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Alison Spring

@acspring.bsky.social

1.1K followers 93 following 1.1K posts

Glasgow-ish based Qualified Genealogist @ RQG, specialising in Scottish research https://tinyurl.com/FrugalFH Speaker - see my talks listed at https://tinyurl.com/yb9cht29 Frugal Family Historian - http://scotsancestors.blogspot.com

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Alison Spring @acspring.bsky.social · Jun 18

I've just added some new presentations - if you're a family history society or heritage group looking for speakers, take a look at my list of topics at tinyurl.com/2s4jch96 and get in touch!

Leafy postcard with information on it as follows:
Alison Spring
family history speaker
NEW PRESENTATIONS FOR 2025!
Introduction to Scottish Church Records
Dive Deeper into Scottish Church Records
Researching Urban Ancestors in Scotland
Plus many other talks including…
Getting More Out of FamilySearch.org
Glasgow Poor Law Application Records
Tools for Your Graveyard Research Kit
FULL LIST & DETAILS @ https://tinyurl.com/2s4jch96

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Alison Spring @acspring.bsky.social · 3h

#31DaysofGraves #Day9 #Hand Not a relative, & a slightly tenuous connection: Sir Jimmy Shand, a renowned & dexterous accordionist frequently heard during my childhood. Buried in his hometown of Auchtermuchty, Fife. Photo credit Mike Brown, FindaGrave. Recent names have been redacted.

A black marble headstone, with heather and white tulips left at its base, inscribed in gold as follows:
In loving memory of Sir Jimmy Shand M.B.E. M.A.
Died 23rd December 2000 Aged 92 years Beloved husband of
Lady Anne Shand and a devoted Dad and Grandad
Happy to meet sorry to part happy to meet again
SHAND

Reposted by Alison Spring

🅢🅗🅔🅔🅝🅐 @sheena-mck.bsky.social · 17h

This made me laugh more than it probably should 😂
#funny

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Alison Spring @acspring.bsky.social · 12h

Alison Spring @acspring.bsky.social · 16h

It's lap time.

Alison Spring @acspring.bsky.social · 16h

Top of my list of requirements for the perfect home!

Alison Spring @acspring.bsky.social · 18h

A memorial to the two women in Wigtown, near the shore.

A standing plaque with a side inscription "The Wigtown Martyrs" shows a picture of an angel statue and the following information: “In all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us”

Romans 8:37

The granite stake on the merse marks the place where two local Covenanter women, Margaret McLachlan, aged 63, and Margaret Wilson, aged 18, were tied to stakes and drowned on 11 May 1685.

In Scotland's Presbyterian kirk, Jesus Christ alone is acknowledged as the head of the church. The claim by the Stuart monarchs to the ‘Divine Right of Kings’ and their attempt to impose Episcopacy on Scotland had been strongly resisted by the people from 1638. In that year many had signed the National Covenant in an act of defiance which continued through the ‘Killing Times of escalating punishments and persecutions, from fines and banishment to torture and executions, during the ‘Fifty Years’ Struggle’ that ended in 1688.

Originally the River Bladnoch cut a deep channel where the stake is sited, the harbour for Wigtown lying where today’s Martyrs’ Stake car park is.
This monument has been raised with funds from the Galloway Association of Glasgow, the Scottish Covenanter Memorials Association, and the local community, in recognition of the bravery of those who suffered for their beliefs because they would not bow to tyranny. Please remember all those who have.

Alison Spring @acspring.bsky.social · 18h

I didn't know there was a hogback there! Saw the one at Luss for the first time this summer, and the ones at Govan Stones are always worth a visit.

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Alison Spring @acspring.bsky.social · 20h

The best bit! 😀

Alison Spring @acspring.bsky.social · 22h

The property listing explains that the local council will retain responsibility for the maintenance and upkeep of the graveyard, thankfully!

Alison Spring @acspring.bsky.social · 23h

Kilmartin Glen is one of my favourite places. I love being on top of Dunadd! So atmospheric, as you say.

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Alison Spring @acspring.bsky.social · 1d

The churchyard of Kilmichael Glassary in Argyllshire. No headstones for my family here but they were probably too poor to afford them. Sadly the church is up for sale at the moment - some lovely images of the interior are at www.bellingram.co.uk/property/gla... #31DaysofGraves #Day8 #Glass

A grey granite church sits in a well-kept grassy graveyard with many headstones. It has a square tower topped with a pointed steeple, situated in a tree-lined glen with low hills in the background.

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Alison Spring @acspring.bsky.social · 1d

So poignant. A true memorial.

Alison Spring @acspring.bsky.social · 1d

Great advice! Thanks!

Alison Spring @acspring.bsky.social · 1d

Sorry, paranoid about the word limit! It stands for Monumental Inscriptions - published lists of a particular graveyard's headstone Inscriptions. I describe them in this blog post scotsancestors.blogspot.com/2024/07/free...