Most of my maternal ancestors originally came from rural areas of Central Scotland, Fife and the Lothians, drawn to Edinburgh in search of work and perhaps a better life.
On arrival, many may have been disillusioned, as Edinburgh faced squalor in the 18th and 19th centuries, especially in the Old Town, due to overcrowding, poor sanitation, and poverty. People fetched water from street taps and threw waste out of windows. The poor lived in cramped, single-room tenements, with high death rates and few basic amenities.
This map shows where my maternal ancestors likely lived and moved in the past 300 years.
Fife
Argyll
Perthshire
Central Lowlands
West Lothian
Aryshire
Edinburgh
East Lothian
