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Speaker for 10th September 2008
Donnie Harper is to talk to C.F.H.S. members on10th September 2008 about the book "A Tale of Two Tankards." Its author found 2 tankards in a junk shop in Wales and researched their late owners, members of an R.A.F. Squadron based in Wick in WW2. The venue is likely to be Miller Academy, Thurso but this will be confirmed nearer the time.
MONUMENTAL INSCRIPTIONS FOR THE
The Monumental Inscriptions
for the
June Meeting of the Caithness Family
History Society
The June speaker was Society member and regular speaker Ian Aitchison from Lancashire. His well received and informative topic on this occasion was entitled tricks of the trade.
Bill Ironside Talks to Members at the May 2008 Meeting
In an excellent, well informed and humorous talk Bill Ironside (left) entertained Society members in the Nethercliffe Hotel, Wick on the subject of changes in farming over the years.
New Members' Area Password
Notification of the new password was sent to members this morning by email. Unfortunately, over thirty emails bounced back. Some due to incorrect email address and others due to the members mail box being full. Please ensure that the Society has your latest email address and also ensure that your write the address clearly as working out some of the the addresses proves very difficult.
If you are a paid up member and have not received your new password you may request confirmation by email from caithnessfhs@gmail.com.
CAITHNESS HERITAGE FAIR
The Caithness Heritage Fair was held on 10th and 11 November in the Assembly Rooms, Wick. The Society stand was visited by a number of members and non-members and much interest was shown in the visual presentation and materials on display. Public attendance at the event appeared poor but the stands on display showed the excellent breadth and quality of the Heritage of Caithness.
The three pictures:-
Allan Lannon at the CFHS Stand Viscountess Margaret Thurso opens the Fair Jessie Bain, Kath Finlayson, Margaret Thurso and Lynn Johnstone at the CFHS Stand
OCTOBER MEETING AND AGM
The October meeting and the Society AGM was held in Miller Academy Arts Building on Wednesday 24th October. Members had reports office bearers on the previous year's activities and then a election of new office bearers followed.
Long serving Secretary, Sandy Gunn, and equally long serving Membership Secretary and Treasurer, George McKain both stood down from office. George and Sandy have worked very hard for the Society over the years and now feel with health problems affecting the performance of their duties they should pass the posts on to others.
Unfortunately there were no takers for either job despite a number of members present being encouraged to take on the duties. Eventually, Sandy said he would continue as Secretary for one month to allow a successor to be found. The Membership Secretary and Treasure post was split with Allan Lannon taking on the Membership section and Willie Moodie the Treasurer part of the post. It is hope this will be a temporary arrangement as Allan already hold a number of posts and Willie is also Archivist and very much involved in the Graveyards project.
In the interest of continuity Anne Dunnett agreed to remain as Chairperson for another year and Donnie Harper continues as Vice-Chair. The Minute Secretary, Lynn Johnstone, agreed to continue in this position and David Crowe is to stay as Publications Officer.
The Society Post Holders are joined Derek Douglas, Anna Rogalski, Karen Sinclair, John Nicolson and Kath Finlayson,
After the formal business Morris Pottinger gave very interesting talk of his furthest back Orkney ancestors and reminded members of almost forgotten aspects of life style, living conditions, inheritance practice and business practice.
The pictures show Morris giving his talk and some of the members enthralled by his contribution and then enjoying refreshments after the meeting ended.
September Meeting of the Society
I cannot remember being disappointed by a Society talk but every now and then I am surprised by the presentation and content of an unexpected topic. The September talk was one such occasion when Derek Douglas surprised us with his presentation of 'J M Barrie and Bower'. Few of us knew of the famous author's connection with our local parish and less of the events surrounding his interest in the area. Maybe Derek could present his talk as a written version for the forthcoming Journal!
As usual Sheila Moir was flashing around (with her camera) and below are two of her pics. Others can be found in the Speakers' section of the web,
On the left Derek, Anne Dunnett and Sandy Gunn at the top table and on the right Sheila poses for a picture with some members of the audience.
LATEST CENSUS NEWS – AUGUST 2007
The
1901 Full Census Returns for the CANISBAY Parish is now available to
purchase in booklet form similar to the 1841 Censuses. The CANISBAY Census
(220g) costs £4.00 each to members (£5.00 to non-members) plus postage.
For postage costs see the updated Publications page of the Journal or the
CFHS Web page.
And,
of course, the full range of
PROVISIONAL
PROGAMME OF SPEAKERS FOR 2007 – 2008
Date
Speaker
Venue
12/09/2007
Derek Douglas
Nethercliffe, Wick
24/10/2007
AGM
14/11/2007
Harry Gray
Nethercliffe, Wick
12/12/2007
Xmas Meeting
09/01/2008
Allan Lannon
13/02/2008
Ben Macgregor
12/03/2008
To be confirmed
09/04/2008
To be confirmed
14/05/2008
Willie Moodie
Nethercliffe, Wick
11/06/2008
To be confirmed
NEW GUESTBOOK
A new Society Guestbook has been set up on our website. This is because I could not get into the book organised by the previous company to mange the entries. The Society Username and Password stopped working though no change was made by myself. Repeated requests for the problem to be repaired were ignored leaving me with no alternative but to use another company. The three previous Guestbooks can still be read by members but not signed and I would suggest that anyone looking for Caithness Family History information could do worse than reading those older books.
