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Nairnshire
The county of Nairn lies to the east of Inverness on the south shore of the
Moray Firth, its only town being Nairn. This was an important fishing port
until the demise of herring catches in the 1920s. The town has, for many
years, been an important holiday resort with excellent beaches and golf
links. Cawdor Castle, as popularised in Shakespeare's Macbeth, is located
in the old county.
Clan and Family Heartlands
You can get a feel for the lives your ancestors lived by visiting the area
they came from. These are areas where, for centuries, families lived
together in a tightly-knit community. In the Highlands they are linked to
clan heartlands, whereas, in the rest of Scotland the names are often those
of the local landed families. Although it is unlikely that family
historians can link their ancestry to clan chiefs or family dynasties, it
can still be a moving experience to tour the clan and family heartlands.
Here is a selection of the most common names in this area:
Brodie
Rose
Parishes
The Parish Church can unlock many secrets for ancestral researchers. Not
only was it the place where children were baptised, proclamations of
marriage announced and the dead buried, it was also the centre of most
social activity within the Parish. There is, however, no such thing as a
definitive list of parishes. Over the decades they have merged, divided,
been renamed and had changes made to their spelling. The following list is
based largely on the situation at the time of publication of the New
Statistical Account (1834-1845).
Ardlach
Auldearn
Cawdor
Nairn
Detailed information on life and work within each of these parishes can be
found in the Old (1791-99) and the New (1834-45) Statistical Account of
Scotland. These are freely accessible on http://edina.ed.ac.uk/statacc. Part of their charm
is the individual views of the minister, which can include some
fascinating accounts of a parish's history, topography, employment,
landowners, communications, agriculture and even the morality of the
parishioners.
Local Studies Libraries
Almost every municipal authority in Scotland has a collection of local
history publications, maps and archives. Although most of these libraries
are prepared to undertake a limited amount of searching on your behalf, it
is far more fulfilling to visit them yourself. You could lose yourself for
hours, pouring over old newspapers and photographs.
The following is a list of the libraries in your chosen area:
Highland Council Genealogy Service
Inverness Library
Farraline Park
Inverness
IV1 1NH
Tel: +44 1463 236463 Ext 9 or +44 1463 220330 Ext 9
Fax: +44 1463 711128
E-mail:
genealogy@highland.gov.uk
Highland Council Genealogy
Service Website
Open: Mon-Fri, 09:00 - 13:00 & 14:00 - 17:00.
Personal consultations with the genealogist are provided.
Local Archives Centres
Almost every municipal authority in Scotland has a collection of local
history publications, maps and archives. Although most of these libraries
are prepared to undertake a limited amount of searching on your behalf, it
is far more fulfilling to visit them yourself. You could lose yourself for
hours, pouring over old newspapers and photographs.
The following is a list of the archive offices in your chosen area:
Highland Council Archive
Inverness Library
Farraline Park
Inverness
IV1 1NH
Tel: +44 1463 220330
Fax: +44 1463 711128
E-mail:
archives@highland.gov.uk
www.highland.gov.uk/leisureandtourism/what-to-see/archives/highlandcouncilarchives
Open: Mon-Thu, 10:00 - 13:00 & 14:00 - 17:00, by appointment only.
The archive comprises the official records of Inverness-shire (including
Skye and its burghs), dating from the 15th to the 20th century. These
records include registers of deeds and legal papers, school log books and
admission registers, poor law registers and several court papers. The
archive also holds the papers of many highland families, estates,
businesses and societies from the 16th century to date.
Museums and Heritage Centres
Scotland is a country with a remarkable history. So it should come as no
surprise that Scotland is home to a remarkable collection of museums and
heritage centres. These range from the major, internationally renowned
collections in Edinburgh's Royal Museum of Scotland to hundreds of small
centres that specialise in the history of local communities.
The following museum is in your chosen area. A visit may well shed new
light on the lives led by your ancestors.
Nairn Museum
Viewfield Drive
Nairn
IV12 4EE
Tel: +44 1667 456791
www.nairnmuseum.co.uk
Open: April-October, Mon-Sat 10:00-16:30
A comprehensive collection of exhibits covering all aspects of Nairnshire
life.
Family History Society
Local societies are run by volunteers who meet together periodically. Most
maintain an index of members' interests - and this could well lead to the
discovery of a long lost cousin or two. If there are any such societies in
your chosen area, they will be listed below.
Highland Family History Society
c/o Highland Council Genealogy Centre
Inverness Library
Farraline Park
Inverness
IV1 1NH
Tel: +44 1463 236463
Fax: +44 1463 711128
Highland Council Genealogy Centre
Website
Details of members' research interests held on computer.
Burial Information
It may seem a little odd, but a visit to the burial ground of an ancestor can make you feel more closely connected to them. However, tracking down the specific plot, or lair as they were referred to in Scotland, depends on the period of time when the deaths occurred.
Up to the mid-19th century it was the normal practice for people to be interred in the Parish Kirk burial ground - although this was only rarely marked with anything as grand as a headstone. The Scottish Association of Family History Societies (SAFHS) is currently co-ordinating a major project to develop a National Burial Index, relating to pre-1855 records. This will eventually be available on CD ROM. Although this will help to confirm that burials took place in parish burial grounds, it will not, unfortunately, indicate the location of the lair.
If your ancestor was wealthy enough, their grave may have been marked by an inscribed headstone. Over the years, family history societies and other volunteer groups have painstakingly transcribed and indexed such inscriptions - and these are nearly always held in the relevant local history libraries or family history research centres.
By the mid-19th Century, many parish burial grounds had become seriously overcrowded, especially those in urban areas, and this led to the creation of both private and municipal cemeteries. If you know the place and date of death, you should be able to discover the location of a lair, although not all cemeteries and records have survived.
The concept of cremation started to gain popularity in the late 1940s and has increased ever since. Ashes may be taken away by the family, scattered in the garden of remembrance or buried either in the crematorium or in a family plot.
Client Service Officer
Transport, Environmental and Community Services
The Court House
High Street
Nairn
IV12 4AU
Tel: +44 1667 458 540
Fax: +44 1667 458547
Email: don.smith@highland.gov.uk
Burial grounds falling within this Authority are Ardclach, Auldearn, Barevan, Cawdor, Gedded, Nairn Churchyard and Nairn (Grantown Road). Personal visits and/or requests by mail are welcomed. There is a computerised index to all Lair Purchase, Registration and Transfer records and to some burial records. If the search is completed within about 15 minutes no charge is made. Longer searches incur a fee of £18 plus VAT. Extracts of most records are provided at no cost.
