#vulcancroft

The rabbit hole of genealogy brought me to this interesting story because the map was found in a house of the neighbors of my Milne 2G grandparents. I previously blogged on George Milne and his blacksmith shop Vulcancroft, This is not really about my family, but perhaps they saw the map?  Great restoration project at any rate. 

My paternal grandfather’s paternal grandfather, George Milne operated a blacksmith shop called Vulcan Croft in Cluny, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. In Roman Mythology, Vulcan is the god of fire.

                              George Milne and his wife Beatrice Hay When I saw a blacksmithing class advertised at Historic Zoar Village, I signed up to get an idea of what it might have been like to be a blacksmith in the 19th century. One day of this back breaking work was enough for me! I went to sleep with an icepack on my arm that night smelling of soot. Gave me a new respect for what I knew was difficult, but didn’t realize the intensity until I tried it myself.

                                             Me pounding out a hook

George was also a crofter, which presumably means he also did some farming. Not sure if I’ll try my hand at that. It is rather fun to learn about what my ancestors did and consider how they lived. This experience put my 2G grandfather into a new context for me. 

Robert Moir, who was a son-in-law of George Milne, took over Vulcan Croft, then passed it down to his son, Rob.  If you look at Google Maps,  you can see the name Vulcan remains above the front door.