My great grandfather, Samuel Annal, was born in South Ronaldsay, but shortly before moving to Edinburgh we find him in the 1901 census working at Mid House, Orphir on the Orkney mainland as a farm servant to a man called Robert Sinclair - his future wife's grandfather!
#MyFamily52Maps
#MyFamily52Maps
May 4, 2026 at 10:00 AM
My great grandfather, Samuel Annal, was born in South Ronaldsay, but shortly before moving to Edinburgh we find him in the 1901 census working at Mid House, Orphir on the Orkney mainland as a farm servant to a man called Robert Sinclair - his future wife's grandfather!
#MyFamily52Maps
#MyFamily52Maps
My parents and my maternal grandparents were married in the same place: the Church of the Sacred Heart in Edinburgh.
The church is still there today in Lauriston Street and is clearly marked on this large scale 1947 OS map (1:1250 scale).
#MyFamily52Maps
The church is still there today in Lauriston Street and is clearly marked on this large scale 1947 OS map (1:1250 scale).
#MyFamily52Maps
April 7, 2026 at 11:39 AM
My parents and my maternal grandparents were married in the same place: the Church of the Sacred Heart in Edinburgh.
The church is still there today in Lauriston Street and is clearly marked on this large scale 1947 OS map (1:1250 scale).
#MyFamily52Maps
The church is still there today in Lauriston Street and is clearly marked on this large scale 1947 OS map (1:1250 scale).
#MyFamily52Maps
Still catching up with #MyFamily52Maps
My grandfather, William Annal, was born in Wardlaw Place, Edinburgh (worryingly close to Tynecastle for my Hibs supporting family!) but when he was about 7 his parents moved to a flat on the seafront at Portobello - which must have suited their Orcadian blood!
My grandfather, William Annal, was born in Wardlaw Place, Edinburgh (worryingly close to Tynecastle for my Hibs supporting family!) but when he was about 7 his parents moved to a flat on the seafront at Portobello - which must have suited their Orcadian blood!
February 19, 2026 at 5:28 PM
Still catching up with #MyFamily52Maps
My grandfather, William Annal, was born in Wardlaw Place, Edinburgh (worryingly close to Tynecastle for my Hibs supporting family!) but when he was about 7 his parents moved to a flat on the seafront at Portobello - which must have suited their Orcadian blood!
My grandfather, William Annal, was born in Wardlaw Place, Edinburgh (worryingly close to Tynecastle for my Hibs supporting family!) but when he was about 7 his parents moved to a flat on the seafront at Portobello - which must have suited their Orcadian blood!
My 2xGt Grandmother, Catherine Crinnell or Krennel came from the Isle of Man's most northerly parish, Kirk Bride. Or, as it appears on John Blaeu's map from his 'Atlas Maior' (1662/65), 'Kirk Bridge'.
Never mind the cartographic accuracy, just revel in the beauty of the map...
#MyFamily52Maps
Never mind the cartographic accuracy, just revel in the beauty of the map...
#MyFamily52Maps
![Blaeu Atlas Maior, 1662-5
Volume 5
Insvlæ Britannicæ (page 386) / Mona
National Library of Scotland
https://maps.nls.uk/atlas/blaeu-maior/browse/5/page/258
Name: Blaeu, Joan, 1596-1673
Title: Insvlæ Britannicæ (page 386) / Mona
Imprint: [Amsterdam : Blaeu, 1662]
Pagination: 1 map : hand col. outlines ; 38 x 27 cm., on sheet, ca. 52 x 61 cm.
Scale: [no scale bar]
Shelfmark: EMW.X.017](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:fje5wwjffepvxog772kaptxp/bafkreihfnvl65lfaxwzvumby5j7nisc53p4gyr5sjl45vy2podk3ldr6bi)
September 28, 2026 at 7:12 AM
My 2xGt Grandmother, Catherine Crinnell or Krennel came from the Isle of Man's most northerly parish, Kirk Bride. Or, as it appears on John Blaeu's map from his 'Atlas Maior' (1662/65), 'Kirk Bridge'.
