Start discovering your Scottish ancestors today! Turn your research into results with the help of genealogists Linda Jonas and Paul Milner! Their invaluable instructions and problem-solving advice makes tracing your Scottish family history easier and more efficient.You'll learn how to: • Discover who your family was, where they came from, and how they lived. • Maximize your research results by using the Internet, visiting local libraries and Family History Centers - even traveling to Scotland. • Master the differences between Scottish and U.S. research, including geographic and political terms, names and naming patterns, clans and tartans, religion, record keeping and languages. • Use the most important resources for tracing one's Scottish family history. Most of these records are readily available outside of Scotland. Your research opportunities are virtually unlimited.

"Chris Paton explores the history and records of the various churches in Scotland prior to 1855, the year in which civil registration commenced within the country. He describes the theological changes imposed by the Reformation of 1560, the nature of the state's battles with the Kirk, and the Kirk's subsequent battles within itself."--Cover description.

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.

More than ten million Americans claim Scottish as their primary ethnicity. This book provides easy, step-by-step instruction that enables readers to research Scottish records more easily and efficiently, and discover their Scottish ancestors. Linda Jonas and Paul Milner cover a broad range of topics including getting started in Scottish research, accessing resources on the Internet, retrieving published records available at university and public libraries, and examining microfilmed original records through the Family History Library. They also feature the records of an actual family to illustrate how to use the wealth of resources available to genealogists. Linda Jonas has been a professional genealogist for 20 years and is president of the British Isles Family History Society-U.S.A. She is a frequent lecturer at national and regional conferences. Paul Milner is a British native who grew up in the borderlands of England and Scotland. He is a professional genealogical researcher and has specialized in British Isles research for the past 20 years. They are the co-authors of A Genealogist's Guide to Discovering Your English Ancestors.

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.