{"id":3235,"date":"2023-03-06T10:16:33","date_gmt":"2023-03-06T10:16:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hebridespeople.com\/staging\/?page_id=3235"},"modified":"2025-09-09T11:17:44","modified_gmt":"2025-09-09T11:17:44","slug":"about-hebrides-people","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/hebridespeople.com\/staging\/about-hebrides-people\/","title":{"rendered":"About Hebrides People"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Hebrides People is a unique genealogy resource covering the Western Isles of Scotland. Hebrides People Visitor Centre tells the history of the people and landscapes of Harris and the Western Isles.<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

The genealogy resource at Hebrides People, known as \u2018C\u00f2 Leis Thu?\u2019, is based on over 60 years of research by Bill Lawson, widely recognised as an authority on Western Isles genealogy.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Bill Lawson founded \u2018C\u00f2 Leis Thu?\u2019 with his wife Chris in 1988, and opened Seallam! Visitor Centre (now Hebrides People Visitor Centre) in 2000. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hebrides People is now run by the Northton Heritage Trust, a Community Benefit Society and a registered Scottish charity.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Our History<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The early years<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

When Bill Lawson began to collect information of the families of the Outer Hebrides he was faced with the challenge of how to preserve the information he was gathering. There was also the problem of differentiating between the large numbers of persons of the same name. His solution was to begin a saturation coverage of all the families of the Islands, and to record them in family chart form. Meet Bill<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Hebrides People is a purpose-built visitor centre with exhibitions and a gift shop. It houses the archive, and employs three people. Find out more<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The future<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

An exciting future is planned. Following a recent successful Scottish Land Fund application, the community will purchase the land and buildings around the current Visitor Centre and the Old Schoolhouse where Bill lives, adding new exhibitions and a much needed caf\u00e9.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Our Records<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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The research housed at \u2018C\u00f2 Leis Thu?\u2019 is based both on written records and oral tradition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Written records were generally poorly kept in the Western Isles, and so oral tradition is an invaluable addition to incomplete and inconsistent written evidence. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gaelic oral tradition relating to families, which was until relatively recently a strong part in the communities of the Western Isles, was collected and recorded by Bill Lawson over the course of his 60 years of research. Find out more<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Explore further<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Western Isles Genealogy<\/a><\/h4>\n\n
One of the major problems with family tracing in the Western Isles is the scarcity and poor quality of written records. The decennial census is … Read more<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n
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Bill Lawson BL, ASGRA, FSA(Scot)<\/a><\/h4>\n\n
The genealogy resource at Hebrides People, known as \u2018C\u00f2 Leis Thu?\u2019, is based on over 60 years of research by Bill Lawson. Bill Lawson was … Read more<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n
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Oral Tradition<\/a><\/h4>\n\n
Oral tradition includes song, story, and preservation of family relationships. Written records are generally late and of variable quality in the Western Isles compared to … Read more<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n
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Name Standardisation<\/a><\/h4>\n\n
In using any written sources, it is essential to bear in mind that the people of the islands were overwhelmingly Gaelic speaking. These records were … Read more<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hebrides People is a unique genealogy resource covering the Western Isles of Scotland. Hebrides People Visitor Centre tells the history of the people and landscapes of Harris and the Western Isles. The genealogy resource at Hebrides People, known as \u2018C\u00f2 Leis Thu?\u2019, is based on over 60 years of research by Bill Lawson, widely recognised […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5433,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_editorskit_title_hidden":false,"_editorskit_reading_time":0,"_editorskit_is_block_options_detached":false,"_editorskit_block_options_position":"{}","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-3235","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\nAbout Hebrides People - C\u00f2 Leis Thu?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Our focus is on the genealogy of the Western Isles. Islanders trace their ancestry by asking "C\u00f2 Leis Thu?" 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