My office today is terminal five at JFK airport in New York. I am on a somewhat lengthy layover on my way to Glasgow, Scotland. Next week I have two wonderful days full of tours and lectures in Edinburgh and Glasgow. This is in conjunction with my post-graduate course in Genealogical, Palaeographic and Heraldic Studies at the University of Strathclyde.
Since I am arriving in town early, my sister and nephew are flying up from Oxford to join me. We’ll be enjoying A Friends of Glasgow Necropolis walking tour before meeting up with living family. In addition, I plan to drag them along to the Mitchell Library for a little research experience. A brisk walk in Sighthill cemetery with three pairs of eyes will hopefully locate the final resting place of our Irish immigrant family. We are also planning on visiting the former home of Miss Agnes Toward in Garnethill. The home, a National Trust of Scotland property called the Tenement House allows a look into what life was like in Glasgow in the early 20th century.
Strathclyde Itinerary
My formal itinerary includes the National War Museum Library located at Edinburgh Castle, Royal College of Surgeons Edinburgh Library, National Records of Scotland (General Register House), The Trades Hall of Glasgow, and City of Glasgow’s Archives & Family History Centre (Mitchell Library). I will also be attending a talk by Dr Iain Mcdonald, Honorary Research Fellow, PG Programme in Genealogical Studies. Dr Mcdonald will speak on “Squeezing data from genetic genealogy: historical adventures with the Y chromosome.”
I am excited to be meeting many of my classmates, professors and tutors. But honestly, I am counting the hours to getting my hands on a Glasgow meat pie again!