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Alison Spring @acspring.bsky.social · 31m

#31DaysOfGraves #Missing There are a few letters missing due to age and illegibility (the stone's, not mine) from this inscription. Dan was my great-grandmother's brother and Mary was his wife. This churchyard is situated in the rural parish of Kinclaven, in Perthshire.

A granite headstone is set in a sunny churchyard with trees and other graves in the background. The inscription reads, "In loving memory of Mary Ramsay Burns beloved wife of Daniel Murray
died 19th November 1954 aged 75 years
The above Daniel Murray died 19th April 1965 aged 80 years"

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Alison Spring @acspring.bsky.social · 10h

#31DaysOfGraves #Lettering Not quite a gravestone, although it is in a graveyard, and not quite letter-ing, but letters: a "postbox to heaven" in Wolston, Warwickshire, suggested by a grieving relative. Read about it at www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

A typical country postbox on a pole. The box has been painted white with gold lettering. It bears the usual "Post Office E [crown] R" but on the side, and the front, is inscribed a drawing of an envelope , followed by "Letters To Lost Loved Ones". The postbox is situated within a graveyard.

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Alison Spring @acspring.bsky.social · 15h

It's the southeastern bit that troubles me. I don't have any documented English ancestry so I'm guessing it's an anomaly in Ancestry's calculations.

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Alison Spring @acspring.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

Deal! (They do better chocolate)

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Alison Spring @acspring.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

This is disturbing. Very disturbing indeed. ENGLISH??!!! #Ancestry #DNA

Ancestry DNA origins report showing 5% DNA Northern England and 1% Southeastern England. The map of the south-east of England is shown.

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Alison Spring @acspring.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

I love to visit the Govan Stones ❤️

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Alison Spring @acspring.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

#31DaysOfGraves #Animal In the Loch Lomond-side parish of Luss, the churchyard sports a hogback stone. It's thought this style of grave marker was intended to resemble a Viking-style longhouse. More info about it at tinyurl.com/4363j3rz

A long, low granite gravestone with a curved upper, carved to resemble roof tiles. It is set in a churchyard with other, moss-covered recumbent stones in the background.

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Alison Spring @acspring.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

What was the family name, Meryl? One of my Skye aunts married a Matheson from Strath and his mother was a MacKinnon.

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Alison Spring @acspring.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

#31DaysOfGraves #Home My father's parents moved the family to Skye in 1930 from the island of North Uist. They built a new house and it was the family home until the last occupant passed away. Trumpan Cemetery is their final resting place. It's a special place for me.

A pale brown gravestone set in a grassy cemetery has the inscription "In loving memory of our parents Donald MacLeod died 11.7.1940 aged 79 years and his wife Christina MacQuien died 5.7.1952 aged 81 years 2 Ardmore".

Under a blue sky of puffy white clouds sits the roofless ruin of a stone-built church with only one gable remaining, photographed side on. It is the backdrop of this picture of a graveyard with eight well-spaced headstones, some of them dotted with lichen and moss.

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Alison Spring @acspring.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Thanks for the recommendation, Jane, I've ordered my copy!

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Alison Spring @acspring.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

#31DaysOfGraves #Weather A September sky over Fodderty cemetery in Ross-shire. This graveyard is in a quiet spot between the towns of Dingwall and Strathpeffer, and it's always a surprise to find more than two people visiting it, despite its size.

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Alison Spring @acspring.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

#31DaysOfGraves #Vehicle St Mary's Portchester in Hampshire, a lovely Norman church dating back to the 12th century. Some cousins are buried here although I couldn't find any stones for them. They were from a family that boasted a number of clerics, the Stories, originally from Paisley.

A blue sky backdrop for a red tile-roofed English church in the Norman style, surrounded by gravestones. By the lych gate is parked a dark coloured car.

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Alison Spring @acspring.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Can't "like" that, Dave. A sad end but at least he was found.

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Alison Spring @acspring.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

#31DaysOfGraves #Entrance Tough pick today but I've gone for Kinclaven Kirkyard's lych gate. I sat there as it was a very hot day, but it turned out to be home to a family of swallows who didn't expect a visitor, so I didn't stay long after finding my relatives' graves.

A country church in Perthshire. It features a granite lych gate shaped a bit like a castle entrance with a pointed roof. In the background are the church itself, gravestones, and trees. And a very blue sky! An iron gate into the churchyard is to the right.

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Alison Spring @acspring.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Loved this! cooking: microwave whistle: barely, and tunelessly like my dad draw: nope paint: doors and woodwork swim: blindly english: Big Nope dance: when no-one's around sing: tenor section going on bass drive: yes gifting: love it write: for magazines guitar: air only speaking: professionally

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Alison Spring @acspring.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

A dalek is the perfect remedy.

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Alison Spring @acspring.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Excellent thread from the family of Colin the House Dalek.

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Alison Spring @acspring.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

I saw a newspaper report about it recently, from the point of view of the cemetery's heritage society who feel it would be a bad idea. If I can find it I'll post a link here.

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Alison Spring @acspring.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

#31DaysOfGraves #Glass In Glassford kirkyard stands this memorial to the Covenanter William Gordon. Details of the memorial plaque in alt text.

A metal plaque headed: SCOTTISH COVENANTER MEMORIALS ASSOCIATION. In the centre is a black roundel with a white saltire, crossed swords & pistols, an open book, and the motto "For Christ and Covenant" 1688. The information reads: William Gordon of Earlstoun Castle, near
St John's Town of Dalry in Galloway,
was tried and convicted of attending
private meetings and Conventicles.
He was sentenced to banishment
abroad under threat of death if he
returned. He did return and made
his way to the battle of Bothwell
Bridge where he met a company of
dragoons near the village of Quarter,
and was shot dead. His estates were
forfeited to the Crown. He was buried
here in Glassford Cemetery and this monument
erected over his grave. For fear of retribution,
the monument was not inscribed until after
the Glorious Revolution of 1688. His
son, Alexander Gordon, was also a
Covenanter who fought at Bothwell
Bridge where his wife's brother, Sir
Robert Hamilton commanded the
Covenanting Army.
The oak tree to the right of this
memorial was a sapling from the Oak
Tree at Earlstoun Castle, in whose
branches Alexander hid from the Dragoons
(Photo credit David Bebbington)

A large white square column headstone with a brown inscription panel on the front, surmounted by something resembling the top of a church spire. The stone bisects a low stone wall beneath some trees.
(Photo Credit Scottish Covenanter Memorials Association)

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Alison Spring @acspring.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

#31DaysofGraves #Urn The Dickie family of Paisley & Glasgow are commemorated on this pillared stone which is topped by a draped urn. In funerary symbols, the urn represents death, and the drapery the veil between mortality and the afterlife. The graveyard is the Necropolis in Glasgow's city centre.

Two rows of headstones in a grassy graveyard, with bare trees in the background. Centre is a grey pillar headstone, topped by a draped urn.

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Alison Spring @acspring.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

#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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Reposted by Alison Spring

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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Reposted by Alison Spring

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

It's got Danny Dyer's name all over it.

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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

That's an unkind slur on Colin and his pepperpots.

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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

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Alison Spring @acspring.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

That was a really good series! (I should point out that I support independence for Scotland)

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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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Reposted by Alison Spring

Hoodlum 🇺🇸 @nothoodlum.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Denmark is trolling Trump.

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Reposted by Alison Spring

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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Reposted by Alison Spring

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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Alison Spring @acspring.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Happy littermates day, boyz 🥳🥰

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Reposted by Alison Spring

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 · 18/09/2026

Congratulations, Dave, and welcome to the latest addition to the family 🍾

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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