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.

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 Scottish Record Office. It also explains, step-by-step how to research the material, and directs the reader to many other valuable sources of information.

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.

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.

The revised and updated 7th edition of the bestselling guide to easily discovering more about your Scottish ancestry. Scotland has the best-maintained records and facilities of any country in the world for undertaking family research, and now that the National Archives of Scotland are available online they can be consulted by anyone from whatever country. Tracing Your Scottish Ancestors is the National Archives’ official guide and is written in an accessible style from the unique perspective of a custodian of the records. It details all the latest internet developments, including a chapter on family history on the web. It also points to more traditional resources, explaining step by step how to research records of births, marriages and wills. “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.” —Books in Scotland “Includes the sort of online sources that have transformed the field since its first publication in 1990, this guide is indispensable for the serious investigator.” —The Scotsman

Once genealogists and local historians have learned everything they can from internet sources, the next step is reading and understanding older documents. The author details how to find and comprehend documents in England, Wales and Scotland from 1560 to 1860. These can be hard to find, are often written in challenging handwriting and use Latin, antiquated English or Scots.