Never mind the cartographic accuracy, just revel in the beauty of the map...
#MyFamily52Maps
Never mind the cartographic accuracy, just revel in the beauty of the map...
#MyFamily52Maps
After leaving Buckingham, where he'd grown up, my 2xGt Grandfather, Thomas Port, moved to Birmingham. His first address in the city was 56 Stafford Street, where he and his wife, Mary, ran a draper's shop, located somewhere in the red circle. Nothing remains of Stafford Street today.
#MyFamily52Maps
#MyFamily52Maps
August 24, 2026 at 7:56 AM
After leaving Buckingham, where he'd grown up, my 2xGt Grandfather, Thomas Port, moved to Birmingham. His first address in the city was 56 Stafford Street, where he and his wife, Mary, ran a draper's shop, located somewhere in the red circle. Nothing remains of Stafford Street today.
#MyFamily52Maps
#MyFamily52Maps
Thomas & Mary Port only remained in Stafford Street for a couple of years. By 1853 they had moved to 191 Sherlock Street, one of the main arterial roads leading into Birmingham from the south.
Their new shop was on the corner of Gooch Street and Sherlock Street.
#MyFamily52Maps
Their new shop was on the corner of Gooch Street and Sherlock Street.
#MyFamily52Maps
August 24, 2026 at 2:41 PM
Thomas & Mary Port only remained in Stafford Street for a couple of years. By 1853 they had moved to 191 Sherlock Street, one of the main arterial roads leading into Birmingham from the south.
Their new shop was on the corner of Gooch Street and Sherlock Street.
#MyFamily52Maps
Their new shop was on the corner of Gooch Street and Sherlock Street.
#MyFamily52Maps
My mum's Flynn ancestors arrived in Edinburgh (from County Roscommon) sometime around 1849 (almost certainly connected to the Great Famine). When I say 'Edinburgh', I actually mean Corstorphine, then a rural village to the west of the city. They initially lived at 'Ladywell Doors'.
#MyFamily52Maps
#MyFamily52Maps
June 15, 2026 at 8:34 AM
My mum's Flynn ancestors arrived in Edinburgh (from County Roscommon) sometime around 1849 (almost certainly connected to the Great Famine). When I say 'Edinburgh', I actually mean Corstorphine, then a rural village to the west of the city. They initially lived at 'Ladywell Doors'.
#MyFamily52Maps
#MyFamily52Maps
My only line of English ancestry comes via my great grandfather, Frederick Thomas Port. In the 1860s, he lived in the west midlands town of Smethwick, in a house on the south side of a junction known (accurately!) as Six Ways.*
#MyFamily52Maps
* admit it, you counted to make sure!
#MyFamily52Maps
* admit it, you counted to make sure!
March 23, 2026 at 4:42 PM
My only line of English ancestry comes via my great grandfather, Frederick Thomas Port. In the 1860s, he lived in the west midlands town of Smethwick, in a house on the south side of a junction known (accurately!) as Six Ways.*
#MyFamily52Maps
* admit it, you counted to make sure!
#MyFamily52Maps
* admit it, you counted to make sure!
My Granny was born on 1 February 1895 at 36 Milton Street, Edinburgh. The family's tenement flat was within spitting distance of Holyrood Palace where my Granny's grandfather worked as a porter.
#MyFamily52Maps
#8 Ordnance Survey 25" Map First Edition 1896
#MyFamily52Maps
#8 Ordnance Survey 25" Map First Edition 1896
February 23, 2026 at 9:15 AM
My Granny was born on 1 February 1895 at 36 Milton Street, Edinburgh. The family's tenement flat was within spitting distance of Holyrood Palace where my Granny's grandfather worked as a porter.
