One of the fun aspects of genealogy for me has been tracking down places my ancestors lived. On my father's side of the family, I've been to most of the places which are still extant where ancestors lived at the time various records were generated ~ and I've seen the locations for many where Victorian tenement slums were replaced with post-WWII council housing. {I've been to many locations for my mother's side as well, but there are many more of them ~ and many more for which I just have a town, rather than an exact address....} With the prevalence of census returns in genealogical research, it's easy to focus on where our ancestors lived.
But places other than their residences were also important in the lives of our ancestors....thinking about what places ancestors might have been associated with can help fill out the bigger picture of their lives.
Follow me over the orange doodle for pictures of some of the places other than their residences that mattered to my ancestors....
South Leith Baptist Church ~ where my grandparents met.....
The school in Leith my grandmother attended:
A former warehouse (now shops, restaurants, and apartments) where my great grandfather worked for a while:
The Ladhope Inn, in Galashiels [Scottish Borders], the pub closest to where my great-great grandfather lived. Given that he died of a little too much Hogmanay {New Year's Eve ~seriously..... he was found drowned on January 1, 1903, after having spent several hours the previous evening in assorted pubs}, I'm guessing he spent a few hours here....
The view from the site of that great great grandfather's house, looking down on the Ladhope Inn:
One of the pubs that great great grandfather spent time at that New Year's Eve (according to the newspaper reports of the inquest), in a little village just outside Galashiels:
Churches.... baptisms, weddings, funerals.... sometimes these events took place at home, or in a manse/parsonage, but often they happened at churches.
My Edinburgh ancestors had lots of choices of churches:
St. Mary's Catholic:
St. Cuthbert's (Church of Scotland), seen looking down from Edinburgh Castle:
Canongate Church (Church of Scotland), on the Royal Mile:
St. Giles, also on the Royal Mile:
There were rural churches as well ~ these are at Traquair and Cavers, both in the Borders:
The high street (shopping district) and park in Galashiels, where my paternal grandmother's family spent most of the 19th century:
And, finally, a couple photos of landscapes that would have been familiar to my ancestors.....
The view over Edinburgh, Leith, and the Firth of Forth, from Arthur's Seat:
Near Loch Loyal, in Tongue, Sutherland:
What places have you found that are associated with ancestors?