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A review by shelfimprovement
Culloden: Scotland's Last Battle and the Forging of the British Empire by Trevor Royle
So here's a fun story.
In 2015, I was in Scotland on my honeymoon. We were driving from Edinburgh to Aberdeen, and my husband suggested that we stop at Dunnottar Castle because he'd seen it in a travel guide and thought it looked awesome perched on this cliff above the North Sea. And he was right; my photography skills can't even do this thing justice:
While we were walking around the ruins, I noticed a sign describing how the castle had been owned by the Keith Clan before they forfeited it in the Jacobite Rebellion in 1715. I thought it was funny because my grandmother's maiden name was Keith and I knew I had Scottish ancestors. A few weeks later, I mentioned the sign to my father over the phone. It was mostly in jest, but I also knew he'd done some genealogy research on that side of the family. He whipped out a book he had bought about the Keith family ancestry--and on the flyleaf was a drawing of Dunnottar Castle.
So here's what we think we know: my great-great-great-great-great-great grandfather was James Keith. He seems to have lived a few miles from Dunnottar Castle, fought for the losing side in the Battle of Culloden, and was sent to the colony of Virginia as an indentured servant. He might be related to the Keiths who lived at Dunnottar--but we're not sure how, because we don't know for sure who his father is. Either way, I want to learn a little bit more about Culloden and the Jacobite Rebellion so I can learn a little more about my family history :)
In 2015, I was in Scotland on my honeymoon. We were driving from Edinburgh to Aberdeen, and my husband suggested that we stop at Dunnottar Castle because he'd seen it in a travel guide and thought it looked awesome perched on this cliff above the North Sea. And he was right; my photography skills can't even do this thing justice:
While we were walking around the ruins, I noticed a sign describing how the castle had been owned by the Keith Clan before they forfeited it in the Jacobite Rebellion in 1715. I thought it was funny because my grandmother's maiden name was Keith and I knew I had Scottish ancestors. A few weeks later, I mentioned the sign to my father over the phone. It was mostly in jest, but I also knew he'd done some genealogy research on that side of the family. He whipped out a book he had bought about the Keith family ancestry--and on the flyleaf was a drawing of Dunnottar Castle.
So here's what we think we know: my great-great-great-great-great-great grandfather was James Keith. He seems to have lived a few miles from Dunnottar Castle, fought for the losing side in the Battle of Culloden, and was sent to the colony of Virginia as an indentured servant. He might be related to the Keiths who lived at Dunnottar--but we're not sure how, because we don't know for sure who his father is. Either way, I want to learn a little bit more about Culloden and the Jacobite Rebellion so I can learn a little more about my family history :)