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Alison Spring

@acspring.bsky.social
1.2K followers 108 following 1.7K posts

Glasgow-ish based Qualified Genealogist @ RQG, specialising in Scottish research linktr.ee/scotsancestors Speaker - see my talks listed at tinyurl.com/scotstalks

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Alison Spring @acspring.bsky.social · 7h
#31daysofgraves Day 1: Flowers My uncle and aunt, in a lovely secluded corner of a very large and rolling woodland cemetery.
A modest grey granite gravestone with pink and yellow flowers on the ground before it. The inscription reads: In memory of John McLeod who died at Rosedene, Forres, 12th January 1960.
Also our dear mother Flora Gillanders Macrae 
who died at Invergordon  3rd November 1970.
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The Dobson Family and Colin the Dalek @dobbersw.bsky.social · 04/01/2025
I think Colin the House Dalek has fundamentally misunderstood the premise behind The Masked Singer. #TheMaskedSinger #MaskedSinger
A Dalek standing next to a Singer sewing machine with a mask on it.
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BIFHSGO @bifhsgo.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
acspring.bsky.social will explain how city directories, electoral rolls, tax records, and other hidden sources can reveal the lives and movements of urban Scottish ancestors, even into the twentieth century. More: bit.ly/4wxIZ2B #scottishgenealogy #scottishfamilyhistory #genealogy #familyhistory
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Alison Spring @acspring.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
If you're a family history society or heritage group looking for speakers, take a look at my list of topics at tinyurl.com/scotstalks and get in touch!
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Alison Spring @acspring.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
I'm going to be giving a few talks this October. Details at canva.link/u6s278v13pfp... See you there! #GenHour #AncestryHour #FamilyHistory #Genealogy
Speaking Schedule October 2026
Alison Spring

Saturday 3rd  Online
Anglo Scots Family History Society
“Tracing your Scottish Ancestors From Home & For Free”
Register to join at  https://tinyurl.com/bp4sr6ey

Wednesday 14th  Online
Legacy Family Tree Webinar
“Scottish Genealogy: Finding & Understanding Civil Registration Records
Sign up at https://tinyurl.com/rhpe8cpm

Saturday 17th  Online
British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa Conference
“Researching Urban Ancestors in Scotland”
Sign up at https://www.bifhsgo.ca/2026-conference

Wednesday 28th  Online
Society of Genealogists
“Tools for Your Graveyard Research Kit”
Register at https://tinyurl.com/2s3seca5   

