Our project

September 2023

Cumnock History Group (established 2014) has previously researched farms (Ploughing Up Our Past), Pennylands WW2 Camp, Cumnock's role in World War One.

For our new project we are investigating population movement into Cumnock and away from Cumnock documenting their journeys.

We have already a huge amount of data regarding the inhabitants of Cumnock mainly in the 19th century on our Cumnock Connections tree from census and vital records.

The UK (and US) census records give birthplace and occupation and this enables us to track movements.

In contrast, in our previous research project on farming, we found families who stayed in the same farm for often hundreds of years. 

We would like to record movements of people who came to Cumnock from abroad and from elsewhere in the UK and those who left.

We expect to find most moved for socio-economic reasons. 

Are there patterns of migration?

We would like to record people’s family stories of their ancestors migrations. We know some made very long and hazardous journeys. 

Research methods

Our researchers are experienced genealogists who have contributed to either to our tree or have their own. We can give training and guidance to others who are less experienced.

We will use traditional genealogical research methods including searching newspaper archives for stories and obituaries. Most of this will be done online.

We will invite our members to tell us their or  their ancestors' stories

Outputs

We will share stories on this blog.

We will create a timeline of movement.

We will look for Cumnock descendants who have done well.

We hope to have enough material eventually for a book.