Scotland

Web Sites for Genealogists - An Australian gateway site for tracing your family history by Cora Num

Archives and Libraries
National
National Library of Scotland. The Digital Gallery allows you to view digitised material from the collections including thousands of maps 1560-1928, medical history of British India, golf in Scotland 1457-1744, photographs and much more. There is also online access to 694 directories 1773 to 1911, covering 28 of Scotland's towns and counties. Detailed information on researching your family history is available.

Archives Hub. Use the Archives Hub to find unique sources for your research. The Archives Hub enables you to search across a wealth of archives held at nearly 200 UK institutions.

Scottish Archive Network.(SCAN) links the catalogues of 52 archives in Scotland. The Research Tools include is an online Family History Guide, a Scots Currency Converter for pre 1707 pound Scots and detailed information on Scottish weights and measures. The Digital Archive offers free access to Scottish historical documents online. Categories include military records, passports, court records, property records, tax records, lighthouse records, railway records, poor relief records and emigration records which include the Highlands and Islands Emigration Society passenger lists (1852-1857).

National Archives of Scotland holds the public and legal records of Scotland plus many local and private archives. There is detailed information on the collection plus online fact sheets and links to online records. Kirk session records for the whole of Scotland have been digitised and are currently available at the Archives (not online). These records consist of the minutes and accounts of kirk sessions, presbyteries, synods and the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. They also contain a wide variety of other documents, providing a picture of everyday life in Scotland from the 16th century onwards and amount to more than 25,000 volumes, about 5 million pages of information. Later in 2011 it is planned to make these records more widely available online via a subscription-based service. Researchers will have the choice of accessing the records free of charge in various Scottish archives, or using the subscription service. On 1 April 2011, the General Register Office for Scotland merged with the National Archives of Scotland to become the National Records of Scotland (NRS).

Regional Archives
Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire Archives. There is family history link and detailed information on records held. The catalogues link includes access to the online catalogue plus links to number of guides and lists available for download. There is also access to indexes to the Aberdeen Burgh Registers of Apprentices 1797-1878.

Angus Archives – There is access to catalogues, transcripts, Angus County Council manuscript collection, indexes, family history In Angus, Angus people image index, Angus building image index, burgh records, local history collection and research files.

Argyll and Bute Council Archives. The Archives holds and preserves the official records of Argyll and Bute Council as well as the records of the organisations whose functions the Council inherited. These organisations include the Commissioners of Supply, parish councils, burgh councils, schools and school boards.

Ayrshire Archives holds a wide range of records relating to Ayrshire's rich heritage from medieval charters to modern day digital documents. These records are a valuable resource for family and local history research.

Clackmannanshire Archives contains the records of the former Clackmannanshire, Clackmannan District, the old Alloa, Alva, Dollar and Tillicoultry burghs and the Alloa and Hillfoots district councils. Holdings include local authority minutes, letter books, school log books plus valuation and assessment Rolls. Private deposits include material from local businesses and voluntary organisations.

Dumfries and Galloway Council Archives. There is an online list of records held.
Online Historical Indexes to the following are available at www.dgcommunity.net/historicalindexes/default.aspx
• The 1851 Census Returns for Dumfriesshire, Kirkcudbrightshire and Wigtownshire
• Dumfries Kirk Session and Presbytery Minutes 1689 - 1838
• Troqueer Kirk Session Minutes 1698 - 1771
• Mouswald Kirk Session 1640 to 1659
• Dumfries Jail Books and Bail Bond Registers 1714-1810
• Dumfries Town Chamberlains' Accounts 1793-1801
• Dumfries Dean of Guild Plans 1892-1974
• The Shipping Registers for Dumfries 1824-1904, Kirkcudbright 1824-1841, Stranraer 1824-1908 and Wigtown 1836-1908
• Dumfries Poor Board Minutes

