As anyone who checks in on my blog now and then will know, I am a big fan of using newspapers for genealogy research. Although it is more often the more well-to-do individuals who would place notices in the newspapers commemorating their life events, the early newspapers can be a real treasure trove of information about individuals from every walk of life.
This week's extracts come from two Scottish newspapers and have a sad seasonal theme - both detail the tragic cases of individuals caught outside in extreme weather in the Scottish winter. Their stories are so sad, especially perhaps this extract telling the fate of Mr John Piggy and his son:
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| Caledonian Mercury, Thursday, January 16, 1800 |
From further north, we also have the sad case of William Mason from Glenbervie:
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| The Aberdeen Journal, Monday, January 13, 1800 |
As well as these named individuals, these extracts refer to a number of unknown souls whose lives were lost to the extreme weather. We may never know who these people were, but in the era before statutory registration of deaths, the newspapers can sometimes give us a vital clue as to what happened to some of our ancestors.
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