Alison Spring

If you're a family history society or heritage group looking for speakers, take a look at my list of topics at tinyurl.com/scotstalks and get in touch!

#31DaysOfGraves #Portrait Rev. George Henry Storie, vicar of St Giles Camberwell, London, 1811-1823. He was allegedly buried in the church's crypt which was later cleared of all interments, became the home of the Samaritans in 1962, and now hosts a jazz club. No idea where George is now!!

#31DaysOfGraves #Accident In High Blantyre Cemetery, Lanarkshire, stands an impressive obelisk monument to 240 coal miners who died in 2 separate accidents. This community suffered many more such losses over the years. A history of these is at buff.ly/Lzbf6gd Transcript of MI is in alt txt.

#31DaysOfGraves #Tree The Lindsay Burial Aisle, near to Edzell Castle in the Angus Glens, has a peaceful and carefully tended graveyard, dating from medieval times. As its name implies, it was the burying place of the Lindsay family, earls of Crawford, who lived in Edzell Castle.

#31DaysOfGraves #Contrast Heights of Brae chambered burial cairn in the foothills below Ben Wyvis, above Dingwall. Bright sun throws two of its standing stones into sharp contrast. A gold hoard found near it is now in the National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh - more at buff.ly/jW4kYHK

#31DaysOfGraves #Wings In Hawkhead Cemetery, Paisley, stands a memorial to 71 children who died in a crush as the result of a false fire alarm in the Glen Cinema in 1929. Many of those who died are buried in this graveyard. Transcription in alt txt. Read more at buff.ly/jn48bkj

Just a fun thing. Pick your favourites + pass them on! √Line of Duty or Between the Lines? Waking the Dead or √New Tricks? Vicar of Dibley or √Father Ted? √Vera or Miss Marple? Outnumbered or √Butterflies? Shetland or √Hamish Macbeth? (Sorry, Jimmy...) CSI or √Silent Witness?

Cullen, Deskford & Portknockie Heritage Group have announced their next talk. Taking place on Monday 2nd November, 'The Pipe Organ in North East Scotland' 2ill be delivered by Alan Buchan. Venue: Hall Church, York Place Cullen. Tea, coffee and biscuits. £3 members £5 non-members All welcome.

It's that time of year when the first trampolines begin their migration south for the winter. #StormAusten

#31DaysOfGraves #Mourning Dove was the pen name of Christine Quintasket, a Native American woman, a novelist and collector of traditional stories. Her grave is in Okanogan, Washington state.

#31DaysOfGraves #Air Driving along this country road you wouldn't expect to see a memorial. If you stop and look over the fence, you will. The story behind it is at www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

#31DaysOfGraves #Fire My uncle's young sister Mary died when he was just 21 and she 16 years old. Her clothing accidentally caught fire from the kitchen range in the hotel where she worked, and she died of her injuries 4 days later. She rests in Ashaig Cemetery on Skye. Transcript in alt txt.

#31DaysOfGraves #Water My cousin James Leslie Paul was travelling on the SS "Aberdeen" when he died of TB, near the cape of Good Hope, likely bound for Australia. He was buried at sea, according to this headstone in his home village of Alves, Morayshire.

#31DaysOfGraves #Earth An unfortunate accident with earthmoving equipment. This grave of one of my Wemyss rellies is in Kincardine Cemetery, Ross-shire. They were not a lucky family. His cousin Donald d. in a similar crash in 1903, and great-grandfather Peter was killed on a level crossing in 1888.

no kings includes billionaires who think they’re kings

I'm looking forward to this weekend's BIFHSGO conference where I'll be giving a presentation on researching urban ancestors in Scotland. Details below. See you there! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇨🇦

#31DaysOfGraves #Faith The close of a life of religious service is often marked with a cross such as this monument for Malcolm Laing, married to my cousin Mary Catherine MacRury. It lists the three parishes where he served as minister for a total of 50 years. Transcription in alt text.

#31DaysOfGraves #Language Often seen in graveyards in the Highlands and Islands is an epitaph in #Gàidhlig. This example in Gairloch New Cemetery has the inscription "Gus am bris an là, agus an teigh na sgàilean", Gaelic for "Until the break of day, and the going of the shadows."

#31DaysofGraves #Brick Distant relatives the Rankins were for many generations owners of a brick and tile works in Stranraer. The family grave is in Inch Old Parish kirkyard & a good example of the idea to always check the other faces of a gravestone - transcript in alt txt. More at buff.ly/r8XnSbz

This Wednesday evening (UK time) I'll be giving a talk about Scottish civil registration records - births, marriages, & deaths - where to find them and what they may tell you about your ancestors and their families. It will be recorded and free to watch for 7 days. Sign up here buff.ly/KJ3q82Y

#31DaysofGraves #Unusual The ruined Lindisfarne priory is the setting for a modern (2023) memorial marking what's believed to have been the original grave site of St Cuthbert. The island is a very atmospheric spot and one of my favourite places in England. Read more at buff.ly/3G0zL5w

#31DaysOfGraves #Ordinary A simple grave marker in Glasgow's Linn Cemetery marks the final resting place of one of my aunts. She herself was fairly unassuming so it was a surprise to me to learn that she had been housekeeper to millionaire A E Pickard in Glasgow's West End. See alt text for more.