Dundee City Archives holds the official records of Dundee City Council, of the former City of Dundee District Council, the former Corporation of Dundee and the former Tayside Regional Council. Online records and indexes include:
• Council minute books from 1553 to 1996 (Transcripts as PDF files)
• Index to Tayside Regional Council Minutes 1995-1996 (Excel file)
• Chief Sanitary Inspector, photographs of slum dwellings in the 1920's
• Gourlay Bros. (shipbuilders), Dundee - Index to shipping plans, 1859-1908
• Newtyle & Coupar Angus Railway Company, Manager's cash and copy letter book, 1836-9
• Robb Caledon Shipbuilders (Dundee Division), 1872-1980 Index to photographs.
• Slessor, Mary, missionary, correspondence, 1901- 1914
• Smith, James, Stonemason, Banffshire and Dundee, Memoirs of, 1805-c1869
• Maps

Friends of Dundee City Archives. This site showcases the projects that this group has worked on. The projects are organised by these categories burgh, shipping, poorhouse, church and school records, Dundee industry, transport, Veere - Dundee trade, research guides and much more. There are searchable databases to:
• Methodist naptisms (Wesleyan register of baptisms – Dundee) 1785 – 1898
• The Howff Graveyard burials (over 80,000 records)
• Vehicle registrations, owners and licences 1911–1952
• Index of poor registers
• Dundee War Memorials and Roll of Honour

East Dunbartonshire Archives Service holds the records of the Burghs of Kirkintilloch, Bearsden, Bishopbriggs, and Milngavie, and the local Parish Councils, District Councils and School Boards. These records include: minutes and accounts, building plans, schools, court records, poor relief records, valuation and assessment rolls, voters rolls, maps and plans, burial records (some plans and registers are held by the Archives, modern records are held by the Council's cemeteries department.

East Lothian Council Library Services and Archives

Edinburgh City Archives collects historical records created by individuals, businesses, societies, clubs and other organisations.

East Renfrewshire Council Archives - Portal to the Past. This portal offers access to the East Renfrewshire Heritage Collection.

Falkirk Council Archives

Birth, Death and Marriage Records
General Register Office, Scotland. On 1 April 2011, the General Register Office for Scotland merged with the National Archives of Scotland to become the National Records of Scotland (NRS). See the ScotlandsPeople site listed below for details of online records and indexes.

ScotlandsPeople offers access to searchable indexes and images for Scottish births (indexes 1538-2009; images 1538-1911), marriages (indexes 1538-2009; images 1538-1936) and deaths (indexes 1538-2009; images 1538-1961) plus census records (indexes and images 1841-1901). A searchable index and images for Catholic parish baptism and birth records is available 1703-1855 plus 1855-1908 (incomplete). A recent addition is the land Valuation Rolls for 1915. There is a free name search and fees apply for access to the indexes and digital images. There is also a free Coats of Arms Search 1672-1909 and wills & testaments index (1513-1901) search. Digital images of the wills can be purchased online. Updated

FamilySearch by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This site features free, searchable Historical Record Collections. The record collections for the British Isles include:
• Scotland: Births and Baptisms, 1564-1950
• Scotland: Marriages, 1561-1910
These collections have been compiled from family records, church records and civil registration records. These include indexes and extracts of the Scottish civil registration birth and marriage records 1855-1875. These collections are not complete for any particular place or region.

FreeReg project aims to provide free Internet searches of baptism, marriage, and burial records, which have been extracted from parish registers and non-conformist church records in the UK dating from 1538. Currently over 19.3+ million records are available online. This ongoing project is regularly updated with new material. This site includes Scottish records. Updated

ScotlandsPeople list of OPRs by parish for each county is based on the Detailed List of the Old Parochial Registers of Scotland published in 1872. It lists the date range available for births and baptisms, marriages and proclamations of marriage plus deaths and burials for each parish.

