Jamie Lees
@jamieleesauthor.bsky.social
Writer • Designer • Producer
Creator of Left at The Wellgate: The Untold Story of Mary Petrie Smith — exhibition on archival silence, maternal departure & emotional inheritance, now in development as a book & play.
www.linktr.ee/jamieleesauthor
Creator of Left at The Wellgate: The Untold Story of Mary Petrie Smith — exhibition on archival silence, maternal departure & emotional inheritance, now in development as a book & play.
www.linktr.ee/jamieleesauthor
Join The Scottish Council on Archives November 11th to help explore the case for developing a National Archives and Records Strategy for Scotland.
Our first online strategy consultation is tomorrow!
Join to help us explore the case for developing a National Archives and Records Strategy for Scotland.
Have your say and book your space: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/national-a...
Join to help us explore the case for developing a National Archives and Records Strategy for Scotland.
Have your say and book your space: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/national-a...
National Archives and Records Strategy for Scotland Online Consultation
Scottish Council on Archives invites members, stakeholders, and the wider sector to join us for a series of online consultations.
www.eventbrite.co.uk
November 11, 2025 at 7:44 AM
Join The Scottish Council on Archives November 11th to help explore the case for developing a National Archives and Records Strategy for Scotland.
Samhain, the veil thins...
This scarf from the women-led Prickly Thistle mill in the Scottish Highlands; a gift from my beloved, honouring my ancestor Beatrix Young, dismembered, cast in a pit, burned as a witch Sept 14, 1649.
Red is blood, grey, ash.
May we remember the women scorched into silence.
This scarf from the women-led Prickly Thistle mill in the Scottish Highlands; a gift from my beloved, honouring my ancestor Beatrix Young, dismembered, cast in a pit, burned as a witch Sept 14, 1649.
Red is blood, grey, ash.
May we remember the women scorched into silence.
October 31, 2025 at 3:38 AM
Samhain, the veil thins...
This scarf from the women-led Prickly Thistle mill in the Scottish Highlands; a gift from my beloved, honouring my ancestor Beatrix Young, dismembered, cast in a pit, burned as a witch Sept 14, 1649.
Red is blood, grey, ash.
May we remember the women scorched into silence.
This scarf from the women-led Prickly Thistle mill in the Scottish Highlands; a gift from my beloved, honouring my ancestor Beatrix Young, dismembered, cast in a pit, burned as a witch Sept 14, 1649.
Red is blood, grey, ash.
May we remember the women scorched into silence.
Recommendations on the five best books about the Highland Clearances.
October 30, 2025 at 3:34 PM
Recommendations on the five best books about the Highland Clearances.
Congratulations, Dr. Macdonald, what an outstanding recognition! The Caledoniad sounds like a remarkable contribution to the field and will definitely be going on my reading list.
2025 Frank Watson Book Prize in Scottish History!
Catriona M.M. Macdonald, The Caledoniad: The Making of Scottish History. Edinburgh: John Donald, an imprint of Birlinn Ltd., 2024. ISBN: 9780859767200.
Congratulations, Dr. Macdonald! 🏆🎉
Read the jury's citation: www.uoguelph.ca/arts/scottis...
Catriona M.M. Macdonald, The Caledoniad: The Making of Scottish History. Edinburgh: John Donald, an imprint of Birlinn Ltd., 2024. ISBN: 9780859767200.
Congratulations, Dr. Macdonald! 🏆🎉
Read the jury's citation: www.uoguelph.ca/arts/scottis...
October 24, 2025 at 10:18 AM
Congratulations, Dr. Macdonald, what an outstanding recognition! The Caledoniad sounds like a remarkable contribution to the field and will definitely be going on my reading list.
An interesting story about another woman’s disappearance… Alice Spence. Her ending was far more tragic than my great-grandmother Mary’s, but the genealogical and scientific research that uncovered it is fascinating.
bsky.app/profile/alli...
bsky.app/profile/alli...
DNA has been used to identify a Jane Doe believed murdered in the early 1900s. The body of Alice Spence (nee Burke) was found in a well in Saskatoon in 2006. She left behind a young daughter, but apparently descendants had no idea of the drama in their family history. #Genealogy
Her name was Alice Spence: DNA identifies century-old Saskatoon body of 'woman in the well'
After a decades-long investigation into mysterious historical remains, 'the woman in the well' finally has her name again.
thestarphoenix.com
September 30, 2025 at 9:43 PM
An interesting story about another woman’s disappearance… Alice Spence. Her ending was far more tragic than my great-grandmother Mary’s, but the genealogical and scientific research that uncovered it is fascinating.
bsky.app/profile/alli...
bsky.app/profile/alli...
Thanks to everyone who tuned in for my talk, Left at The Wellgate: The Untold Story of Mary Petrie Smith. We had a fantastic turnout and some truly thoughtful questions. Huge thanks to the organizers and to the tech team for making it all run so smoothly. 🙏 😊
#womensdeparture #ScottishDiaspora
#womensdeparture #ScottishDiaspora
September 21, 2025 at 11:39 AM
Thanks to everyone who tuned in for my talk, Left at The Wellgate: The Untold Story of Mary Petrie Smith. We had a fantastic turnout and some truly thoughtful questions. Huge thanks to the organizers and to the tech team for making it all run so smoothly. 🙏 😊
#womensdeparture #ScottishDiaspora
#womensdeparture #ScottishDiaspora
Thanks @ANESFHS for the invitation! Excited to share Left at The Wellgate: The Untold Story of Mary Petrie Smith.
