On several occasions I have seen George Bain's "A History of Nairnshire" referred to on this List. Published first in 1823 (and again in 1923), it is now a rare and rather expensive book. Since there is only one copy in libraries in Australia (in the State Library of Western Australia) and I did not fancy my antique eyes would stand up to reading 600 pages in 10 days, the period allowed under the inter-library loan, I bought a copy and have enjoyed reading my way from the Paleolithic, through Medieval and Jacobite times up to the late Victorian events of the author's own period. It is a good read.... As part of my use of this rather tattered copy (it is sorely in need of re-binding, but what else could I afford?) I have been digitizing sections. One chapter in particular - Chapter IX, "Early Family History" - will be of interest to anyone researching families in Nairnshire. Of course it does not deal by name with ordinary people like my ancestor but rather traces the history of the great families of the region who were, for the most part, Anglo-Norman knights and some of the old Celtic families who retained possession of land during and after the Middle Ages. My own research focusses on the Norman family known as the Lairds of Lochloy and Park, apparently the progenitors of the surname "Hay" in Nairnshire. However, others with an interest in such surnames as - *inter alia* - Brodie, Grant, Ogilvie, Rose, Ross, Mackintosh, to name just a few, will find snippets and sometimes quite extensive details of the histories of these names in Mr. Bain's book. Being fairly sure that "A History of Nairnshire" is now no longer covered by copyright, I have posted Chapter IX in its entirety on my web-site - http://www.bobhay.net - so that others can enjoy it. But be warned: although I have proof-read the text and am fairly confident I have corrected as many errors as possible, I cannot guarantee it is a perfect rendition of the original. I am currently trying to assemble the mentions found in Bain to the Hays of Lochloy, to Inshoch and other items of related interest. When I get that together I will post it too because there seems to be no systematic history of this Norman family and its 400 years in Nairnshire. Google has digitized several other rare books pertinent to the history of Nairnshire. These include: (1) *The Book of the Thanes of Cawdor*: http://books.google.com.au/books?id=nwEhAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=Thanes+of+Cawdor&ei=iICKR9yFNZu4sgPhjLTQBQ A compilation from the original documents held by the Cawdor family. (2)James Bruce of Kinnaird: * Travels to Discover the Source of the Nile, 1804:* http://books.google.com.au/books?id=6fsGAAAAQAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=Travels+to+the+Source+of+the+Nile&ei=G4GKR8mwDoPYsQPfyLDQBQ#PPR3,M1 The introduction includes information about the author's family and others of the region. (3) Rev. Lachlan Shaw: *A History of the Province of Moray*, 1827, http://books.google.com.au/books?id=MfMHAAAAQAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=History+of+the+Province+of+Moray&ei=ZIKKR7KQIIKwsgPZz6nQBQ#PPP7,M1 (4) Hugh Rose: "A Genealogical Deduction of the Family of Rose of Kilravock" - this was written in 1683 and updated by Lachlan Shaw in 1753, published 1848: http://books.google.com.au/books?id=rb9GCo3_bqYC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Rose+of+Kilravock&ei=aIOKR5LWIYOssgPY-MHQBQ#PPP11,M1 All of these can be downloaded in Adobe Acrobat .pdf format and are searchable on-line. To download my digitized version of Bain, Chapter IX, go to my web site http://www.bobhay.net. The chapter is the third item from the top of the Home page under the heading *Extract from Bain, G: A History of Nairnshire, Nairn Telegraph, 1893. * ** *Please let me know about any errors which need correcting....* Bob. -- Bob Hay at home at www.bobhay.net H3EQG - R1b1c10

This book is online at: http://www.archive.org/details/historyofnairnsh00bainuoft