Once there was a man named John Hastie and he had a son named John and hehad a son named John and HE married Margaret Strang or Strong, and theyhad 10 children, one of whom was named Helen, born in Leadhills in 1813.Helen moved to Airdrie (I frankly can see why; more on this below) andmarried one Thomas Beveridge whose roots were in Dunfermline, Fife County. Helen's parents and whole immediate family went over to America in the early 1830's. After marrying, Helen and Thomas followed. One of their children was Jeannette Clyde Beveridge; she married a Canadian doctor ofDutch extraction named James Dingman. They had 11 children one of whom wasNorman McLeod Dingman. The rest you know.

The sole reason Leadhills and its neighbor (1 mile away) Wanlockhead cameinto being was for the lead that was in the hills and mined. They are both mining towns and it is likely that anyone living there for 4 generations was involved in one way or another with the mines.Today I went on a tour inside a mine (no longer used). Very amazing.My B and B is basically a teency room in a familiy's home with no privatebathroom...The village of Leadhills has nothing except a wee store withcandy bars and newspapers, and a local pub with local -- well, yokels....Iam right now in Moffatt, a town nearby, and will locate a better place tostay in the next day or 2.That's all for now. I miss home a lot. I really appreciate our wonderfulChamplain Valley even more. It is very harsh (landscape and architecture)in Scotland. Love Annie