Blog
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Projects Are Central to the Mission of the Foundation
Our Purpose The primary purpose of the Leslie Global Diaspora Foundation is to identify worthwhile projects related to Leslie history and heritage. This month the Foundation has hit a “home run”. Fetternear Info Board First, due to generosity of supporters for the Fetternear Bishops Palace and Leslie Mansion information board project, a new board is
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Leslie Global Diaspora Foundation Scholarship Opportunity
Leslie Global Diaspora Foundation Scholarship Opportunity Scotland: History, Heritage and Culture Summer Programme DEADLINE FOR APPLICATION TO THE UNIVERSITY IS MARCH 31, 2026 Program Dates: Sunday 26th July to Saturday 8th August 2026 Topics: Medieval and Renaissance Scotland Political Unions (1603 v 1707) Scotland and the Jacobite Cause The Scottish Enlightenment Radical Scotland Scottish emigration
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Walter Leslie in Denmark
According to the Historical Records of the Family of Leslie, Vol 3 by Colonel K. H. Leslie published in 1869, Walter Leslie grandson of Alexander Leslie of Kininvie went to Denmark in the mid-1500s. In listing the children of Alexander, the book says: “Walter, who went to Denmark, and married there; and many persons of
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The Leslies Down Under
This week I heard from a Leslie descendant who sent me a link to a website which has information about Patrick Leslie of the Warthill Leslies. The link to the blog post is: http://www.heritagewaikato.org/node/17 Here is a clip from the article: “One of the first estate owners in Matangi was Patrick Leslie, who with his
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Two Week Summer Program at University of Aberdeen
The Leslie Global Diaspora Foundation has been in contact with the University of Aberdeen and is pleased to announce this summer study program in Scotland. Contact Dr. Lewis Johnson at Lew.Johnson@LeslieGDF.org for more information on how the Leslie Global Diaspora Foundation can assist. Scotland: History, Heritage and Culture Summer Programme Program Dates: Sunday 26th July
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Kincraigie Leslies in Scotland
The Leslies of Kincraigie branched from the Balquhain line when William Leslie, second son of Sir William Leslie, 4th Baron of Balquhain bought the lands of Kincraigie from his brother Alexander 5th of Balquhain in 1470. According to Col. Leslie in The Family of Leslie Vol 3, Patrick Leslie,the 5th laird of Kincraigie, had two
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Fetternear Bishop’s Palace
This is the proposed wording for the new information sign to be located at Fetternear. The existing sign is in poor shape and parts are unreadable. Therefore, the Leslie Global Diaspora Foundation has a funding project to replace the existing sign. Below is the proposed wording written by Dr. P. Dransart, the archaeologist who did
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A Leslie “By Any Other Name”
One of the Foundation’s directors sent me a link to a blog posting on Leslie history. I thought the information would be of interest to Leslies, so here is the link to the blog. The Leslies: Just one Duke of Rothes but many generals in Scotland, Russia and Austria by Jonathan Spangler posted June 23,
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The Fetternear Banner
Recently, the Foundation has been doing some research on Fetternear the Bishop’s Palace and the Leslie connection in Aberdeenshire. This article on the Fetternear Banner was located online and helps fill in some of the Leslie history related to the Leslies of Wardhill Estate. The article published in St Moluag’s Coracle, a Scottish Catholic magazine,
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Searching for Scottish Roots
The Leslie Global Diaspora Foundation is an active member of the Council of Scottish Clans and Associations (COSCA) with Lewis Johnson serving as the Southeast Regional Commissioner. At highland games, COSCA provides a service to the public by helping individuals who are exploring their possible Scottish roots and to answer clan-related questions. At the Virginia
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Discovered Documents
Leslies of Among the hundreds of pages scanned and archived at the Wardhill Estate, we found a book of special interest to Leslies of Australia and New Zealand (Antipodes). The book “Leslies In the Antipodes” was written in 1998 by Jillian A. Burcher. The book was self-published and includes information about the Leslies of Warthill,
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The 2025 Leslie Heritage Tour
Tuesday Evening The tour began on Tuesday evening with a “meet and greet” and dinner with anyone who wished to go to the pub near the host hotel. Wednesday At 9 am, the 12 members of the tour group departed Edinburgh on the bus with Amy Tomlins, the tour consultant, and traveled north to Dunkeld.
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Genealogy in Ireland: Townlands
As you may know, the Leslie Global Diaspora Foundation has been researching the families of Leslie in Ireland. We have done research in the Public Records office of Northern Ireland in Belfast and the National Library in Dublin. Both locations have a substantial amount of information, and it is likely to take several more weeks
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The Scottish Diaspora: Reflections
It has been a few weeks since the course on the Scottish Diaspora ended. The last online discussion was a time for students to offer suggestions and reflections on what we have learned. I would recommend this course to any person who is interested in how the economic, social, and political history of Scotland shaped
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Week 11: The Homecoming Migrant
The course on the Scottish Diaspora has ended. There will be one more post. For some people who ventured overseas from Scotland, the move was not permanent. About a third of the Scots who emigrated around 1900 returned to Scotland. For some people who went to distant lands based on reports of good farmland, plentiful