On Saturday 17 October, 2:00 p.m. ET @acspring.bsky.social will present “Researching Urban Ancestors in Scotland” Details about the conference and to register: www.bifhsgo.ca/2026-conference #genealogy #familyhistory #scottishgenealogy #scottishfamilyhistory #scottishhistory

15 Years of the IRISH DNA ATLAS by Dr Edmund Gilbert of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland- Tuesday 13 October 2026 - Free Event - All Welcome - Please Share. GRMA (Thanks) @federationfhs.bsky.social @rcsipophealth.bsky.social @isogg.bsky.social #GeneticGenealogy #DNA #IrishDNA

#31DaysOfGraves #Humorous Osborne Henry Mavor was my cousin’s cousin, and a playwright known as James Bridie. He wrote comedies such as Dr Angelus, Mr Bolfry, and Jonah & The Whale. He was also a co-founder of the Citizens’ Theatre, Glasgow. He is buried in the city's Necropolis with his wife & son.

#31DaysOfGraves #Missing There are a few letters missing due to age and illegibility (the stone's, not mine) from this inscription. Dan was my great-grandmother's brother and Mary was his wife. This churchyard is situated in the rural parish of Kinclaven, in Perthshire.

#31DaysOfGraves #Lettering Not quite a gravestone, although it is in a graveyard, and not quite letter-ing, but letters: a "postbox to heaven" in Wolston, Warwickshire, suggested by a grieving relative. Read about it at www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

This is disturbing. Very disturbing indeed. ENGLISH??!!! #Ancestry #DNA

#31DaysOfGraves #Animal In the Loch Lomond-side parish of Luss, the churchyard sports a hogback stone. It's thought this style of grave marker was intended to resemble a Viking-style longhouse. More info about it at tinyurl.com/4363j3rz

#31DaysOfGraves #Home My father's parents moved the family to Skye in 1930 from the island of North Uist. They built a new house and it was the family home until the last occupant passed away. Trumpan Cemetery is their final resting place. It's a special place for me.

#31DaysOfGraves #Weather A September sky over Fodderty cemetery in Ross-shire. This graveyard is in a quiet spot between the towns of Dingwall and Strathpeffer, and it's always a surprise to find more than two people visiting it, despite its size.

#31DaysOfGraves #Vehicle St Mary's Portchester in Hampshire, a lovely Norman church dating back to the 12th century. Some cousins are buried here although I couldn't find any stones for them. They were from a family that boasted a number of clerics, the Stories, originally from Paisley.

#31DaysOfGraves #Entrance Tough pick today but I've gone for Kinclaven Kirkyard's lych gate. I sat there as it was a very hot day, but it turned out to be home to a family of swallows who didn't expect a visitor, so I didn't stay long after finding my relatives' graves.

Excellent thread from the family of Colin the House Dalek.

#31DaysOfGraves #Glass In Glassford kirkyard stands this memorial to the Covenanter William Gordon. Details of the memorial plaque in alt text.

#31DaysofGraves #Urn The Dickie family of Paisley & Glasgow are commemorated on this pillared stone which is topped by a draped urn. In funerary symbols, the urn represents death, and the drapery the veil between mortality and the afterlife. The graveyard is the Necropolis in Glasgow's city centre.

#31daysofgraves Day 1: Flowers My uncle and aunt, in a lovely secluded corner of a very large and rolling woodland cemetery.

I think Colin the House Dalek has fundamentally misunderstood the premise behind The Masked Singer. #TheMaskedSinger #MaskedSinger

acspring.bsky.social will explain how city directories, electoral rolls, tax records, and other hidden sources can reveal the lives and movements of urban Scottish ancestors, even into the twentieth century. More: bit.ly/4wxIZ2B #scottishgenealogy #scottishfamilyhistory #genealogy #familyhistory

I'm going to be giving a few talks this October. Details at canva.link/u6s278v13pfp... See you there! #GenHour #AncestryHour #FamilyHistory #Genealogy

I'm looking forward to speaking to the Anglo Scots Family History Society this coming Saturday, 3rd October, at 2pm (UK time). Details of how to join at mlfhs.uk/anglo-scots/...

Denmark is trolling Trump.

I feel obliged to post this every year until the BBC and the rest of the British media accurately report on this matter... - drug related deaths are recorded quite differently in 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Scotland, with many not being recorded as such in 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England. - drugs policy is a 🇬🇧 Westminster power.

We're reaching for our smelling salts. A new vape shop will be opening on Sauchiehall St next to the world-renowned Mackintosh Tearooms. This follows the devastating fire at Union St earlier this year caused by a vape shop that destroyed a Victorian building + took the Station out of use for days 🧵

AI chatbots give wrong answers to financial queries ‘most of the time’ ft.trib.al/oImlEFY

Woman: “Watch it, you very nearly took my arm off with that sword!” Pirate: “Arrrr, ’tis only a cut lass!” #InternationalTalkLikeAPirateDay