Author Archives: Liz

Maggie’s Story – In the Shadow of the Pit

Some stories stay with you long after the research is done, and Maggie’s was one of them. As I pieced together the fragments of her life, census entries, marriage records, a death certificate written in a clerk’s careful hand, I found myself deeply moved by the quiet courage threaded through her years. Hers was notContinue reading “Maggie’s Story – In the Shadow of the Pit”

Maggie’s Story

Margaret McDonald Bruce entered the world on 4 November 1874 in the small settlement of Bryans, a scatter of cottages lying in the long shadow of Bryan’s Pit. Though the pit dominated the landscape, her father, William Bruce, himself the son of a miner, had chosen a different path. He worked the fields rather thanContinue reading “Maggie’s Story”

New Light on an Old Story Alexander McCulloch

Family stories have a way of unfolding slowly, revealing new layers long after we think we know their shape. When I first wrote Alexander McCulloch: From the Croft to the Mine, I believed I had traced the main contours of his life. But recent discoveries, some found through research, others shared generously by newly connectedContinue reading “New Light on an Old Story Alexander McCulloch”

Alexander McCulloch 1862 -1941 From the Croft to the Mine

Introduction At the northern edge of Scotland, a small boy steps into the first light of day. The air carries peat smoke and sea salt, the sun low over the Dornoch Firth. Behind him, a cottage door closes softly. His boots are worn, his pockets nearly empty, but he carries the quiet certainties of family:Continue reading “Alexander McCulloch 1862 -1941 From the Croft to the Mine”

Post Note on William Jamieson – Fishery Officer

William Jamieson 1780 – 1848 My latest post, William Jamieson – Fishery Officer, is a return to an earlier piece I wrote about him. William is my 4th great‑grandfather, and revisiting his story has felt unexpectedly personal, almost like sitting with him again, noticing new details in the light of what I’ve learned since. I’veContinue reading “Post Note on William Jamieson – Fishery Officer”

William Jamieson – Fishery Officer 1780 -1848

William Jamieson was born on 31 December 1780 in the midwinter of Argyll and Bute. His parents, Neil Jamieson and Ann Bannatyne, lived among the crofts of Kilmahumaig, a landscape of rough pasture, peat smoke, and tidal inlets that shaped the rhythm of daily life. A few weeks later, on 3 February 1781, he wasContinue reading “William Jamieson – Fishery Officer 1780 -1848”

Alexander McCulloch From the Crofts to the Mines

My husband‘s Great Grandfather, Alexander McCulloch was a miner. He spent every day working deep below the ground in complete darkness and unbearable heat. His job was dangerous and difficult. Breathing in stale air and coal dust and facing the constant risk of cave-ins and gas explosions to earn a wage that he would oftenContinue reading “Alexander McCulloch From the Crofts to the Mines”

Alexander McCulloch A Highland Life

In this post, I am taking a bigger leap back in time and will be telling the story of the life and times of Alexander McCulloch my husband’s G. Great Grandfather on his mother’s. side. His story is set in 19th Century Sutherland. The following description is based on my interpretation of the records IContinue reading “Alexander McCulloch A Highland Life”