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The transportation of goods across pre-motorway Yorkshire relied heavily on the watermen, often accompanied by their families, who piloted their well-laden keels along the numerous canals and rivers of the county. David Scrimgeour shares his MSc research examining the extant Canal Boat Registers to see what extra insight they offer the family historian, illustrated with real examples from watermen families across the county.
After more than thirty years in the IT industry, David Scrimgeour took a sabbatical in 2011 to pursue his passion for family history and writing. He went on to earn a postgraduate diploma in Genealogy, Palaeography and Heraldic Studies from the University of Strathclyde. During his studies he uncovered the extraordinary records of the West Riding Pauper Lunatic Asylum. Further research led to his 2015 book, Proper People, Early Asylum Life in the Words of Those Who Were There.
Following his retirement and move to East Yorkshire in 2016, David volunteered at the now defunct Yorkshire Waterways Museum at Goole, supporting visitors tracing their watermen ancestors. This sparked a new deep research interest, culminating in his MSc dissertation on Yorkshire’s watermen, completed in 2022.
Today, David is a trustee and founder member of the Yorkshire Waterways Heritage Society, described by some as an online museum, and continues to share his expertise and enthusiasm for uncovering the amazing stories of ordinary lives.
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