This guide provides an authoritative survey of the vast range of material held in the Scottish Record Office—records of Scottish national and local government, Scottish churches, law courts and private families and businesses. Written in an accessible style from the unique perspective of a custodian of the records, it not only explains step by step how to research records of births, marriages and wills, but also directs the reader to a variety of other, less well-known sources containing valuable genealogical information.

Fully revised and updated, and containing a new chapter on the General Register Office for Scotland, this is the essential reference tool for anyone tracing Scottish ancestors.

EXCERPT:

From the Introduction

‘They trace his steps till they can tell/ His pedigree’s as weel’s himsell’—Robert Fergusson

You want to find your Scottish ancestors. This book is written specifically to help you trace those ancestors who are mentioned in the documents preserved in the Scottish Record Office, a primary location of records for family research.

The Scottish Record Office

The Scottish Record Office is the government department responsible for the custody and preservation of the records of the government of Scotland. It also has taken responsibility for and custody of the records of many non-government concerns, including church records and the records of some private families and businesses. Most of these records may be consulted by members of the public.

The Scottish Record Office occupies two buildings in the centre of Edinburgh, close to the railway and bus stations. One building is General Register House, at the east end of Princes Street, opposite the Balmoral Hotel and the General Post Office. A statue of the Duke of Wellington (‘the man on the horse’) guards the entrance to this building, which houses, as well as many records, two search rooms, the Legal Search Room and the Historical Search Room. As searching for your ancestors is regarded as historical research, you will use the Historical Search Room. If you want to see any of the records for a legal purpose, then you will use the Legal Search Room and be charged a fee. You will not be charged for doing historical research, but you must do your own research. The staff will advise you and try to answer all reasonable questions, but the rest is up to you. Hence this book!

The second building, West Register House, is situated in Charlotte Square, about a mile away from General Register House. It also contains a search room, the West Search Room, in which you may do historical research. The same rules, regulations and procedures apply to both Historical and West Search Rooms. Both are open from Monday to Friday, 09.00 - 16.45 hours, apart from certain public holidays and a period of annual stocktaking in November.

Confusingly, there is another building called New Register House, which is adjacent to General Register House but is not part of the Scottish Record Office. This building houses the General Register Office for Scotland and the official records of births, marriages and deaths and census records. Because of the paramount importance of these records to the family historian, they are described in Chapter 3, although not directly within the bounds of this book.

About this Book

The first four chapters are introductory ones, which you should read before planning a visit to or writing to the Scottish Record Office. Chapters 5 - 28 describe records in the Scottish Record Office which might be of use to you in your search for your ancestors. In a sense, all records which name individuals may provide genealogical information, but the author has tried to select and describe those which will be most useful. Chapters 5 - 10 concern records which should be of interest to all ancestor hunters: records of baptism, marriage, death, inheritance, land-owning and tenancy. The remaining chapters describe records which concern particular activities or professions or situations, records which are less likely to specify relationships, though they may, but will add foliage to your family tree.

An attempt has been made to lead the reader step-by-step into the records, particularly those records described in the earlier chapters which should prove the most profitable. The intention is to enable you to do your research with decreasing reliance on the advice of the staff. Descriptions of procedures in the later pages of the book will assume that you have become familiar with the techniques of searching records.

As this book is intended specifically to help genealogical researchers, it does not cover all the records in the Scottish Record Office or deal with all aspects of the records which are described. Legal concepts may be simplified in their description.

While reading this book, you will encounter unfamiliar words, not all of which are explained. There will also be unfamiliar words in the records which you are going to search. Get into the habit of using a dictionary, such as The Concise Scots Dictionary.

REVIEWS:

‘Excellent help with every phase of genealogical research… This book will be a valuable finding aid for many people using the SRO, and by no means only for the family historian.’—Books in Scotland

‘No self-respecting Scottish library should ever be without a copy.’—Reference Reviews

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY:

Cecil Sinclair is a custodian of records at the Scottish Record Office. He is the author of Tracing Scottish Local History, also published by Mercat Press.