News

James Levack was born c1826, parents John Levack & Christina (maiden name unknown).

Emigrated to Melbourne around 1850. Married Anne Maria Horan 1856. Became wealthy contractor and ironmonger. Landowner at a farming hamlet known as Cabbage Tree, near Gisborne, from 1857.

The book is a local history of the Cabbage Tree area, which is now part of greater Gisborne and known as South Gisborne . Title: "Haystacks & Hellfire: European Settlement in South Gisborne " by Phillipa Butler. Published February 2009. It has 399 pages, pictorial and narrative. It includes a chapter on James Levack and family though pictures of the Levack family could not be found for the publication.

The price is $40 Australian, which translates to 19 pounds. Postage would be five pounds fifty.

It is a non-profit publication. It has been going well here in Australia but needs to sell all copies to recover printing costs, and there are still 80 to go! It may be of interest to some Caithness Family History Society members or others.

The Members' Area Password has been changed. If you did not receive notification of the new password please get in touch with the Webmaster. Only members paid up for 2009 are permitted the password.

When time permits new material received over the past few weeks will be added and links not operating after the change of password will be repaired.

TV favourite, Lorraine Kelly, will soon return to our screens to present a second series of DNA Stories on Sky Real Lives. The producers of this unique series are now looking for participants from your area.

Made by SMG Productions, DNA Stories sets out to help people find answers to unresolved family issues. With the help of a free DNA test we can confirm the identity of a relative, or reunite you with a long-lost sibling.

Participants are filmed in the comfort of their own home, where the DNA test will be carried out by one of the leading DNA testing companies in the country. Joined by their family, they then meet presenter, Lorraine Kelly, on a private set, where the potentially life-changing results are revealed.

Lorraine said: “DNA testing is an intriguing subject and I’m very excited about filming another series of DNA Stories. I have no doubt the second series will be as successful as the first.”

Producer, Cameron Miller added: “This show helps solve people’s DNA dilemmas in a non-sensational way, without judgement or conflict, and is different from anything else on television. I’d like to encourage anyone with an unresolved issue that could be solved by DNA testing to get in touch. This programme might give you the answers you are looking for.”

If you are interested in appearing on the programme, we want to hear from you! Please contact the production team on 0871 827 5020 or email dnastories@stv.tv

Those who call will be under no obligation to take part, and all information is completely confidential.

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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.

The Monumental Inscriptions for the First Cemetery at Keiss (this excludes the second plot) has now been published and is available for purchase. This booklet contains all the inscriptions within the first cemetery, the earliest recorded date being 1813 and the latest recorded data is 2007 but does not provide the complete list of all persons interred as a number of lairs has no memorial erected. Listed also is a cross reference to the publication of Caithness Monumental Inscriptions pre 1899 compiled by A S Cowper and I Ross.

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.

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 Caithness 1841 Census Booklets are still available. Most into their second printing being so popular as full census lists rather than just indexes as many publications by other societies are.

PROVISIONAL PROGAMME OF SPEAKERS FOR 2007 – 2008

Date Speaker Venue

12/09/2007 Derek Douglas Nethercliffe, Wick

24/10/2007 AGM Miller Academy , Thurso

14/11/2007 Harry Gray Nethercliffe, Wick

12/12/2007 Xmas Meeting Miller Academy , Thurso

09/01/2008 Allan Lannon Miller Academy , Thurso

13/02/2008 Ben Macgregor Miller Academy , Thurso

12/03/2008 To be confirmed Miller Academy , Thurso

09/04/2008 To be confirmed Miller Academy , Thurso

14/05/2008 Willie Moodie Nethercliffe, Wick

11/06/2008 To be confirmed Miller Academy , Thurso

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.