My grandmother was Winifred Urquhart Ross (Holford). As a child I was fascinated by her middle name, which she told me came from her Scottish ancestry, as did her surname Ross. During the three years we lived in the UK when I was a child … Continue reading Catherine Urquhart of Golspie (1800-1887)
Category: History
The Gledfield smithy
James Andrew Ross (1794-1866) was the father of my grandmother’s grandfather. As far as I have been able to find out he was born in Edderton, in Ross-Shire, on the southern side of Dornoch Firth. His parents were Donald Ross and Ann Fraser. Donald Ross … Continue reading The Gledfield smithy
James Ross’s sixteenth birthday
James Ross was born in Gledfield, Ross-Shire, in the winter of 1827, the fourth child of the village blacksmith and his wife. James' birthday was the 31st of January, but there were a lot of children (12 in all) in the Ross family and it … Continue reading James Ross’s sixteenth birthday
Communion season in nineteenth century Ross-Shire
It seems likely that James Ross carried the name Ferintosh to Australia with him because of a profound spiritual experience that he had at Ferintosh Burn in the 1840s when the Reverend Dr John McDonald was the minister at Urquhart, the parish which contained the … Continue reading Communion season in nineteenth century Ross-Shire
Strathcarron and Gledfield
In 1841 my grandmother’s grandfather James Ross was 14 years old. He lived in the village of Gledfield, in Ross-shire with his parents and siblings. He was a child of the Scottish Highlands. His father, who had the same name, was a blacksmith. James got … Continue reading Strathcarron and Gledfield