Club Meeting

President Derek Clark welcomed members and guests to the Zoom meeting of the Rotary Club of South Queensferry on 19th August. The speaker was George English, director of Research Through People. George is a professional genealogist who does presentations to groups all over the world. He is currently secretary of Kilmarnock Rotary Club.

While studying his own family tree, George found  he was related to Richard Warren - a passenger on the Mayflower that brought the pilgrim Fathers to America in 1620. George's fascinating talk covered the changes in religion at that time which led many seeking religious freedom to head for the New World. Martin Luther, John Calvin and later, John Knox, all challenged the established church order and the Reformation spread across Europe. Many kings and queens of England married European monarchs. In 1604, James VI of Scotland I of England, banned private church services and many left for Leiden in Holland which was a haven for the Reformed church. The Mayflower, accompanied by the much smaller Speedwell which was to be used as a fishing vessel when they reached America, set sail from Southampton, but the Speedwell leaked so badly, despite repairs, that she was abandoned in Plymouth and the overcrowded Mayflower continued alone. The voyage lasted sixty-six days, which meant that they averaged only two miles per hour. In 1707, when the Treaty of Union was signed, Scotland gained access to English colonial markets and emigration to the Americas rapidly increased. 2020 was the four-hundredth anniversary  of the Mayflower's crossing , but owing to Covid, the celebrations are taking place this year. George English was introduced by Gordon McInally. President Derek proposed the vote of thanks.