See my full list of talks & get in touch to book a presentation at
https://tinyurl.com/fhfSpring
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Alison Spring @acspring.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
I'm looking forward to speaking to the Anglo Scots Family History Society this coming Saturday, 3rd October, at 2pm (UK time). Details of how to join at mlfhs.uk/anglo-scots/...
Tracing your Scottish Ancestors from Home and For Free
by Alison Spring
Saturday, 3rd October 2026, 2.00pm
Online via Zoom
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Hoodlum 🇺🇸 @nothoodlum.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Denmark is trolling Trump.
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Andrew Sharpe 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿|🇪🇺 @andrew.sharpe.scot · 23/09/2026
I feel obliged to post this every year until the BBC and the rest of the British media accurately report on this matter... - drug related deaths are recorded quite differently in 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Scotland, with many not being recorded as such in 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England. - drugs policy is a 🇬🇧 Westminster power.
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The Victorian Society @thevicsoc.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
We're reaching for our smelling salts. A new vape shop will be opening on Sauchiehall St next to the world-renowned Mackintosh Tearooms. This follows the devastating fire at Union St earlier this year caused by a vape shop that destroyed a Victorian building + took the Station out of use for days 🧵
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Financial Times @financialtimes.com · 19/09/2026
AI chatbots give wrong answers to financial queries ‘most of the time’ ft.trib.al/oImlEFY
ft.trib.al
AI chatbots give wrong answers to financial queries ‘most of the time’
Report finds some chatbots ignored upcoming tax changes and hallucinated rules
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Steve Jackson @atcherleyons.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Woman: “Watch it, you very nearly took my arm off with that sword!” Pirate: “Arrrr, ’tis only a cut lass!” #InternationalTalkLikeAPirateDay
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Alison Spring @acspring.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
A thought-provoking article about artificial intelligence with cautions about how it is developed: www.diplomaticourier.com/posts/ai-is-... #ArtificialIntelligence #AI
diplomaticourier.com
AI is not value–neutral: We need to decide the values that shape it
Sep 17, 2026 // With AI quickly becoming the intermediary by which we see the world, we must pay attention to what moral compass we are embedding into AI systems. That compass should reflect a broader...
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Alison Spring @acspring.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
If you're in the Glasgow area, I'll be speaking next Wednesday evening at Eastwood House about the 3 main record categories used to begin Scottish ancestry research. It's a "pay what you can" event, details here: www.enjoyeastren.org/events/three... #GenHour #FamilyHistory
enjoyeastren.org
Three Essentials of Scottish Research: Church, Civil and Census Records
Unlock your family history with professional genealogist Alison Spring
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MꙬse Allain @mooseallain.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
A man in a face covering talks to another man who is looking disappointedly at a small box he is holding. Man 1 “What's that?”. Man 2 “Baklava. I misread the WhatsApp”
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Alison Spring @acspring.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Free access to #Ancestry until midnight on Sunday 13th September (UK time). Details at the link below: www.whodoyouthinkyouaremagazine.com/news/ancestr... #GenHour
whodoyouthinkyouaremagazine.com
Ancestry offers free access to 326 million wartime family history records | Who Do You Think You Are Magazine
Family history website Ancestry is offering free access to major records collections, including Second World War service records
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Lucy Knisley @lucyknisley.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
I made a little template for use by cool small businesses! Enjoy!
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Alison Spring @acspring.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
It's here! I'm excited to get started @mishjholman.bsky.social 😀
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The Past and other Places @pastandotherplaces.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
"Kat Jones may be the closest thing Scotland has to Erin Brockovich in 2026. Standing in the shadow of Arthur’s Seat outside Holyrood, the 52-year-old is revving up the crowd of protesters around her." 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 #DataCentres #AI #water #energy #datacentre www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...
theguardian.com
Hundreds gather to urge Scottish government to pause datacentre boom
Opposition mounts as at least 20 projects proposed, including one in Fife billed as second largest in world
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The Past and other Places @pastandotherplaces.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Tonight! 'Decoding the memorials in the Old High Church and graveyard'. Talk by Norman Newton on Wed 2nd September at 2.00pm. Trinity Life Hall, Huntly Street - £4 for visitors. Inverness Local History Forum. 🪦 #LocalHistory #genealogy #Inverness #Highlands
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BIFHSGO @bifhsgo.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN for our virtual annual conference on 17 and 18 October, with a Scottish focus. Complete details on the theme, the speakers and their topics: www.bifhsgo.ca/2026-confere... #genealogy #familyhistory #scottishgenealogy #scottishfamilyhistory #scottishhistory