#MyFamily52Maps
#8 Ordnance Survey 25" Map First Edition 1896
#MyFamily52Maps
#8 Ordnance Survey 25" Map First Edition 1896
My great grandmother, Margaret Miller, was born in Orphir, Orkney but shortly before the family departed for Edinburgh, the 1901 census finds them living at 32 Albert Street, Kirkwall. I'm not sure exactly where the house was (there's been some renumbering) but I'm working on it!
#MyFamily52Maps
#MyFamily52Maps
March 16, 2026 at 9:19 AM
My great grandmother, Margaret Miller, was born in Orphir, Orkney but shortly before the family departed for Edinburgh, the 1901 census finds them living at 32 Albert Street, Kirkwall. I'm not sure exactly where the house was (there's been some renumbering) but I'm working on it!
#MyFamily52Maps
#MyFamily52Maps
Working out exactly where our rural ancestors lived can be a bit of a challenge, but thanks to James Wood's 1867 Atlas & Gazetteer of the Isle of Man, I know exactly where my 2x Gt Grandfather, Charles Howland, grew up. His parents owned the farm at Leodest in the parish of Andreas.
#MyFamily52Maps
#MyFamily52Maps
September 23, 2026 at 8:31 AM
Working out exactly where our rural ancestors lived can be a bit of a challenge, but thanks to James Wood's 1867 Atlas & Gazetteer of the Isle of Man, I know exactly where my 2x Gt Grandfather, Charles Howland, grew up. His parents owned the farm at Leodest in the parish of Andreas.
#MyFamily52Maps
#MyFamily52Maps
After moving from his native Eday, my 2x Gt Grandfather, James Miller, settled in Orphir on Orkney's mainland, before moving to Kirkwall. In the early 1900s he moved again, settling in Edinburgh where he lived for over 40 years.
A bit of a change from his old childhood farm...
#MyFamily52Maps
A bit of a change from his old childhood farm...
#MyFamily52Maps
August 10, 2026 at 11:30 AM
After moving from his native Eday, my 2x Gt Grandfather, James Miller, settled in Orphir on Orkney's mainland, before moving to Kirkwall. In the early 1900s he moved again, settling in Edinburgh where he lived for over 40 years.
A bit of a change from his old childhood farm...
#MyFamily52Maps
A bit of a change from his old childhood farm...
#MyFamily52Maps
I was born in Edinburgh, my parents were born in Edinburgh and all four of my grandparents were born in Edinburgh.
But only three of my great grandparents were born there. Two of them came from Orkney including Samuel Christie Annal who was born at Lythes, South Ronaldsay in 1882.
#MyFamily52Maps
But only three of my great grandparents were born there. Two of them came from Orkney including Samuel Christie Annal who was born at Lythes, South Ronaldsay in 1882.
#MyFamily52Maps
April 27, 2026 at 8:55 AM
I was born in Edinburgh, my parents were born in Edinburgh and all four of my grandparents were born in Edinburgh.
But only three of my great grandparents were born there. Two of them came from Orkney including Samuel Christie Annal who was born at Lythes, South Ronaldsay in 1882.
#MyFamily52Maps
But only three of my great grandparents were born there. Two of them came from Orkney including Samuel Christie Annal who was born at Lythes, South Ronaldsay in 1882.
#MyFamily52Maps
It's going to be stupidly hot in the south east of England today and I'm not sure my Orcadian blood will be able to cope with it. I've been looking longingly at the temperature forecast for Orkney today (13°, drizzle, moderate breeze 🥰) and envying my paternal ancestors...
#MyFamily52Maps
#MyFamily52Maps
May 25, 2026 at 8:00 AM
It's going to be stupidly hot in the south east of England today and I'm not sure my Orcadian blood will be able to cope with it. I've been looking longingly at the temperature forecast for Orkney today (13°, drizzle, moderate breeze 🥰) and envying my paternal ancestors...
#MyFamily52Maps
#MyFamily52Maps
I'm up in Edinburgh again at my dad's house and I've been thinking about what a relatively short time it's been there. The house was built in the 1940s and just fifty years earlier, the whole area was undeveloped with a few 'big' houses dotted around the landscape...
