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Stories on
Searching for Scottish Ancestors ...........
Where Were The Seagulls ?
The fish catch has been gutted,
filleted, salted and laid out on flat stones to dry. The fish-curer stands
proudly but self-consciously with his produce stretching along the shore
behind him under a cloudless sky.
But looking at this late 19th century photograph today, a scene which may
have been common enough in the fishing villages and bays around the coast
of Scotland, something seemed to be missing. There were no gulls in the
picture, not one. Try leaving a fish or two anywhere on our shoreline
today and you would be surprised if they were not snatched away within
minutes. Lay out hundreds and you would be inviting a screaming
white-winged aerial bombardment.
Magnus Winwick was fish-curer on the shores of Burrafirth on Unst, the
most northerly of the Shetland islands. He was also my great great
grandfather.
The census of 1841 shows that of the fifteen or so families living around
Burrafirth, all the able-bodied men and youth were occupied at fishing.
Way out in the rough waters of the northern Atlantic the Unst men and boys
would row their sixareen boats in search of the shoals, in search of a
livelihood. The dangers were constant. Storms took many lives, including
that of Magnus's brother William Gilbert and his two sons who never made
it back to the Burrafirth after one tempest.
As a boy, Magnus had rowed out to sea many times as one of the crew in his
father's sixareen. As a young man he had taken over the fishing yard at
Fiscawick, under the Burrafirth shore lighthouse. After curing the cod,
ling and tusk he would pack them in salt in crates and barrels ready for
boats arriving from Germany, the Baltic and Spain eager to buy the
Shetland harvest.
If you are exploring your family tree, and find you have Shetland
ancestors, you can consider yourself fortunate. Especially fortunate if
you can pay a visit, because Shetland continues to harbour a continuity of
many families with well-documented histories, records and memories. While
visiting Unst with my daughter three years ago, at Burrafirth a resident
told us how her grandfather spoke of working as a "beach-boy" for the
fish-curer Magnus Winwick. My daughter was quite taken with the idea of
someone remembering one of her ancestors who was actually born in 1794!
The Unst Heritage Centre at Haroldswick is also hugely helpful in making
connections and exchanging information.
But no, we never did figure out why seagulls did not make Magnus's life a
misery. If anyone thinks they have the answer please send an
e-mail .
.....................................................................................................................................................
This
article by Dr Brian Thomson of
Scot Roots was first published on the web
in the
Scottish
Radiance magazine in July 2000.
If you would like
a story from your family history published here please send to
stories@scotlandsfamily.com for consideration . From 200
words to 500 words max please.
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