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Scotsman
02-07-2025
- General
- Scotsman
Scotland's ancestry tourism and the hunt on the ground for lost family, as visitors come from US and Australia
Sign up to our History and Heritage newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... For farmer Alasdair Forbes, his ancestral roots in the Highland glen where he lives stretch back some 900 years. For many decades, his family has helped visitors travelling from afar tap into their own family past. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Mr Forbes lives in Strathnairn, eight miles south of Inverness, a part of the country steeped in the family name as well as the lines of Clan Mackintosh. At Dunlichity Church, close to his home, it is known that Jacobites met before Culloden and sharpened their swords on the churchyard wall. READ MORE: How to search for your Scottish ancestors and unravel your family history After battle, government troops pushed through the area on the manhunt for Bonnie Prince Charlie, with his ancestor extending Highland hospitality to the soldiers and sharing with them a flagon of milk. She was then thumped on the back of her head with the jug as she walked back into her house. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Dunlichity Church, Strathnairn, near Inverness, has links to the Battle of Culloden. Jacobites gathered here to sharpen their swords before heading to the battlefield. The church, which is soon to be turned into a heritage centre, has long attracted interest for those tracing their family histories. | Strathnairn Heritage Association Year-on- year, descendants of those long gone from the glen have returned in search of their family history. Those from America, Australia, Canada and Argentina arrive, sometimes with photographs and detailed accounts of their ancestors, and sometimes with only family stories and 'Walt Disney'-style myths. A visit to Mr Forbes's late father, Alexander, and several other figures in the glen, ensured the true story was shared. The Battle of Culloden - and its aftermath - remains of interest to those researching their family trees given the emigration that occured after last pitched battle fought on British soil on April 16, 1746. | creative commons These stories were collected by his grandmother, Catherine Forbes (nee Mackintosh). And, although never written down, they have been shared and handed down over time. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Alasdair Forbes, chairman of Strathnairn Heritage Association. whose family history in the glen goes back 900 years. | Contributed Mr Forbes, who is chairman of Strathnairn Heritage Association, which is due to take over Dunlichity Church and create an archive of local history, said: ''They were very protective about passing down accurate information'. 'They didn't allow any myths. It wasn't put down in writing or on film as it would be today. They sat down by the fire with just a lamp and the history was spoken. 'It is the stories that my grandmother's generation kept that are the ones kept accurately.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad National World He said sharing the real stories of people and places with visitors was a 'big gift'. Mr Forbes said: 'I have pride myself in knowing my roots. My family's connection goes back 900 years in this glen. It gives you a sense of mental security. You are part of the hills, part of the burns, part of the rivers, as your roots are firmly embedded in this glen. 'The people whose forebears emigrated, possibly because they were forced or for economic reasons, know they have connections. 'But it is a short-term connection - and they want a deeper connection. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'People come here with a place name, perhaps a misconception, and they come here and get the true knowledge from locals. They go home feeling secure. It is a big gift to give them.' 'Lochaber no More', 1886. Dispossessed Scottish crofters, victims of the Highland clearances, taking their last view of home as they depart on board a ship. Descendants of those who left Scotland have long made a path back to find their roots, with ancestry tourism now a major driver of visitors.|Ancestry tourism, as it is called, is a big driver of tourists into Scotland as stories are searched and past departures explored in a landscape altered by Clearances, deprivation and emigration. According to VisitScotland, 41 per cent of visitors from long-haul locations, including US, Canada and Australia, gave Scottish ancestry as their reason for choosing Scotland as a destination. The figure was 38 per cent for US visitors alone. Of these, around 12 per cent undertake genealogical research while they are in Scotland. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad In the most recent US census, over five million Americans lay claim to Scottish ancestry. This can be a strong driver to visit Scotland and explore the places that their ancestors called home. In the 2016 Canadian census, 14 per cent of people (4.8 million) identified as Scottish, while over 2.1 million Australians claimed Scottish ancestry in 2021. Mr Forbes's brother Willie tends to take visitors to various locations through the glen to help them find what they are looking for. He said: 'There was a man from Australia who came with a photograph of his ancestors dating back to the 1800s. His family were standing at a certain place, against a wall. We couldn't find the wall at first and then I came across it. He had numerous photos taken in front of it. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'People have a great affinity to the past. It is like a physical connection.' Fiona Mackenzie is the development manager at Strathnaver Museum, in Sutherland - which is also known as the Museum of the Clearances. More than 1,300 people were cleared from the land during the Strathnaver Clearances in the 'year of the burning' in 1819. Remnants of abandoned townships can be found throughout the surrounding countryside, including at Rosal, which was cleared to make way for sheep in 1814. Badbea in Sutherland. The monument to the residents who settled at Badbea after being cleared from the straths at the turn of 19th Century. The memorial was built from the stones of the home of John Sutherland by his son, Alexander, who left for New Zealand in 1838. The last resident left Badbea in 1911. | Katharine Hay She said: 'The visitors always have quite an emotional attachment and that market has definitely expanded. We get people from all over the world, from Australia, America and Canada - and there is a Dutch connection as well. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'A lot of Mackays were mercenaries during the 30-years war, so we get a lot of visitors from the Netherlands. Some of them know the connection as the clan chief at the moment is descended through that Dutch line.' Ms Mackenzie said visitors searching for family history had often done much research themselves and needed help with a particular location, or Gaelic place name. She said: 'Also, some of these areas have completely dropped off the map. 'A few weeks ago we had someone who got in touch with a place name from a gravestone, which they couldn't locate. Our volunteers are so knowledgeable they will be able to get the answer. That local knowledge is still in the community - and it is still in our archives here.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad A few years back, a museum volunteer was able to connect a woman from Australia with a distant cousin who still lived in the Bettyhill area. Ms Mackenzie said there was also a need to manage expectations of those who want to go and 'see where their folk came from, where they were cleared from'. When left facing a now-empty landscape, or the outlines of deserted townships, it can be hard for some to comprehend . Ms Mackenzie said: 'Often there is nothing there. And there is an awful lot of disappointment that these places aren't memorialised in some way. They don't understand why there is not a plaque there. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'Rosal is probably one of the most famous Clearance villages in our area and it is disappointing when it doesn't meet their expectations of what should be there.
