From search engines and databases to DNA platforms, discover how to easily learn more about your Scottish ancestry online with this helpful guide. Scotland is a land with a proud and centuries long history that far predates its membership of Great Britain and the United Kingdom. Today in the 21st century it is also a land that has done much to make its historical records accessible, to help those with Caledonian ancestry trace their roots back to earlier times and a world long past. In Tracing Scottish Family History on the Internet, Chris Paton expertly guides the family historian through the many Scottish records offerings available, but also cautions the reader that not every record is online, providing detailed advice on how to use web based finding aids to locate further material across the country and beyond. He also examines social networking and the many DNA platforms that are currently further revolutionizing online Scottish research. From the Scottish Government websites offering access to our most important national records, to the holdings of local archives, libraries, family history societies, and online vendors, Chris Paton takes the reader across Scotland, from the Highlands and Islands, through the Central Belt and the Lowlands, and across the diaspora, to explore the various flavors of Scottishness that have bound us together as a nation for so long.

The new, fully-updated edition of Collins Tracing Your Family History is the definitive handbook for anyone interested in tracing their family’s past.

This guide provides an authoritative survey of the vast range of material held in the National Archives of Scotland - records of Scottish national and local government, Scottish churches, law courts and private families and businesses.

Originally published: London: B.T. Batsford, 1988.

"Whether you have some idea of how and where your ancestors lived or are at a total loss about how to start your search, renowned genealogist Anthony Adolph shows you how to unravel your family history, generation by generation, and how to unlock your search when the trail goes cold. Peppering his text are compelling, humorous and often moving stories that illustrate what others have discoved on their journey"--Back cover.

Discover your Scottish roots! You take the high road, and I'll take the low--and your family tree will be in Scotland before you know it. This book will help you uncover your Scottish heritage, from identifying your immigrant ancestor to tracking down records in the old country. With help from Scottish genealogy expert Amanda Epperson, you'll learn about church records, civil registrations, censuses, and more, plus how to find them in online databases and in archives. Inside, you'll find: • Basic information on how to start family history research, including identifying and tracing immigrant ancestors • Step-by-steps for finding and using records from both the United States and Scotland • Crash-course guides to Scottish history, geography, surnames, and naming conventions Whether your ancestors hail from the Highlands or the bonnie, bonnie banks of Loch Lomond, this book will help you grow your family tree in Scotland.

This illuminating guide to discovering your Scottish family history has been fully revised and updated to take account of changes to resources and methods for researching your Scottish ancestry over the last few years. Accessible in style and comprehensive in coverage, this new edition stresses the importance of traditional methods of family history research while also embracing the exciting possibilities afforded by new technologies, sources and developments in genetic science.Indispensable to both the fledgling researcher and the more experienced family history specialist in Scotland or elsewhere, this book provides a guide to the very latest resources available to assist with research. Covering Scottish primary and secondary sources in full detail, this book also provides illustrative case studies of family history research, lists of useful websites and archives, and family history organisations and societies.Highlights of this new edition:*An updated chapter dedicated to aspects of recording, scanning and storing information*New insight into accessing English, Irish, emigrant and immigrant records*An update on developments in DNA genetics of relevance to the genealogist*A substantial and broad-ranging bibliography essential for those who want to take their research even further.

David Dobson brings his expertise to bear in a shrewd distillation of facts about Scottish genealogical research. Because there are so many people of Scottish descent worldwide, he uses emigration history as a jumping off point, from there proceeding to tackle the immense body of unique Scottish records which includes Old Parish Records of the Church of Scotland; post-1854 statutory records of births, marriages, and deaths; and census returns from 1841 to 1901. These may be the best four pages you'll ever read on Scottish genealogy, and you can read them at a glance and with absolute confidence that your research is pointed in the right direction.

This new and updated edition of the guide includes information on how to access family data utilising electronic resources and the Internet - a must if conducting research from an overseas base - and is a very welcome addition to the family library.