Why did your Ancestors settle in Falkirk
Old Parish Records
OPR's began in Falkirk in 1611. Falkirk is Parish no 479 in the County of Stirling.
The Name
Falkirk means speckled church presumably referring to a church building built of many coloured stones
The Early Years
Falkirk was the site of 2 battles. The Battle of Falkirk was in 1298 and was where Edward 1st and the English defeated the Scots led by Sir William Wallace.
The second was in 1746 during the Jacobite uprising where the Jacobites defeated the Government. Great families – Bruce and Forrester, Livingstone and Hamilton – ruled the roost and played their part in the intrigue and lawlessness that was rife in the Scotland of that period. Mary Queen of Scots came often to visit her friends in Callendar House, the Bonnie Prince stayed the night there and, in 1651, Cromwell's army broke down the walls and butchered the occupants.
The 1700 and 1800s
In the 18th and 19th Centuries Falkirk was at the centre of a large iron and steel industry, underpinned by the Carron Company which developed close to the town.
The area was at the forefront of canal construction when the Forth and Clyde Canal opened in 1790. The Union Canal (1822) provided a link to Edinburgh and early railway development followed in the 1830s and 1840s.
A large brickworks was set up owned by the Howie Family.