With 5 million people in Scotland, and over 30 million of Scottish descent scattered over the globe, it is not surprising that research into Scottish family history is so popular - especially now that huge amounts of information on family origins are available online. If you are one of those whose roots lie in Scotland, this major new edition of the 'Official Guide' is for you.
If you are of Scottish extraction you are fortunate, because Scotland has the best-maintained records and facilities of any country in the world for undertaking family research. Those who can visit the National Archives of Scotland and the ScotlandsPeople Centre in Edinburgh are free to explore the vast collection of documents in person. Now, with the launch of the ScotlandsPeople online resource, many of them are at your fingertips no matter where you are in the world.
Written by the keepers of the records themselves, this official handbook is written in a friendly and accessible style for the family researcher. It shows you how to find, whether in person or online, records of births, marriages and deaths, wills, church registers, taxation lists, censuses, military records, property records and much more. Using this book, you can hold the pages of the past in your hand and shine a light on who your ancestors really were.
Contents:
List of Illustrations
Preface
1. Introduction
2. First Steps in Family Research
3. Tracing Scottish Ancestors on the Internet
4. The ScotlandsPeople Centre
5. Statutory Registers, Old Parish Registers and Censuses
6. The Court of the Lord Lyon
7. At the National Archives of Scotland
8. Births, Baptisms, Marriages and Burials
9. Inheritance: Wills and Executries
10. Inheriting Houses and Land in Scotland
11. Owners of Land and Houses
12. Tenants and Crofters
13. Other Legal Transactions
14. Litigants
15. Criminals
16. Taxpayers
17. Officials
18. Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen
19. Clergymen and Church Members
20. Schoolteachers, Pupils and Students
21. Medical Professions
22. Lawyers
23. Architects and Surveyors
24. Artists and Musicians
25. Railwaymen
26. Coal Miners
27. Lighthouse Keepers
28. Labourers
29. Trade and Business
30. Electors and Elected
31. The Sick and Insane
32. The Poor
33. Emigrants and Migrants
34. Genealogies
Appendix A. Useful Addresses
Appendix B. Useful Books
Index to Classes and Types of Records
Index to Categories of Individuals
Review:'Excellent help with every phase of genealogical research ... This book will be a valuable finding aid for many people using the Scottish Record Office, and by no means only for the family historian' - [relates to the 3rd edition], Books in Scotland