Mary’s story asks: what drives a woman in 1911 to leave her life, her community, & everything she knew? After 25 years following those questions, I’ll share the story.
#UntoldStories
Mary’s story asks: what drives a woman in 1911 to leave her life, her community, & everything she knew? After 25 years following those questions, I’ll share the story.
#UntoldStories
Presenter Jamie Lees will share the remarkable true story behind Left at The Wellgate: The Untold Story of Mary Petrie Smith at our Southern Ontario Group meeting on 20th September 2025.
More details here:
www.anesfhs.org.uk/about-us/new...
#Genealogy #Aberdeen #Dundee #Scotland
More details here:
www.anesfhs.org.uk/about-us/new...
#Genealogy #Aberdeen #Dundee #Scotland
September 17, 2025 at 2:34 AM
Thanks @ANESFHS for the invitation! Excited to share Left at The Wellgate: The Untold Story of Mary Petrie Smith.
Mary’s story asks: what drives a woman in 1911 to leave her life, her community, & everything she knew? After 25 years following those questions, I’ll share the story.
#UntoldStories
Mary’s story asks: what drives a woman in 1911 to leave her life, her community, & everything she knew? After 25 years following those questions, I’ll share the story.
#UntoldStories
Today in Dundee, not 100 yards from where she last stood…
On this day in 1911, my great-grandmother Mary Petrie Smith left the Wellgate for Canada.
113 years later, her story returned as Left at The Wellgate at Dundee Central Library.
Read more: www.jank.ca/press-leftat...
On this day in 1911, my great-grandmother Mary Petrie Smith left the Wellgate for Canada.
113 years later, her story returned as Left at The Wellgate at Dundee Central Library.
Read more: www.jank.ca/press-leftat...
September 15, 2025 at 6:04 PM
Today in Dundee, not 100 yards from where she last stood…
On this day in 1911, my great-grandmother Mary Petrie Smith left the Wellgate for Canada.
113 years later, her story returned as Left at The Wellgate at Dundee Central Library.
Read more: www.jank.ca/press-leftat...
On this day in 1911, my great-grandmother Mary Petrie Smith left the Wellgate for Canada.
113 years later, her story returned as Left at The Wellgate at Dundee Central Library.
Read more: www.jank.ca/press-leftat...
Hard to believe my 30-day exhibition Left at The Wellgate opened in Dundee a year ago. Since then Mary’s story has led to new talks + a book-in-progress. Learn more: www.jank.ca/leftatthewellgateexhibition Follow along: www.jank.ca/sign-up
September 13, 2025 at 6:45 AM
Hard to believe my 30-day exhibition Left at The Wellgate opened in Dundee a year ago. Since then Mary’s story has led to new talks + a book-in-progress. Learn more: www.jank.ca/leftatthewellgateexhibition Follow along: www.jank.ca/sign-up
Two boys left in a pram outside a pub, their mother off to start a new life.
Left at the Wellgate: The Untold Story of Mary Petrie Smith explores a woman’s choice that shaped generations. Can history repeat whilst unaware of itself?
Follow the book’s development www.jank.ca/sign-up
#WomensHistory
Left at the Wellgate: The Untold Story of Mary Petrie Smith explores a woman’s choice that shaped generations. Can history repeat whilst unaware of itself?
Follow the book’s development www.jank.ca/sign-up
#WomensHistory
August 27, 2025 at 2:02 AM
Two boys left in a pram outside a pub, their mother off to start a new life.
Left at the Wellgate: The Untold Story of Mary Petrie Smith explores a woman’s choice that shaped generations. Can history repeat whilst unaware of itself?
Follow the book’s development www.jank.ca/sign-up
#WomensHistory
Left at the Wellgate: The Untold Story of Mary Petrie Smith explores a woman’s choice that shaped generations. Can history repeat whilst unaware of itself?
Follow the book’s development www.jank.ca/sign-up
#WomensHistory
Draft book cover drop — Left at The Wellgate.
A picture-heavy book based on our Scotland exhibition.
For over 100 years, no one in our Canadian family knew Mary left two sons behind in Scotland.
Not a secret. An absence. A silence.
jank.ca/leftathewellgateexhibition
A picture-heavy book based on our Scotland exhibition.
For over 100 years, no one in our Canadian family knew Mary left two sons behind in Scotland.
Not a secret. An absence. A silence.
jank.ca/leftathewellgateexhibition
July 28, 2025 at 9:10 PM
Draft book cover drop — Left at The Wellgate.
A picture-heavy book based on our Scotland exhibition.
For over 100 years, no one in our Canadian family knew Mary left two sons behind in Scotland.
Not a secret. An absence. A silence.
jank.ca/leftathewellgateexhibition
A picture-heavy book based on our Scotland exhibition.
For over 100 years, no one in our Canadian family knew Mary left two sons behind in Scotland.
Not a secret. An absence. A silence.
jank.ca/leftathewellgateexhibition