Nation Of Scots
It's often said that Scotland's biggest export isn't Scotch whisky but Scottish people. For sure, in the period between 1830 and 1930 alone, over 2,500,000 people emigrated from Scotland. Many would have left from Annan and the other Solway ports. The reasons why Scots should have become (and still are) a 'mirace' are discussed in an excellent essay commissioned by Annandale Distillery and written by Dr Billy Kenefick of Dundee University (follow link).
As a consequence of centuries of emigration, there are believed to be some 25 million people of Scottish origin living all around the World. Some will still have very close ties with Scotland but others will be attached only by the thinnest strand that may date back decades or even centuries.
The 'Nation of Scots' recognises that not all Scots live in Scotland. The sole purpose (or perhaps we should say the 'soul' purpose) of the 'Nation of Scots' is to build links between Scotland and people of Scottish heritage living anywhere in the World, hopefully creating a sense of belonging that will reassure them that not only do they belong to Scotland but, in some small way, Scotland belongs to them too. (hyperlink to 'Nation of Scots' website)
Annandale Distillery has no formal link with the 'Nation of Scots' but we are very strong supporters because of our desire to make contact with the descendents of people who emigrated from Annan and the other Solway ports.
Please get in contact immediately if you can provide even the smallest scrap of information or anecdote about families, ships, dates of emigration or stories. (info@annandaledistillery.com)
Andrew Knox, formerly of Dumfries but now living in Australia, provided the following fascinating account of the origins of the Annandale area of Sydney (link).
We also know of Annandale in Virginia (USA) and Nova Scotia (Canada).