Re: People of the British Isles project

On Tue, 29 Apr 2008 09:55:28 +0200, "Lesley Robertson"
<l.a.robertson@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

There's many other such examples of work-related travel, often over
difficult country (I've walked Jock's road. I still find it hard to believe
that they got the black cattle up some of those slopes!). Of course, the
fishers landed up and down the coast, and many servants whose employers had
more than one house found themselves in far-fung corners of the UK.

Mention of Jock's Road (which I did from the Glendoll side north as a
teenager) reminds me of one of my great-grandfathers (1879-1955) who
is said to have driven cattle from The Cabrach to Smithfield as a
young man.

I've never looked into the story which strikes me as a little
far-fetched because it doesn't affect any of the actual genealogy.

Were cattle still being driven that far south that late? I'd have
thought the Scottish central belt would have been a ready market.

It was said that with his share of the money he went up to a west end
shoemaker where he had his own last (Lobbs?) for a new pair of boots
and then had the luxury of going back to Aberdeen by the "North Boat".
The walk from Aberdeen to The Cabrach broke in his boots for him.

The boots story is possibly checkable but that depends on whether
other Victorian west-end shoemakers had individualised lasts and
whether the records survive as I see Lobbs was bombed out six times
during the blitz.

James
James Dempster

You know you've had a good night
when you wake up
and someone's outlining you in chalk.
.

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