#MyFamily52Maps
#MyFamily52Maps
May 18, 2026 at 3:00 PM
I'm up in Edinburgh again at my dad's house and I've been thinking about what a relatively short time it's been there. The house was built in the 1940s and just fifty years earlier, the whole area was undeveloped with a few 'big' houses dotted around the landscape...
#MyFamily52Maps
#MyFamily52Maps
My great grandfather, Frederick Thomas Port, is the pathway to my English ancestry. He was born in Buckingham and after marrying in Staffordshire in 1872, moved to Scotland.
But he died in Brighton, on business, after he was run over by a bus while riding a bike - at this junction!
#MyFamily52Maps
But he died in Brighton, on business, after he was run over by a bus while riding a bike - at this junction!
#MyFamily52Maps
April 21, 2026 at 1:11 PM
My great grandfather, Frederick Thomas Port, is the pathway to my English ancestry. He was born in Buckingham and after marrying in Staffordshire in 1872, moved to Scotland.
But he died in Brighton, on business, after he was run over by a bus while riding a bike - at this junction!
#MyFamily52Maps
But he died in Brighton, on business, after he was run over by a bus while riding a bike - at this junction!
#MyFamily52Maps
I'm a bit behind on my #MyFamily52Maps project so let's play catchup...
My grandma remembered visiting her father's housewhen she was a young girl (she was illegitimate) and playing on the tennis courts at the back.
The tennis courts are still there today...
My grandma remembered visiting her father's housewhen she was a young girl (she was illegitimate) and playing on the tennis courts at the back.
The tennis courts are still there today...
February 18, 2026 at 9:19 AM
I'm a bit behind on my #MyFamily52Maps project so let's play catchup...
My grandma remembered visiting her father's housewhen she was a young girl (she was illegitimate) and playing on the tennis courts at the back.
The tennis courts are still there today...
My grandma remembered visiting her father's housewhen she was a young girl (she was illegitimate) and playing on the tennis courts at the back.
The tennis courts are still there today...
My mum's Flynn and Philip ancestors lived in some fairly rough parts of Edinburgh. In 1891, the Philips were living at 5 Church Place, a narrow courtyard, leading off the west side of Church Street (now Gloucester Street) in the Stockbridge district.
#MyFamily52Maps
#MyFamily52Maps
June 1, 2026 at 1:07 PM
My mum's Flynn and Philip ancestors lived in some fairly rough parts of Edinburgh. In 1891, the Philips were living at 5 Church Place, a narrow courtyard, leading off the west side of Church Street (now Gloucester Street) in the Stockbridge district.
#MyFamily52Maps
#MyFamily52Maps
I stopped off on my way up to Edinburgh at one of my ancestral homes. Wanlockhead is Scotland's highest village (at 1,329 feet) and a former centre of lead mining. My 2x great grandfather, Charles Howland, lived at Lochnell Cottages ⭕ and worked in Wanlockhead as a blacksmith 🟥
#MyFamily52Maps
#MyFamily52Maps
March 30, 2026 at 1:24 PM
I stopped off on my way up to Edinburgh at one of my ancestral homes. Wanlockhead is Scotland's highest village (at 1,329 feet) and a former centre of lead mining. My 2x great grandfather, Charles Howland, lived at Lochnell Cottages ⭕ and worked in Wanlockhead as a blacksmith 🟥
#MyFamily52Maps
#MyFamily52Maps
My 2x great grandfather, Thomas Port, retired from business sometime in the 1880s and eventually moved to the Worcestershire parish of Chaddesley Corbett where his daughter Nellie was the school teacher. He died at the school house on 18 January 1900.
#MyFamily52Maps
#MyFamily52Maps
May 11, 2026 at 8:54 AM
My 2x great grandfather, Thomas Port, retired from business sometime in the 1880s and eventually moved to the Worcestershire parish of Chaddesley Corbett where his daughter Nellie was the school teacher. He died at the school house on 18 January 1900.
