Tracing your Scottish Ancestry

The Scottish Genealogy Society is often the first port of call for searchers: see their site for a good list of publications on the many topics surrounding ancestry.

Alwyn James has been writing on the subject for many years and his Scottish Roots: Step-by-Step Guide For Ancestor Hunters remains a very readable, clear guidebook. Edinburgh University Press’s Discover Your Scottish Ancestry: Internet and Traditional Resources by Graham Holton and Jack Winch provides a brisk and authoritative round up of all the methods needed for the would-be searcher. Cameron Taylor also offers an up-to-date starting guide in his book Rooted in Scotland.

The Scottish Record Office weighs in with Tracing Your Scottish Ancestors: The Official Guide, again, a very good choice for those starting off. It has been revised for 2007. The most recent book is Collins' hardback Tracing Your Scottish Family History.

Most modern books include sections on the Internet as a research tool, but one should never dismiss older methods, such as church records and graveyards - as explained in Understanding Scottish Graveyards by Betty Willsher.

The Scottish Family Tree Detective, by Rosemary Bigwood and published by Manchester University Press, as been written with the internet in mind, with lots of resources on what to do with the path seems to dry up.

If your interests are more academic than personal, then Paul Basu's Highland Homecomings: Genealogy and Heritage Tourism in the Scottish Diaspora is right up you street.

Books featured in this article

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  £15.29
  Collins Tracing Your Scottish Family History
  Anthony Adolph - Hardback - Collins
  Renowned genealogist Anthony Adolph unveils a wide range of tools and information available, specific to discovering your Scottish ancestry - whether you are starting your trail in Scotland or from somewhere else in the world.
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  £15.99
  Discover Your Scottish Ancestry: Internet And Traditional Resources
  Graham S. Holton - Paperback - Edinburgh University Press
  This guide to tracing your Scottish ancestors combines the traditional methods of researching family history with methods offered by information technology and the Internet.
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  £29.99
  Highland Homecomings: Genealogy And Heritage Tourism In The Scottish Diaspora
  Paul Basu - Paperback - Routledge
  'Highland Homecomings' is concerned with practices through which members of transnational/diasporic communities construct and negotiate aspects of their identities in relation to perceived ancestral homelands. Addressing a central paradox of globalization, the book examines the role of place, belonging, and territorial attachment.
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  £7.99
  Rooted In Scotland
  Cameron Taylor - Paperback - Luath
  Cameron Taylor believes that the search for ancestors helps you to work out who you really are and his book is a user's guide to ancestor-hunting, giving advice on the best websites, archives and libraries to start from and, generally, demystifying the trail.
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  £9.99
  The Scottish Family Tree Detective: Tracing Your Ancestors In Scotland
  Rosemary Bigwood - Paperback - Manchester University Press
  This practical guide meets the new challenges and opportunities offered by computers and the internet, which has opened new horizons for research everywhere online and in documents. The text explains how to plan your research routes, solve the problems and get through brick walls.
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  £5.94
  Scottish Roots: The Step-By-Step Guide To Tracing Your Scottish Ancestors
  Alwyn James - Paperback - Luath
  For anyone interested in researching their family history, 'Scottish Roots' provides a comprehensible step-by-step guide to tracing your Scottish ancestry.