Sometime around 1821 or 1822 James Andrew Ross (1794-1866) of Edderton, Ross-Shire, married Catherine Urquhart (1800-1887) of Golspie, Sutherland. They had at least 12 children over the next 25 years, though there may have been more since children so often died in infancy in those … Continue reading The Ross family of Gledfield, Ross-Shire
Scottish sisters
I was recently in Scotland with my friend Hamish. We spent some hours at the Scottish National Gallery. This painting, by the Scottish artist, William McTaggart, entitled Spring (1864), caught my attention. I thought about two sisters in our family, Helen and Katie (Catherine) Ross … Continue reading Scottish sisters
Carron River
In the eastern Highlands of Scotland there is a beautiful river flowing down from the mountains to the sea; the Carron rises in the high country of Ross-Shire and at its steepest tumbles over rocks between barren heights covered in heather and gorse. In its … Continue reading Carron River
Gledfield
North of Inverness on the east coast of Scotland there are three deep inlets from the North Sea: the Moray Firth, the Cromarty Firth and the Dornoch Firth. Between the Moray and Cromarty firths is the so called Black Isle and between the Cromarty and … Continue reading Gledfield
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
Forgotten tales 