- source: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names
- the following text is based on an article in Wikipedia
Scrabster (Scots: Scraibster, Scottish Gaelic: Sgrabastair/Sgrabstal) is a small settlement on Thurso Bay in Caithness on the north coast of Scotland. It is some 1 1⁄2 miles (2.4 km) from Thurso, 22 1⁄2 miles (36.2 km) from Wick and 112 miles (180 km) from Inverness.
From The Gazetteer for Scotland
- "A 19th-century fishing port on the north coast of Caithness, Scrabster lies beneath a cliff on the west side of Thurso Bay, 2 miles (3 km) northwest of the town of Thurso. It is built on the site of a much older Norse homestead, its 13th-century castle being a former stronghold of the Bishops of Caithness. Scrabster House dates from 1834 and from its large harbour, constructed c.1850, ferries connect with Orkney, Shetland and the Faroe Islands. Flagstone quarries nearby were worked until the early 20th century and a lighthouse at Holborn Head was first lit in 1862. A BP oil depot was established in 1978 and the harbour was enlarged in the 1990s to handle large ocean-going fishing boats in addition to Scrabster's lifeboat and coastguard cutter. Scrabster has a business park with a call centre and hi-tech industries."
Notes for the Highland Council Area and the Western Isles Council Area
The local archives are held by The Highland Archive Service which is based in Inverness with branches in Stornoway, Fort William and Caithness. It is "responsible for locating, preserving and making accessible archives relating to all aspects of the history of the geographical area of the Highlands."
Family history societies and historical associations covering the Highland Council Area and the Western Isles Council Area are:
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These associations publish their aims on their websites as well as a list of publications. In many cases the publications are also available through the Scottish Genealogy Society (see below).
- The FreeCen Project--Scotland has a searchable (not browsable) transcription for each of the counties in the area. Nairnshire and Caithness have the 1841, 1851, 1861 and 1871 complete. Inverness-shire and Ross and Cromarty have 1841 complete with some work on 1851 and Sutherland has not completed 1841.
Transcriptions of Gravestone Inscriptions
- The Scottish Genealogy Society provides a series of monumental inscriptions either in print in booklet form or on CD for each of the counties in the area (Caithness, Inverness-shire, Nairnshire, Ross and Cromarty, and Sutherland). Some of the booklets cover only one graveyard, others cover a group. Prices vary. In many cases the coverage is of pre-1855 stones only--this is because gravestone inscriptions are often used by family historians as death registration equivalents in the era of the Old Parish Registers (when deaths were not universally recorded).
- The Fearn Peninsula Graveyards Project has a paid website which allows browsing in ten graveyards in Easter Ross. They charge £2.50 for 24 hours of usage with unlimited searches.
- An index of monumental inscriptions from Caithness compiled by D J Ryrie might prove to be a useful start for searching gravestones in that county. GENUKI states "All (?) of the monumental inscriptions (MIs) in Caithness have been collected and are in print currently from Books From Scotland amongst other places." The Scottish Genealogy Society also has a list of their holdings.
- Sutherland cemeteries are covered in Pre-1855 tombstone inscriptions in Sutherland burial grounds by A S Cowper & I Ross, published at Edinburgh in 1989 by the Scottish Genealogy Society.
- There are no specific notes for gravestone transcriptions for either Inverness-shire or Nairnshire in GENUKI. However, the Scottish Genealogy Society lists booklets for both counties.
Sources for Emigration Records
- Hebrides People have a database containing lists of people who emigrated to North America from a number of parishes in the Western Isles.
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