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Davis Bickford @davis.social · 30/08/2026
Photo of a part of the sticker wall, near the gum wall in Seattle. A large glued poster of a cat holding a sign reads, “A.I. IS DẠTA
& CAN ONLY LOOK AT WHERE WE'VE BEEN.
CREATIVITY IS TRYING TO SEE WHERE WE CAN GO.”
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BIFHSGO @bifhsgo.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
acspring.bsky.social will explain how city directories, electoral rolls, tax records, and other hidden sources can reveal the lives and movements of urban Scottish ancestors, even into the twentieth century. More detail: bit.ly/4wxIZ2B #scottishgenealogy #scottishfamilyhistory #genealogy
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Alison Spring @acspring.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Hello #AncestryHour, what have you been up to today? I've been at the @scotlandspeople.bsky.social coalface and found a relative who in 1865 died when a theatre wall collapsed. He seems to have been part of a rescue party in this incident: hd.housedivided.dickinson.edu/node/43650
hd.housedivided.dickinson.edu
In Scotland, fire destroys Edinburgh's Theatre Royal and kills the city's top building official | House Divided
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Michelle Jackson ARPS CrGP ANPS @emmabrooke.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
Little owls siblings #ukwildlife #photography #wildlifephotography #naturephotography #nature #wildlife #canonphotography
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Alison Spring @acspring.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
I can't believe this absentee landowner is putting the iconic Glenelg to Skye ferry at risk. Support the local community - not millionaire financiers - and save the world famous Glenelg to Skye ferry by joining me and signing the petition today: you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/sa...
you.38degrees.org.uk
Save the Glenelg - Skye ferry!
This ten minute crossing is famous around the world - and is believed to be the last turntable style ferry anywhere. It's an iconic part of Skye's history, but it's under threat thanks to a wealthy la...
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Alison Spring @acspring.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
I'm very glad to be able to share the programme of talks for @bifhsgo.bsky.social 's conference this autumn, when I'll be speaking about researching your Scots urban ancestors #GenHour #FamilyHistory
17 & 18 October 2026  BIFHSGO's Virtual Annual Conference
Flittin' Day: Forces That Moved Our Scottish Ancestors
8 presentations, 1 Expert Connect 
2 days of family history explorations
Speakers include:
Sir Tom Devine, Chris Fleet, Marjorie Harper, Laura House, Graeme Morton, Morag Peers, Alison Spring, and Frances Wilkins.
BIFHSGO Conference website: bifhsgo.ca/2026-conference
$40 for BIFHSGO members; $60 for Non-members
Registration opens 1 September 2026.
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Alison Spring @acspring.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
THREAD. After a conversation yesterday with a lady who believes this sort of nonsense, it's time to put her arguments to bed...
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Strathclyde Institute for Genealogical Studies @strathgenealogy.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
🍂Tartan and Stars programme autumn line-up! ✨Scots in North America. Online Course - 17 & 24 September, 1 October. ✨Using DNA testing to explore your early Scottish ancestry. Online Talk - 29 September. 🎟️👉https://www.strath.ac.uk/studywithus/centreforlifelonglearning/genealogy/tartanandstars/
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Strathclyde Institute for Genealogical Studies @strathgenealogy.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
📚 We are accepting applications for the modular and part-time study routes on our Postgrad in Genealogical Studies. ✔️ No formal exams – all modules are assessed through coursework and assignments. 🗓️ Application deadline: 15 September Find out more and apply: www.strath.ac.uk/courses/post...
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Alison Spring @acspring.bsky.social · 25/07/2026
Visited a great exhibition in Glasgow today, here to showcase the parallel histories of the Commonwealth, its citizens' lives, and the records of those lives. #FamilySearch #Glasgow #CommonwealthGames #FamilyHistory scotsancestors.blogspot.com/2026/07/one-...
scotsancestors.blogspot.com
One Commonwealth, Many Families: the Games & an Exhibition in Glasgow
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Larry the Cat @number10cat.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
"My message to the people of the UK is that I'll train the new guy but you're going to have to stick with one of them eventually."
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Larry the Cat @number10cat.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
Welcome to the most important job you'll ever have @andyburnham.bsky.social Cartoon brilliance by @bjennings90.bsky.social for @theguardian.com
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Alison Spring @acspring.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
On Monday 20 July at 7.30pm I'll be speaking to the members @gwsfhs.org.uk about finding Highlanders in the Glasgow poor law application records. Sign up and join us at www.gwsfhs.org.uk/events/event... #GenHour #Ancestors
gwsfhs.org.uk
Glasgow Highlanders in Poor Law Applications - Alison Spring - Glasgow and West of Scotland Family History Society
Glasgow Highlanders in Poor Law applications.
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Orkney Library & Archive @orkneylibrary.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
The queue for the Mobile Library yesterday 🐈‍⬛️🐈
A photograph taken inside the Mobile Library. There are two cats waiting to be served.
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Megan Smolenyak @megansmolenyak.com · 07/07/2026
