A Perthshire venture which has captured the imagination of people from around the world celebrates a milestone this weekend.
The brainchild of Alyth Parish Church member Irene Robertson, the Alyth Family History Project is one year old on Sunday.
From Alyth to Australia and America, over 350 people have visited the project to enjoy thousands of photographs, old parish records, burial records, almanacs, maps, newspapers, and publications which have been copied or donated to the project for current and future generations to enjoy.
Dozens more have contacted the project looking for ancestors and donating their old Alyth photographs, and there are countless successes of the project connecting long-lost relatives, some of whom didn’t know the others existed.
It was in May 2008 that Miss Robertson presented to the Kirk Session The Future is the Past, an idea of how to draw visitors into the church, and use the church at times other than Sunday mornings.
The idea had sprung from a display of Auld Alyth photographs in the church as part of Doors Open Day when hundreds of people visited to reminisce over bygone days.
“It was obvious that weekend that locals and visitors connected with the past in a way only photographs can and I realised we had a beautiful building to host such an archive,” said Miss Robertson who is project co-ordinator.
The Kirk Session unanimously agreed and the next year was spent drawing together volunteers and archive material.
Funding was secured from Drumderg Wind Farm Community Benefit Fund and Alyth Community Council to buy a computer and secure work station, which was all that was needed to set up the venture.Town effortMiss Robertson was keen to ensure the project was a “town” effort, and the church linked up with Alyth Museum and Alyth Library to provide a full family history resource under the title Alyth Family History Project.
On August 1 last year the project was launched to the public and apart from the depths of the cold winter when it was only open by appointment, has been open every weekend since.
A large part of the project is to record burial records from the old ledgers which are located at Perth Crematorium, and match these with headstone photographs, enabling them all to be searchable in the church computer.
“This project is volunteer led, and without the hundreds of people who have let us copy their precious photographs, manned the project, photographed the headstones, or trailed back and forth to the crematorium, the project wouldn’t be half of what it is today,” said Miss Robertson.
“We are indebted to these volunteers, but not as much as future generations will be.”
Alyth Family History Project is open in Alyth Parish Church on Saturdays, from 10am to noon, and Sundays, from 2-4pm.
A special day of celebration will be held at the end of September to showcase its content.
Further information is available at www.alythparishchurch.org.uk.