Hi Ailsa There is a lot to be read about canals in Scotland on the Internet. I suspect that your relative was a boatman on the Monkland Canal because it was very close to Baillieston. The Monkland Canal was just over 12 miles long and constructed to take coal from the mines around Old Monkland to Glasgow. It was eventually linked to the Forth and Clyde Canal which took vessels from the river Clyde on Scotland's west to the river Forth on the other side of the country. Much of the Monkland Canal is now under the M8 motorway near enough to Baillieston. I used to live nearby to Cuilhill Gullet where the barges took the coal to Glasgow. I was in ignorance that one of my gg grandfathers had drowned in the canal there. He was a widower of 40 who, blind drunk on a Sunday afternoon stroll with some inebriated companions, boasted that he could dive into the canal and swim to the other side. He quickly got into difficulties and his body was retrieved by the boatman. The Dykehead I know is in the Shotts area of Lanarkshire. My grandmother was born there. Regards Ella Ross, Sydney > On 16 Nov 2013, at 12:13, "Ailsa Corlett" <[email protected]> wrote: > > Hi > > > > I have two birth certificates dated 1857 & 1859, showing the father as being > Boatman on Canal. The births took place at Dykehead and the Registration > district is in the Western District of Old Monkland, Lanark. There is also > another father listed also as a Boatman on Canal on the same page as the > 1859 birth, but his child's birth took place at Baillieston. > > Would these Canals be running off the River Clyde or where these Canals the > actual River Clyde.? > > Would a boatman still be dealing with the coal mines, eg. loading coal onto > the boats perhaps ? > > Would this Dykehead be the one near Shotts or the one North of Glasgow near > Lake Menteith ? or is there or was there another place called Dykehead near > Baillieston and Old Monkland that I cannot locate on a > > Any help with the place of Dykehead and especially about the occupation of > Boatman around that time frame would be appreciated. > > > > Thanks > > Ailsa > > > > > > Ailsa Corlett > > [email protected] > > www.st.net.au/~ailsa > > alternative email if having trouble sending to my normal email is: > > [email protected] > > > > > ------------------------------- > > WHEN REPLYING to a post please remember to snip most of the earlier message. Be sure the reply to address shows as [email protected] > > You may contact the List Admin at [email protected] or click on the following link to the list information page online: > http://lists.rootsweb.ancestry.com/index/intl/SCT/LANARK.html > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message