Scotsman
22-06-2025
- General
- Scotsman
My family history after the Battle of Culloden sent a 'shiver up our backs'
Heritage group's purchase of old church will help preserve tales from Highland glen for future generations Sign up to our History and Heritage newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... IT was Highland hospitality that may well have changed the course of history. At Crasg Sheumais in Strathnairn, just south of Inverness, soldiers searching for Bonnie Prince Charlie following his defeat at Culloden stopped for refreshments, with one local woman obliging them with a flagon of milk. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The woman served the men and, when she turned to enter her house, one of the soldiers thumped her on the back of the head with the jug. She complained to the officer it was no way to treat her hospitality and was asked to point the soldier out, with a promise that he would be flogged. She told him not to bother and went back indoors. READ MORE: The Jacobites who fought on after Culloden The ugly episode gives a sense of that dark post-Culloden period, when British soldiers marched through villages and glens, torching buildings and rooting out Jacobites as the manhunt for Bonnie Prince Charlie intensified. And that breach of hospitality - and the flagon of milk - possibly even played a pivotal role in aiding the escape of the Prince, who went on to evade capture after the battle for five months. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Alasdair Forbes, chairman of Strathnairn Heritage Association, whose ancestor served the milk, said the story of his relative, the milk and the flagon had been handed down through his family for generations. He said: 'Much later I read an account of this, which had appeared in a newspaper shortly after Culloden. 'It said that if the troops had not stopped off for refreshments, they would have been within touching distance of catching Prince Charles 'That sent a shiver up our backs. That was our story, our family story, and it had been verified by an historian.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Alasdair Forbes, chairman of Strathnairn Heritage Association, said stories of life in glen had been at risk of being "lost" given the passing of forebearers. | Contributed READ MORE: The mystery of the 150 Jacobites freed on a Caribbean island It is precious stories such as these that Forbes, whose family history stretches back 900 years in the glen, and fellow members of the association are so passionate about saving. As their forebears passed away and new arrivals started to outnumber the original families, the association was created given 'memories of the glen were at risk of being lost,' he said. The association has now bought Dunlichity Parish Church from the Church of Scotland to create a heritage centre after locals were left 'aghast' at its sale by the Kirk. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad A place of worship has stood on the site since the 6th Century and, later, Dunlichity became linked to the Battle of Culloden in several ways. Soldiers gathered here before going into fight and sharpened their swords on the churchyard wall, where their marks can still be seen in the stone. Bonnie Prince Charlie would have passed here as he made his escape. The Battle of Culloden. Government troops marched through Strathnairn in the aftermath of the fight as Bonnie Prince Charlie made his escape. | CC Forbes said: 'The very idea that our church, which had been owned by the people of Strathnairn for about 1500 years, could now be sold off to a private owner so that we no longer could make use of the building at funerals and have to put up with an outside party being in residence for holiday or other reasons, left the locals quite aghast.' Since the association was set up in 1999, members have collected written material, photos and old documents. Forbes has for many years interviewed older locals using a video camera. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Now, with the purchase of Dunlichity, they will have a premises to work from for the first time, where stories can be kept safe and shared. Lectures will be held and archives added to. Forbes added: 'Educating the local children will, we believe, give them a feeling of 'belonging' to this glen.'
BBC News
12-06-2025
- General
- BBC News
Church with Jacobite links to become heritage centre
A historic church, which has links to the Battle of Culloden, could become a heritage centre under new Heritage Association took over the former Dunlichity Church last year and has secured a £40,000 grant from the Scottish group plans to further develop an archive about history of the area to the south of Inverness. Marks can be seen in walls in the church yard that are said to have been made by Jacobite soldiers sharpening their swords before Culloden in 1746. Strathnairn Heritage Association chairman, Alasdair Forbes, said it was keen to help people who wanted to trace family links to the area. He said: "We get a lot of people coming from abroad every summer."If we can bring them here we can show them the history behind where they came from." "We have a lot of information about the churches, the schools, Culloden all these sort of things. "We'll archive this and make it available for people to see."