Not genealogical, but a cool way to journey around the places your ancestors lived. You pick the city (Edinburgh linked here) & a local station and suddenly you're taking a drive with the radio on. Can also adjust the driving speed and toggle on-off street noise. driveandlisten.app/city/edinburgh
driveandlisten.app
Drive in Edinburgh, UK - Drive & Listen
Experience Edinburgh, UK from home. Watch driving videos through Edinburgh streets while listening to local radio stations.
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Rev Peter W Nimmo @peternimmo.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
An imperialist attempt to crush minority languages and cultures. Just like their friend Putin
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Alison Spring @acspring.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
@handybee.bsky.social #NationalKittenDay
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Russ Jones @russincheshire.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
Nigel Farage vs "the establishment" He went to private school, worked as a stockbroker, has been a professional politician for 31 years, has his own TV show, is a brand ambassador for gold, is mates with POTUS, accepted a secret £5m gift, and owns five houses bought outright with cash What a rebel
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Alison Spring @acspring.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
The fascinating story of a surname. Why does a Dutch World Cup star share his name with a Scottish town? www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... #Genealogy #FamilyHistory
bbc.co.uk
Why does a Dutch football star share his name with Dumfries?
How Denzel Dumfries' surname ended up on the small Caribbean island of his ancestors.
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Larry the Cat @number10cat.bsky.social · 04/07/2026
Today the UK celebrates 250 years of independence from the tyranny of the United States of America. Imagine living in a society where the leader can repeatedly break the law and nobody stops them!
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Alison Spring @acspring.bsky.social · 03/07/2026
BBC News - Rare copy of US Declaration of Independence found by volunteer in UK archives www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Rare copy of US Declaration of Independence found by volunteer in UK archives
The newly discovered copy is one of only 11 of its kind in the world.
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Claire Bradley @cbgenealogy.ie · 01/07/2026
This morning's webinar on #1926census is now available to watch for free for the next week. Please share. familytreewebinars.com/webinar/irel... #IrishGenealogy #Speirgorm #IrishHistory #AncestryHour #GenHour #Genealogy #FamilyHistory
familytreewebinars.com
Ireland's 1926 Census: A Guide to the New Release - Legacy Family Tree Webinars
18th April 2026 sees the release of the first new census for Ireland in decades. The 1926 census was the first taken after the island was partitioned and cov...
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Alison Spring @acspring.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
Only a few places left on my Practical Genealogy summer course which starts next month! Enrol at the link below. #GenHour #FamilyHistory #LifelongLearning
mycll.strath.ac.uk
D748: Practical Genealogy | Centre for Lifelong Learning
MyCLL
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Larry the Cat @number10cat.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
"I have accepted Keir Starmer's resignation as my chief servant and have invited Andy Burnham to lay out details for how many meals a day he'll give me"
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Alison Spring @acspring.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
At Glasgow City Archives today doing some client work in church records, & looking forward to tonight when I'll be speaking to Berkshire FHS about tracing your ancestors on a budget #FrugalFamilyHistory
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Hugh Jones @hbsj.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
Here's a #HigherEducationPostcard of @uniofhull.bsky.social I'm not sure whether the mixed common room refers to mixed sex, or that its a common room for both undergraduates, postgraduates and staff If you like this image, I’d really appreciate a repost - remember, BlueSky has #NoAlgorithm
An old monochrome picture postcard showing a comfortable lounge, with easy chairs, coffee tables and a lovely parquet floor. Printed at the bottom is University College of Hull, Students' Union, Mixed Common Room
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thefamilyarchives.bsky.social @thefamilyarchives.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
Interrupting the usual #familyhistory programming to brighten your day with #flowers! 📸 me
a colourful photograph of densely packed cornflowers, poppies, etc. pinks, purples, blues, whites, oranges popping out in a sea of green. they are beautiful.
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Alison Spring @acspring.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
Looking forward to next Wednesday (17th) when I'll be meeting Berkshire FHS online to share some tips about tracing your family tree on a budget. Details here: berksfhs.org/events/famil... #GenHour
berksfhs.org
Family History For Free: Tips For Genealogy On A Budget
How to expedite your genealogy without spending too much
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New Glasgow Society @newglasgowsociety.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
TODAY at 6pm 👇🏽
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Liz @willsmanonename.bsky.social · 07/06/2026
Simon Wills’s book ‘How Our Ancestors Died: A Guide for Family Historians’ is currently available for 99p on Kindle www.amazon.co.uk/How-Our-Ance...
amazon.co.uk
How Our Ancestors Died: A Guide for Family Historians
How Our Ancestors Died: A Guide for Family Historians eBook : Wills, Simon: Amazon.co.uk: Kindle Store
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