First-time author Ellen Hamilton has spent years working on the story of William Gregory, who settled here in Alexandria in 1807.
Now, her first book, A Scottish Migration to Alexandria, is going into print.
The story follows the man's journey to America and follows his life in Alexandria, where he participated in events that shaped the growth of the city.
Hamilton's project began as a historical documentary film more than five years ago. It was Hamilton’s first time writing and producing a film. Hamilton felt that she was uniquely suited to tell the story of two places she is intimately familiar with: Alexandria, and her husband’s home near Glasgow, Scotland.
A friend in Scotland knew of her interest in history, and gave her the book, Renfrewshire, A Scottish County’s Hidden Past by Scottish archaeologist Derek Alexander. Alexander is head of the Archaeology department for the respected National Trust for Scotland, which cares for historic and archaeological sites in Scotland. After burying herself in Renfrewshire for about a year, Hamilton realized that since most Scots live in the Lowlands of Scotland, most Americans of Scottish descent probably emigrated from that area.
Hamilton set out to see if this was the case. By 2017, Hamilton was able to contact the book’s author Derek Alexander, who agreed to be interviewed. Alexander suggested the interview be held in the four-hundred-year-old Newark Castle, which sits next to the Clyde River. Hamilton hired a Scottish film crew to video 90-minute interview.
During her research, Hamilton read a story in the Alexandria Times newspaper in its “Out of the Attic” history section. The article was about a man named William Gregory, who had migrated from Kilmarnock, Scotland to Alexandria, Virginia.
It took years of searching and several connections, but Hamilton was finally able to contact the American descendants of William Gregory who, it turned out, had letters that had been written by several members of the Gregory family.
Ellen has self-produced a rudimentary version of the film, but with the emergence of COVID-19 and a lack of funding to complete the film, Hamilton decided to finish the project as a book. (Hamilton now has a GoFundMe campaign to complete the documentary.)
A Scottish Migration to Alexandria is available for pre-sales at yellowdotshop.com, Hamilton’s online store.
In addition to writing and publishing this book, Hamilton is a vendor at Alexandria’s weekly outdoor markets. Her Yellow Dot Shop booth sells books, hand-printed t-shirts and cards produced by Hamilton. Once the book is printed, it will be available at Yellow Dot Shop’s booth on Sunday mornings at Alexandria’s West End Farmer’s Market, and on Thursday afternoons from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Old Town North Farmer’s Market.
A Scottish Migration to Alexandria is going to press in late September, and the publication date is planned for late October of 2021. It has many color and black and white images, maps, sketches and photography, including paintings of William and his family members. Places featured are Alexandria, Virginia; New York City; Enfield, Connecticut; and Paterson, New Jersey. Scottish locations covered are Kilmarnock, Glasgow, Greenock and the Clyde River Valley