Please Read and Sign our new book as it can be a wonderful way to find others researching similar families to yourself.
Ryrie Research
New member Sandy Ryrie says that he and his wife Isabel have done extensive research into all branches of Ryries in Caithness and their overseas connections from the earliest available records until now and have lots of detailed information. His great, great grandfather was William Ryrie and some of his family are buried at Ulbster Burial Ground and others of the family are connected with Whaligoe. he is especially interested in preserving the ancient burial ground at Ulbster. he would be happy to hear from anyone who shares these particular interests. he can be contacted at sandyryrie@googlemail.com.
Caithness Family History Society was at the Harbourfest
The Society had a very successful day at the Wick Harbour festival. Lots interest in the county's history, a few prospective members and a good number of 1841 census booklets sold. The stall was 'maned' for the day by Katherine Finlayson, Allan Lannon, Sheila Moir and David Crowe.
Katherine and David
Katherine and David Allan and David
Allan and David enjoying a rest on the Society Stand The Society Chairperson in her 'hat for the day'
Katherine and Sheila Allan and Society member Angela Lewis
And a few shots of the boats before the crowds arrived
June 2007 Meeting of the Society in Miller Academy, Thurso
At the June meeting Society member and regular speaker at meetings of the years, Iain Aitchison, explain that he 'did it his way' and outlined his approach to family history research and recording of information. The pictures show Iain and Sandy Gunn, Society secretary, and a couple of shots of some of the appreciative audience.
May 2007 - Nethercliffe Hotel, Wick
Sandy Gunn, a Pulteney lad who saw the light and came to Thurso!, was the speaker at the Society's May meeting. Sandy spoke of his memories of the Wick side of the county from the 1940s and 1950s and illustrated his talk with location, family and school photographs. An appreciative audience enjoyed his informative and often amusing talk and many were able to recognise old friends and former teachers from his pictures and descriptive eloquence.
Caithness Worthies
At the November 2006 meeting of the Society, in the Nethercliffe Hotel, Wick, member Harry Gray gave an excellent and humorous talk on 'Old Worthies of Caithness'. He described characters old and relatively new from around the county and remarked that we did not see folk like that nowadays. The meeting started with a short period of business and ended with a fine selection of shortbread and coffee/tea.
Harry in full flow!
Picture by Sheila Moir
Iain Sutherland receives his MBE
Wick Historian Iain Sutherland, an Honorary Life Member of the Caithness Family History Society, received his well earned MBE from Lord Lieutenant Anne Dunnett at an investiture last week. The picture shows Anne, Iain and Caithness Council Convener David Flear.
Society AGM
A good turnout of members attended the 2006 AGM in the Miller Academy Arts Building, Thurso. The elected officer bearers and committee were as follows:
| Chair-Person | Miss Anne Dunnet |
| Vice-Chairperson | Mr Donnie Harper |
| Secretary | Mr Sandy Gunn |
| Minute Secretary | Miss Lynn
Johnston |
| Treasurer/Membership Secretary | Mr George McKain |
| Librarian | Mr William Moodie |
| Publications Officer | Mr David Crowe |
| Journal Editor/Webmaster | Mr Allan Lannon |
| Research co-ordinators | Mrs Jean Barnett
and Mrs Sara Jayne Donaldson |
| Committee Members | Mrs Janet Corbett,
Mr Mick Barnett, Mrs Jean Barnett, Miss Katherine Finlayson and Mr Derek Douglas |
Following the AGM member Alex Matheson gave an interesting and nostalgic talk on the development of Comics. He outlines their history and listed many of the best known publications which he, and the members, had read in their youth. His enthusiasm and his collection of material on display suggests that he still enjoys a good Comic read. For those not acquaint with such publications they are magazines or newspapers for children with humorous and also often informative storylines. Anyone who has not read a Comic has not seen life nor been subject to a major element of British culture!
Society September 2006 Meeting
Our speaker for the evening was David Bews whose talk was "The Duke of Kent's Plane Crash at Eagles Rock." In an informative talk with an impressive visual presentation David successfully debunked many of the wild theories regarding the WW2 crash in Caithness. David may well be back with his own interpretation of events surrounding the tragedy at a later meeting.
Pics below show some of the members present and David addressing the meeting.
May Society Meeting - Visit to Mary Ann's Cottage, Dunnet
At this very well attended meeting Wick Historian Iain Sutherland received his Honorary Life Membership of the Society for his contribution to Local History in Caithness. The presentation was made by Society Chair, Anne Dunnett.
The pictures show Iain receiving his membership certificate from Anne Dunnett and Society Secretary Sandy Gunn with Ian and Anne. More pictures from the visit will appear shortly in the members' section.