#MyFamily52Maps
#MyFamily52Maps
My 2xGt Grandfather, Charles Howland, was born on the Isle of Man in 1843. He was baptised at Andreas parish church on 28 April and lived on the island until sometime around 1871 when he moved to Scotland. The Howland family's Manx roots can be traced back to the 17th century.
#MyFamily52Maps
#MyFamily52Maps
![Ordnance Survey 1" Map of the Isle of Man, 1873
National Library of Scotland https://maps.nls.uk/view/101169302
[Sheets 36.45.46.56 & 57] - (Isle of Man)
Surveyed: ca. 1866 to 1869, Published: 1873
Size: sheet ca. 110 x 72 cm (ca. 43 x 29 inches)](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:fje5wwjffepvxog772kaptxp/bafkreihwvx23s2zkt5wusrwdnapfa6vcsg3htw4pjzgqddb4ojil3qf3q4)
September 16, 2026 at 12:06 PM
My 2xGt Grandfather, Charles Howland, was born on the Isle of Man in 1843. He was baptised at Andreas parish church on 28 April and lived on the island until sometime around 1871 when he moved to Scotland. The Howland family's Manx roots can be traced back to the 17th century.
#MyFamily52Maps
#MyFamily52Maps
My 3x Great Grandmother, Catherine Smith, grew up in very different surroundings from her future husband, David John Davidson. David's rural Berwickshire birthplace would have seemed a million miles away from Catherine's childhood home on Edinburgh's busy Canongate.
#MyFamily52Maps
#MyFamily52Maps
July 6, 2026 at 10:37 AM
My 3x Great Grandmother, Catherine Smith, grew up in very different surroundings from her future husband, David John Davidson. David's rural Berwickshire birthplace would have seemed a million miles away from Catherine's childhood home on Edinburgh's busy Canongate.
#MyFamily52Maps
#MyFamily52Maps
My great grandmother's family moved from the Isle of Man shortly before she was born in 1872; her father had found work in the Lead Mines on the Hebridean island of Islay. I don't know exactly where the Howlands lived on Islay but I know that Charles worked right here in the smithy.
#MyFamily52Maps
#MyFamily52Maps
April 13, 2026 at 10:14 AM
My great grandmother's family moved from the Isle of Man shortly before she was born in 1872; her father had found work in the Lead Mines on the Hebridean island of Islay. I don't know exactly where the Howlands lived on Islay but I know that Charles worked right here in the smithy.
#MyFamily52Maps
#MyFamily52Maps
My 2x Great Grandmother, Margaret Philp was born in 1859 in Davidson's Mains in the parish of Cramond, to the west of Edinburgh. The 1861 census finds the family living at an address in Quality Street, almost certainly one of the houses circled in red on the map
#MyFamily52Maps
#MyFamily52Maps
June 22, 2026 at 9:52 AM
My 2x Great Grandmother, Margaret Philp was born in 1859 in Davidson's Mains in the parish of Cramond, to the west of Edinburgh. The 1861 census finds the family living at an address in Quality Street, almost certainly one of the houses circled in red on the map
#MyFamily52Maps
#MyFamily52Maps
My 2xGt Grandmother, Mary Layton, was born in Buckingham in 1815. Her father died in 1835 and at the time of the 1841 census she was living with her mother and a number of siblings in a house in Bankers Row, on the east side of Nelson Street, backing on to the parish church.
#MyFamily52Maps
#MyFamily52Maps
September 2, 2026 at 8:16 AM
My 2xGt Grandmother, Mary Layton, was born in Buckingham in 1815. Her father died in 1835 and at the time of the 1841 census she was living with her mother and a number of siblings in a house in Bankers Row, on the east side of Nelson Street, backing on to the parish church.
#MyFamily52Maps
#MyFamily52Maps