15 thoughts on “Historic newspapers at the John Gray Centre”

1. Gavin Wilson says:

   24/03/2019 at 2:47 pm

   Trying to research part of my family tree to discover they lived in Haddington. a Jean/Jeanie/Jane Scroggie married a Henry Dow who was a Missionary from Dunbar. They married in 1906 St Andrews Edinburgh. I am sure he died between 1906 and 1920 but cannot find any more information. Alice Scroggie her sister writes about him.

   Reply
   1. HanitaR says:

      25/03/2019 at 11:32 am

      Hi Gavin,
      Thanks for your enquiry. You could type in their names in single quotation marks into our website’s search box to see if there are any relevant results – which may lead you to details of a newspaper entry. You could also look through valuation rolls, either at our Centre or at the National Records of Scotland in Edinburgh to see if the Dows lived in Haddington. Please email us at [email protected] if you have any further questions. Best Wishes.

      Reply
2. jordan quinn says:

   28/11/2018 at 2:09 pm

   Name: Sheila
   Email:[email protected]

   Thank you for your reply. I will try to find if there is anything re-court records at NRS. I am unable to find his military records as there are many James Smiths. He seems to want to stay elusive.
   Sheila

   (comment lost in migration)

   Reply
3. Sheila says:

   10/10/2018 at 10:39 am

   Hi, I am looking for any information on my 3x great grandfather who was born in North Berwick about 1826. He seemed to have been in some sort of trouble with the authorities between 1838-1844, and ran away and joined the Scots Guards in 1844. He then deserted them in 1847 and joined the RHA under an assumed name. This has been one of my brick walls for many years and the above information has only come to light now. His name was Andrew Hepburn, born to Andrew Hepburn and Catherine Logan as far as I can tell. If this information is correct I can then hopefully research into the rest of the family and discover why he changed his name to James Smith.
   Thank you for any information
   Sheila

   Reply
   1. HanitaR says:

      08/11/2018 at 10:14 am

      Hi Sheila,
      Thank you for your enquiry. I’m afraid we do not have any newspaper records covering the period you stipulated. This is because the Haddingtonshire Courier only began in Oct 1859. Perhaps you might like to search through the censuses (if you haven’t already), and check against any other military records/advice as well as court records from the National Records of Scotland in Edinburgh. Best Wishes.

      Reply
4. Beverley says:

   11/07/2018 at 8:28 pm

   I am looking for obituaries or photos of two sisters who died in Tranent.
   Noeleen Elizabeth Patterson (b. 1895) and her sister Isabella Evelyn (b. 1899) both died unmarried in 1989.
   They were my mum’s aunts but she never knew of their existence.
   It’s possible that someone still alive remembers these two ladies. I would love to know something about them.
   Thank you
   Beverley

   Reply
   1. HanitaR says:

      12/07/2018 at 11:46 am

      Dear Beverley,
      Thank you for your enquiry. Members of the public are very welcome to come in to the Local History department at the John Gray Centre to look through back copies of the Haddingtonshire Courier/East Lothian Courier for obituaries. Thus far, we have only managed to index the newspaper (which began in 1859) up to 1945. We have all the copies of the Courier on microfilm and therefore, it would be a case of going through the editions to look for a death entry unless someone knows a specific date.
      Our department is open on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.
      You can send an email to [email protected] if you have any further questions or requests.
      Best Wishes.

      Reply
      1. Beverley says:

         18/07/2018 at 7:18 pm

         Thank you for your reply.
         Unfortunately I live in Spain, so a visit to the Centre in person is not feasible. I will keep looking!
         Best wishes
         Beverley

         Reply
   2. HanitaR says:

      19/07/2018 at 8:52 am

      Hi again Beverley,
      Apologies for assuming that you live locally. But how lovely to be living in sunny Spain!
      We can look for to see if the East Lothian Courier featured these obituaries but I’m afraid this would be considered as remote research request. There is a charge of £26.50 per hour or part thereof for any such requests made. Payment needs to be made in advance, and can be done over the phone. However, there is no guarantee that we will find a positive result.
      So if you are still interested, please email [email protected] and someone from the team will respond with details.
      All the best.

      Reply
5. Henry Jones says:

   23/08/2017 at 12:12 am

   We are looking for a story on my wife’s Great Grand dad Robert Gilmour who is said to have died while swimming on the 27 August 1908 at Morrison’s Haven Harbor Musselborgh The other address on the certificate is 139 Newbigging.He was a coalminer from Huddingston. after his death his daughter Mary was sent to Canada the family was split up. Mary was my wife’s grand mother. We have a copy of the death certificate, but there is no cause of death!
   Best Henry

   Reply
6. Maureen Mcquade Siegel says:

   05/09/2016 at 1:07 am

   I’m looking for a news report on my uncle George mcquade who was reported hit by a Lott when he was a child in Musselburgh. I found it 8 years ago. Also, I’m wondering if his death was reported and published with other ww1 dead, I think in 1918. He may have been in the royal scots. I’m also looking for relatives of Joan McDade.

   Reply
   1. KateM says:

      05/09/2016 at 12:46 pm

      Reply from Bill Wilson, Local History Officer: Dear Maureen, I’ve had a look through the Haddington Courier and on 11th May 1906, page 3 Column 6 was the article mentioning the accident. The article started at the bottom of the page and finished at the top and that is why there two parts. I also found his details mentioned on the Scottish National War Memorial and I’ve inserted the link to that page. https://www.snwm.org/content/roll-search/?id=903156&searchid=f295980611e47ac95b0112f692280676&page=1
      As to tracing any ancestors of Joan McDade, that would a lot more work and information. If you live locally you could drop in here and we could assist you with your research. Many thanks for your enquiry

      Reply
      1. KateM says:

         05/09/2016 at 2:18 pm

         Further information from Bill Wilson, Local History Officer: I had another search and came up with more details for George’s death:
         http://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/1584986/McQUADE,%20GEORGE The details are given on this site but, as to whether George has an actual grave or not I can’t really say. One of the images gives the details of a panel with his name on it.

         Reply
      2. Maureen Mcquade Siegel says:

         16/12/2016 at 5:01 pm

         Thank you for your research. Is there a way to get a photocopy of the newspaper article?

         Reply
7. john paxton says:

   04/01/2016 at 9:51 pm

   i am trying to find a write up and photo of our band”barney” which appeared in the east lothian courier on the dunbar page in 1975 we are reforming for a one off gig in 2016 and would love to track down the story and photo of us it was taken at dunbar castle sure it was on dunbar page sometime between april and september 1975 would really appreciate any help finding this you can contact me at above e-mail
   thanks
   john paxton 01368 850202

   Reply