April Meeting of the Society
John Thurso MP delivered an interesting and entertaining talk on the life and work of his ancestor and land reformer Sir John Sinclair to an enthralled audience of members at the April meeting of the Society. As can be seen from the picture below, applause was the order of the day after such a polished presentation. Chairperson, Anne Dunnett, warmly thanked Lord Thurso for taking the time to again talk to the Society and, of course, she asked him back to continue his Sinclair story at a future date.
March Meeting of the Society
Anne Dunnett introduces historian Iain Sutherland to the assembled members in the Nethercliffe Hotel Wick. All enjoyed a relaxed and informative evening with topics ranging from St Ninian in Wick to the developments at Sinclair and Girnigoe.
Further pictures can be seen on the Iain Sutherland page of the photo archive.
February Meeting
The February meeting took place in the Miller Academy Arts Building, Thurso on Wednesday 8th. The topic was the differences between English and Scottish records and was presented by committee member and researcher Sara Donaldson. Here we see Anne Dunnett, Sandy Gunn and Sara preparing to get the meeting underway. Sara gave an excellent talk, handed out useful notes and even had time during the presentation to ask the photographer for 'two coffees'!
The notes provided by Sara at her talk are reproduced in the Talks pages in the Members Section of the website.
NOVEMBER MEETING OF THE SOCIETY
Our speaker, Harry Gray, Wick gave an enthralling talk on "Old Trades of Wick". In his customary informative, easy and humorous presentation Harry presented a picture of the vibrant 19th century Royal Burgh which amazed some of the audience who had not realised the depth of craftmanship, culture and endeavour that existed in the far north in those times.
Harry giving his presentation:
Wick's history is more than native-born Wickers
Gordon Johnson's research for his history of St. John's Scottish Episcopal Church, Wick to celebrate its 150th anniversary, shows that many of the congregation were incomers, many from England, who held important positions in Caithness. These range from Harbour Masters to Coastguard officers, Customs officers, a Chief Constable, a Sheriff, solicitors and land-owners. Details of them and their families, as well as local-born folk, appear in Mr. Johnson's "The People of St. John's, Wick: a congregational history", published by the church at £3 per copy (plus postage: 60p. UK; £1.30 Europe; £2.20 N.America & Australasia). The format is A4, yellow cover, 40pp.text.Orders should go to: Gordon Johnson, Glenorchy, Papigoe, WICK, Caithness KW1 4RD.
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
An excellent turnout of members attended the Society AGM in Thurso, All business was concluded efficiently by Chairperson Anne Dunnett and Secretary Sandy Gunn and all committee posts filled with the exception of the Minute Secretary. Donnie Harper takes over the post of Vice- Chair and relinquishes the duty 'minute taker'. A volunteer is required for the post of Minute Secretary.The speaker for the evening was Chairperson Anne Dunnett talking on the History and Role of the Lord Lieutenancy. The topic was delivered with Anne's customary skill and humour.
Anne delivering her talk and Anne and Sandy conducting the meeting.
The assembled company of members at the AGM.
Sinclair Girnigoe Castle Visit
A small but enthusiastic group of members, including Mr. & Mrs. Stuart Saunders from Kent and Mrs. Agnes Clark, Canada, braved a Caithness gale to visit Sinclair Girnigoe Castle and enjoyed a superb evening in spite of the cold wind. The guided tour by Sinclair Archivist, Ian Sinclair, was very informative and presented in a most enjoyable manner. History and modern developments at the castle were outlined and the restoration project and archaeological work intrigued members and whetted their appetite for more information on the wonderful finds at the historic site.
The evening concluded with a visit to the Sinclair Trust Study Centre. The picture below shows members in the Centre being addressed by Ian Sinclair. Further pictures will appear in the Photo Archive section of the website.
Scottish National Graveyard Project
A group of members enjoyed a sunny, if breezy, day on their travels around some less visited Caithness Cemeteries.
Below is a picture of the group. More pictures will appear in the Photo Archive area shortly.
22 June 2005
An excellent turn out of members enjoyed a visit to the Castle of Mey. Tours of the Castle were given by Barbara and Jackson Hiddleston and there then followed a talk by Barbara on the development and the running of the Castle and Estate with particular reference to Gamekeeper James Cameron. Members were also provided with refreshments in the Servants Hall during the visit. The picture shows Barbara, fourth left, with some of the Society members. More pictures can be seen in the Photo Archive section.
8th June 2005
This evening a very good turnout members enjoyed another of Iain Aitchison's presentations of Caithness family trees and connections which have interested him. Iain just loves to find links to trees he researches throughout the count and country and his trails lead him on some intriguing voyages of discovery. Iain had about fifty new contributions for our Society library and he spoke about some in detail and others he referred to in passing in the hope that some members of the audience would find a connection. This was certainly the case with a number of members having contributions to make from the floor.
Wednesday 11th May, 2005
At the May meeting of the Society in the Miller Academy Arts Building local historian Ricky Mackay presented an interesting and varied collection of slides of 'Old Thurso' to a large turnout of members. Ricky's collection included many pictures never seen before by members and his talk to accompany the slides added to the enjoyment of the evening.
