Come to Moray – Discover Your Ancestral Home
For most of us the idea of ‘home’ has a special meaning. It may be a place of special memories, your birthplace or the birthplace of your ancestors. Moray has many such special places and exploring your ancestry and making that special journey of discovery by walking in your ancestors’ footsteps will be a journey you will not forget.
Today Moray, which includes a large part of the lieutenancy of Banffshire, has a character and heritage of its own and has played an important part in the shaping of our nation.
Its sons and daughters were able to influence political life; the cathedral at Elgin, magnificent even as a ruin, was the centre of religious power. Later came the tower houses – symbols of power and strength, the classical mansions – showing the growth of prosperity and gracious living, the planned towns and villages – encouraging workers to settle and raise their families, the gleaming pagodas of the world’s leading whisky distilleries and the zulu fishing boats, the drifters and trawlers of the busy and beautiful fishing villages and harbours.
All around us are reminders of the lives of our ancestors – where once they worked hard to raise and educate their families – we can now follow their footprints back in time and catch a glimpse of how they worked and played, lived and died.
Their gift to us – our future – and an area of rich heritage and great beauty – worth exploring and visiting many times.
The boundaries of Moray changed with local government reform in the mid 1970s to incorporate parts of historic Banffshire. This is a map of the historic county boundaries of Moray, sometimes labelled Elgin, and Banffshire. Historic Banffshire was split into two in 1975, the west becoming part of Moray and the east part of Aberdeenshire. It is worth keeping this in mind when you are searching through local government documents.
Please click on the map to view a larger version.
Moray – a perfect blend of history and scenery
Download our new Trace Your Roots in Moray leaflet here
