries Academy in partnership
with 30 schools from across the
region.
Family History Societies
from throughout Scotland and
the North of England were
represented, together with the
Registrars service and Libraries,
Information and Archives service. There
were also a number of commercial outlets with antiquarian
books and postcards, amongst other things.
Elizabeth Carmichael from Glasgow’s Mitchell Library give a
talk on graveyard research while Dr Marjorie Harper of
Aberdeen University discussed emigration from Southern
Scotland. Professor Ted Cowan of Glasgow University gave a
talk on The Lowland Clearances.
The 30 schools from across Dumfries and Galloway have
been working on Homecoming projects based on their local
areas and mounted an exhibition of their work. Prizes were
due to be awarded for the best exhibit from each of the four
areas. All participating schools were awarded £100 and a
certificate.
In the months leading up to the event, members of the
Dumfries and Galloway Family History Society have been
introducing ancestry research to children and parents in
many of the participating schools. Learning and Teaching
Scotland has been assisting with preparations for the
event by arranging free access to the Scotland’s
People web site for pupils working on the local
history project for the Homecoming Fair.
Dumfries and Galloway | first link magazine 9
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