Ancestral Homelands

Kate Grieve with her horse, "Ginger" taken outside "Overhuntly", Selkirkshire, Scotland about 1900.

Old Doors

When memory keeps me company
And moves to smiles and tears
A weather beaten object
Looms through the mist of years

The door that from the porch did lead
Into the kitchen warm
And sheltered us from summer's rains
And winter's cold and storm

And we who all were raised
Behind that friendly door
Have wandered far away from home
And gather there no more

And though we may no longer roam
Among the banks and braes
We'll see again through others eyes
That dear old kitchen door.

Mary "Edwina" Miller Barton Grieve (1883 - 1971).

Edwina was moved to write the poem above, when sent a photograph of her daughter, Dorothea, at the door of "Overhuntly", Edwina's home, before emigrating to Canada in 1901. Even if you have never lived at the ancestral home , a rich feeling of "belonging" or "coming home", can be experienced when seeing it with your own eyes.

Researchers are given clues to those locations from certificates of birth, death and marriage, census returns, electoral rolls, directories and communication with extended family members. It can be charming to visit and study those places - a taste of bygone days which puts the family's story into perspective. Our ancestor, Walter Grieve moved to "Overhuntly" in 1784, where on the death of his mother-in-law, Helen Elliot, he took over the tenancy.

To follow are other images of ancestral homelands in the United Kingdom and Australia. Please click to enlarge them.

Webmaster: Sirrah Computing

Date : November 2000
Copyright © 2000 by Gail Dodd. All Rights Reserved.
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