The Trip to Scotland: 1990

When I first started to get curious about the Prall surname, I asked my father and his sister about it. Pop said that he'd heard something about the family being Scottish. Aunt Dorothy told me that her recollections were that we were Pennsylvania Dutch. Of course, as it turned out, both were correct. Although Prall appears to be of Dutch origin [or English], the Scots and "Pennsylvania Dutch" were in the mix. At the time I was looking for Prall, or some variation, as a Scots surname.

Early in 1990, I learned that the University of St. Andrews was offering a one week course in Scottish Genealogy. I signed up, applied for my passport and prepared for the trip. My first trip out of the US!

Miscommunication marked the beginning of the trip. I asked the attendant at the check-in at the Sarasota-Bradenton airport about my luggage. He told me it would go straight through to Edinburgh, even though there was a plane change in London. In London, I had only a short time to make the connecting flight. I was also informed that I had to retrieve my bags and check them through customs. OH! OH! No time to do it. No luggage.

I checked into an Edinburgh hotel, ate, did some sightseeing and grumbled. I spent most of the next morning at the airport. One bag showed up. The other had apparently decided to visit Hamburg, Germany. I took the train to Kirkcaldy and hired a cab to St. Andrews. I arrived in time for dinner. When I got back to my room, I nearly tripped over something. Bag #2 had returned from it's side trip! [I would still like to bag up that attendant and ship him somewhere!]

The week would include on campus lectures and research trips to the National Archives of Scotland and the General Register Office of Scotland. I was all but a newbie in genealogical research back then. Since Prall is not a Scottish surname, I was spinning my wheels at the NA and GRO. Today I could dig into MacCallum, Mahurin, Crail and Cunningham to see what was available.

In the evening there were a few pub visits and a performance of the play "When the Nightingale Sings" [the story of a family during the WWII years]. It was probably the best theatre production I've seen. Before dinner, I'd visit the shops in St. Andrews or walk part of the legendary Royal and Ancient golf course. [The British Open was held there in 1990.]

Side trips were quite an adventure. We toured St. Andrews - the castle and cathedral ruins, the harbor, cemetery and other sites. The fishing village of Crail was another stop. [Could this have been the ancestral home of my elusive Crail family?] There, we walked the town streets, saw the castle ruins, and the harbor. Anstruther, with the Scottish Fisheries Museum was another stop. Ceres' Folk Museum was also on the list. [The gentlemen partook of the local pub.] We also visited Earlshall Castle at Leuchers, with its wishing well, gardens, courtyard, and, of course, souvenir shop.

After the week in St. Andrews, I secured a room at a really nice B&B in Kirkcaldy the night before my flight was due to leave. While my room was being prepared, I toured the town. Unfortunately, the skies opened up and I nearly drowned before I could get to my room!

I returned safely to Florida and faced the reality of pre-school week for teachers. Argh!! All in all in was a wonderful trip!

Pictures:

St. Andrews from my dorm room

A view of St. Andrews from the beach

A view of the town from the Royal & Ancient

Crail

A view of the castle ruins at Crail

Another view of Crail

Earlshall Castle