Glasgow, Inverness and Fort William

We've done a bit of driving again this week. And the whole time we've just been in awe of the scenery. English people that go to NZ for the scenery should make sure they have seen what the Highlands offers as well. Just awesome, so many Kodak moments.

One morning we got up early to go and get some early morning misty moody photos on Rannoch Moor. I just LOVE that landscape and all the lochs, small and large. One day, maybe next summer if I am still here I want to do the Great Glen walk - or at least part of it.

We also went to Glasgow, by bus which was great to be able to actually take in a bit more of the scenery and not have to concentrate on the road. That day the reflections on the lochs on Rannoch Moor were stunning, sadly they weren't on our early morning trip. We'll have to go again.

Glasgow was crazy busy, as you would imagine a city hosting the Commonwealth Games would be. I met a friend for lunch - which was an exercise in itself, but fun and we wandered about soaking up the Games atmosphere. We'll need to revisit when it isn't quite so busy I think.

We went to Culloden Moor near Drummossie and Inverness - the site of the brutal battle of Culloden. It is such an eerie place, and both times I've been - windswept. We went up through the Cairngorms and then drove back down the side of Loch Ness. No Nessie to be seen though. 

We didn't have time to stop in Inverness, so we went back the next day - just up and back the same way this time. When we walked out of the mall in search of a better selection of food we came upon a caravan with owls. We had to stop, donate and take photos.

"Granny will be so jealous"

We found somewhere to eat (finally) that doesn't just serve toasties and mac cheese or nothing vegetarian at all. It was lovely though apart from the giant size servings. While we were eating the heavens opened and the rain poured down. It had eased off by the time we left and made our way back to the mall. After another unsuccessful shopping expedition (you wouldn't believe how hard it is to find a skirt here) we returned to the car park to drive back to Fort William.

We made it back to Kilmonivaig by the skin of our teeth, to be able to see inside the church which is celebrating its bicentenary this year. A lovely lady told us a lot about the church and its ministers, some of whom were related to Lauren. She produced a Gaelic bible which had belonged to the minister and had been passed to his brother in law and then his brother, and also a communion plate which dates from 1814 so surely had some DNA on it.

The fiercely loyal Highland spirit still seems strong here, with local Highland games and Shinty tournaments, signs written in Gaelic and English and such pride of their history and struggles with those sassenachs from the south. The people are so friendly and welcoming, it makes it hard to have to leave.

From Glasgow to Toowoomba

So, its been a wee while since I posted anything but I figured this is the week. 

On my Mum's side of the family there is a little bunch of detectives finding all sorts at the moment. We are all 3 x great grandchildren of our common ancestors Thomas Kelsey b1808c and Sarah Hulett b 14 Nov 1807. We've all been searching on our own for 20 years or so, but have slowly been making connections over that time until we have joined forces - and we're still recruiting ! The interesting part has been discovering how intertwined the families were a couple of generations ago, when they were closer to those common ancestors.

Thomas and Sarah were country folk; ag labs. They had five children. One son stayed in the same area working on the land to support his family, the other two sons joined the booming railroad industry, one daughter married a railroad worker and the other a local roading contractor. Their descendants are spread across the United Kingdom in England, Scotland and Wales and across the globe in the United States, Australia and New Zealand.

The Scots connection has only been recently uncovered and has also lead to discovering other emigrants to Australia and the United States. Yesterday I was comparing my information to that of another descendant on GenesReunited and noted that a 2nd cousin of my grandmother had a death recorded in Queensland Australia. This was something new, so after looking up passenger lists on Ancestry I discovered that Thomas Laing Kelsey had emigrated on his own from Scotland aged 16 on the Oronsay. Off to Trove I went to see what else I could find out.

I didnt find anything which mentioned Thomas by name. There were a number of articles about a charity ball which had been held on board after the ship arrived in Brisbane while moored on the river. There were two articles though, concerning one of Thomas's fellow passengers. One in the Sydney Morning Herald on 2 August 1929, and the other in The Courier Mail on 6 August 1929 which was more detailed. These two articles also gave some background to the Boy Migrant Scheme under which Thomas had emigrated to Australia.

The Brisbane Courier (Qld. : 1864 - 1933), Friday 2 August 1929, page 6

Thomas began his new life in Toowoomba. He later married there and had a couple of children before moving in the 1950's to the Gold Coast. I wonder why he applied to be part of the scheme, how did he qualify ? Both of his parents were still alive at the time he left Scotland. His father had been in the Army so must have had a pension, but perhaps they had fallen on hard times.

Some more detective work is required I think, to find out more and see if there are more  descendants to find and connect with.


This post forms part of Trove Tuesday as suggested by Amy, from Branches, Leaves & Pollen.