Welcome to Living in the Past Lane.  Enjoy a meander into the past, get 
yourself a coffee, and come and meet the family. Rediscover the lives of our 
ancestors.  Some of the names will be familiar to you, others will be a 
surprise. If you have anything to add/amend please contact me.

Contact Ava

Most of the significant events for our family living in Coatbridge in the 19th  Century would have involved services at St Patrick's Church.

The history of the church begins in 1845 when St Patrick's parish was founded  from her "Mother Church", St Margaret's in Airdrie.  This coincided with the  Great Famine in Ireland and many of the original parishioners were immigrants  who came here in search of a new start in life.  The first Parish Priest of the  newly founded parish was Father William Walsh.  The first Mass was celebrated  in a carpenter's shed in East Canal Street.  Building of the original St  Patrick's Church began in 1847 and was opened with a Ceremony of Blessing in  1848. This church remained until 1894, when it was demolished and the present  St Patrick's Church was completed on the same site in 1896.



  



"The ones we've lost are never really gone
If we hold them in our hearts while we go on"

I'm Free 
 
Don't grieve for me, for now I'm free.
I'm following the path God laid for me.
I took God's hand when I heard the call.
I turned my back and I left it all.
 
I could not stay another day.
To laugh, to love, to work or play.
Tasks left undone must stay that way
I found that place at the close of day.
 
If my parting has left a void.
Then fill it with rememberd joy.
A friendship shared,a laugh, a kiss.
Ah yes, these things, I too will miss.
 
Be not burdened with times of sorrow.
I wish you the sunshine of tomorrow.
My life's been full, I savored much,
Good friends, good times, a loved one's touch.
 
Perhaps my time seemed all too brief;
don't lengthen it now with undue grief.
Lift up your heart and share with me-
God wanted me now, God set me free.



Dear Ancestor

Your tombstone stands among the rest;
 Neglected and alone,
 The name and date are chiselled out
 On polished marbled stone
 It reaches out to all who care
 It is too late to mourn.
 You did not know that I exist.
 You died and I was born.
 Yet each of us are cells of you
 In flesh, in blood, in bone.
 Our blood contracts and beats a pulse
 Entirely not our own
 Dear Ancestor, the place you filled
 One hundred years ago
 Spreads out among the ones you left
 Who would have loved you so.
 I wonder if you lived and loved.
 I wonder if you knew
 That someday I would find this spot,
 And come to visit you

Author Unknown.

Some family trees have beautiful leaves, and some have just a bunch of nuts.  Remember, it is the nuts that make the tree worth shaking. 
 ~Author Unknown

Note:  Dates as shown in reports are not always correct.  Unfortunately, in the  transfer information such as "died after 1884" is shown as "died in 1884",  I will try to fix it, but as any updated "GEDCOM" will re-create the problem,  the solution will have to be found in my FamilyHistory Program. Unless full  date is shown, it indicates an estimate, to allow my identification of  individuals.  Sorry for the inconvenience.  There may be some  innaccuracies, which I am working on.  If you notice errors, please let me  know, it would be much appreciated.





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