Born in Berwickshire, my ancestors were dispersed throughout the Scottish Borders, the Highlands, London, Yorkshire and Ireland.
My mother was an amateur genealogist and local history enthusiast, my father a bookseller. Our house was full of old books and lots of local history information. My parents and my grandparents would often mesmerised me with stories of travelling people, farm workers, crofting life, old family poems and of course the odd poorhouse and prison admission. For me, it was not the stories of Scottish Royalty and battlefields that captured my imagination, but rather the stories of the everyday life of ordinary people. I began to read local history books, learn research skills, and visit archive centres. It was through my family I learnt the skills of researching.
Later in life I studied a 2year Post Graduate Certificate in Genealogical, Palaeographic and Heraldic Studies with Strathclyde University.
I keep links with local resources, societies and genealogists, sharing knowledge and keeping up to date with new information. I use the National Records of Scotland, Edinburgh. Heritage Hub, Hawick and I am proud to be a volunteer with Borders Family History Society
