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The first Angus & Dundee Roots Festival came to an end on Friday evening with a highly-enjoyable ceilidh on board HM Frigate Unicorn in Dundee's Victoria Dock.
"What a wonderful end to a wonderful week," said Roots Festival delegate Janet Gosior from Alberta. "The Roots Festival was a great mix of educational visits, such as our trip to Verdant Works, where I was found out about the lives of the jute workers I am a descendant of, and fun events, such as the ceilidh."
Most of the delegates returned home with lots more information about their family history and all agreed that it was good to see the places where their ancestors had lived and worked. "I've already found out everything I can about my family's history but coming to the Roots Festival made it possible for me to retrace my family's footsteps," said Australian delegate, Barbara Rouse, whose grandfather, a merchant seaman, emigrated from Arbroath to Australia with his family in 1921.
"As a result of attending the Roots Festival, I now know the jute mill my great-great-great grandfather worked in and I've also seen the site of his home in Brown Street," revealed Mary Sharp, who explained that the research she had undertaken at the Roots Festival had also led her to another possible relative. "I'm returning home to Australia with so many new clues about my family's history," she said.
Margaret Wigney from New South Wales was particularly interested in Lour Estate, where her great aunt, Margaret Fenton, had been head housekeeper. During the Festival, Baroness Carnegie of Lour invited Margaret to visit her and, in a perfect example of role reversal, the Baroness poured her family's housekeeper's great-niece a cup of tea as they chatted about the connection between the two families.
The Angus and Dundee Roots Festival is a joint initiative by Angus Council and Dundee City Council to encourage people researching their family tree to discover their ancestral connections to Angus and Dundee. During the Festival, there were opportunities to study burial records and visit local graveyards, which led to several delegates finding the final resting place of their ancestors.
"It was fascinating to see my great-grandparents' burial records," said Anne Tooke from Jersey. Sisters Jane Haynes and Martha Henderson found out where their great-great grandfather is buried and are now arranging for a memorial stone to be erected while Bev Chidgey from Adelaide discovered two long-lost relatives in The Howff.
During the Festival, the delegates participated in various workshops, from family names to Dundee's whaling industry; visited local historical sites, such as Glamis Castle and Arbroath Abbey; as well as attending a gala dinner, a film night and a traditional music evening. "The Roots Festival has been really interesting," said Deanna Albrecht from Ontario, who added that, for her, one of the highlights of the Roots Festival was the boat trip to the Bell Rock Lighthouse.
"We're delighted that the delegates at the very first Roots Festival have found it so worthwhile and so informative," said Provost of Angus, Ruth Leslie Melville. "Thanks must go to everyone involved in organising the Festival, especially all the volunteers who did everything they could to ensure the delegates enjoyed their time with us and returned home with the information about their family they were looking for."
Canadian delegate Penny Skehan was highly complimentary about The Roots Festival. "It's been great," said Penny, whose grandfather emigrated from Dundee to Canada with his parents and siblings in 1922. "I feel as though I've come home."