In the 17th century, Lanarkshire was swept up in Scotland’s deadly witch hunts. Women from Lanark, Hamilton and surrounding villages were accused of consorting with the Devil, blighting crops, and cursing neighbours. Many were imprisoned, tortured, and executed based on little more than suspicion or local grudges. Records show Lanarkshire courts were active participants in this grim chapter, […]
Pictured here is Ronald MacFarlane Snr. Narrative is shared by Stuart MacFarlane, and I’m informed that Ronald was born in 1908. (though not noted in Blantyre birth records) The photo dates from 1926 or 1927 when he was between 18 or 19 years of age. He was in the Territorial Army band of the Cameronian […]
James Carabine (23 November 1911 – 1987) was a Scottish footballer, who played as a right back. Born in Baird’s Rows in Blantyre a few years before WW1. As a youth jimmy played with Blantyre Saint Joseph’s Boys Guild and then junior football with larkhall Thistle before signing for Thurd Lanark. In the club game […]
David Dale was a Scottish entrepreneur who was instrumental in establishing Scotland’s cotton milling industry. He was born in Ayreshire in 1739. In 1783 he met Sir Richard Arkwright, the inventor of the spinning frame, at a dinner in Glasgow. Next day the pair went to the Falls of Clyde to see if the power […]