Deceased Online is a central database for UK burials and cremations. The free name search returns full names, date and place of burial or cremation. Fees apply to access register scans or transcripts, grave photographs and location maps. Currently there are Scottish monumental inscriptions available for Aberdeen, Angus, Edinburgh, Fife, Inverness, Lancashire, Perthshire, West Lothian and 15 Highland cemeteries. Updated

Origins.net - Scots Origins features a free International Genealogical Index (IGI) search for Scottish marriages 1553-1875 and births and christenings 1553-1875. There is also a free Scottish place search, and expert articles and discussion on Scottish history.

Anglo Scottish Family History Society. This site has a Scottish Strays: Scottish Marriage Index available for downloading.

Genfindit transcription and certificate service for birth, death and marriage records. Updated

Joy Murrin's site with details of the Scotland Certificate and Transcription Service she offers.

Scotland BDM Exchange provides a free resource for sharing details on civil and parish registrations in Scotland. A surname search is available. Currently 80,729 records are held. Updated

Census Records
ScotlandsPeople offers access to indexes and digital images for the 1841, 1851, 1861, 1871, 1891, 1901 and 1911 censuses for Scotland plus an index and transcriptions to the 1881 census. Costs are £7 for 30 page credits which are valid for 90 consecutive days.

Ancestry.co.uk census collection includes the 1841, 1851, 1861, 1871, 1881, 1891 and 1901 census for Scotland. The records are fully indexed with a free surname search. A variety of subscription options offer access to transcriptions of the records. Digitised copies are not available from this site.

Scotland Free Census Project. This project aims to provide a ‘free-to-view’ online searchable database of the 19th century Scottish census returns. It is part of the UK Free Census Project (FreeCEN). Currently there are 4 million+ Scottish census records available covering 1841-1871.

Dumfries and Galloway Council Archives online historical indexes include a searchable index for the 1851 census returns for Dumfriesshire, Kirkcudbrightshire and Wigtownshire.

Gateway Sites
GENUKI - UK and Ireland Genealogy - Scotland Pages. This gateway site offers access to vast genealogical collection. This is a great site for research help and detailed information with information arranged geographically.

Scotlands Family. This easy to use gateway site highlights an impressive array of free online resources. Categories include births and baptisms; marriages; deaths and burials; censuses; directories; poorhouses; ships and passenger lists; occupations; maps; books; photographs and more.

Rampant Scotland Directory - Genealogy - An excellent gateway site for Scottish research.

Cyndi's List has thousands of links for Scottish research available. Updated

Electric Scotland has thousands of pages of information covering Scottish history, online books and details on the Scottish, Scots-Irish clans and families. A site search engine is available.

ScotlandGen Web. This resource site for Scottish research aims to have a link to a web site for each county. Currently only a few counties are represented.

Scottish Military Historical Society. This site includes a museum index and general links page.

General Information
TalkingScot has been set up as a meeting place for people with an interest in Scottish genealogy, history and culture. This site has useful links to societies, sources and libraries. It also includes information on census records and registration districts in Scotland. N

GeneaBloggers has 2,500+ genealogy and family history blogs listed. Use this site to search for family surnames or keywords across all the blogs listed. Also do a Blogs by Type search for Scotland to see what is available.

RootsWeb Mailing Lists for Scotland are a great way to network with other researchers. There are 150+ clan lists available plus other lists (200+). The archives search lets you keyword search information posted on 30,000+ genealogical mailing lists. It is available at lists.rootsweb.ancestry.com

Scottish Genealogy Society Click on Library and Family History to access the Family History Index to 2,500+ files deposited by researchers. On-line Information offers access to articles.

Dictionary of the Scots Language is a searchable online edition of two historical dictionaries, the 12-volume Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue of Scots words in use from 12th to 17th centuries and the 10-volume Scottish National Dictionary of Scots words in use from 1700 to the 1970s.

Scots Online with access to an online dictionary that translates Scots to and from English

Scottish Handwriting.com offers online tuitorials in palaeography (reading old handwriting) for Scottish Documents (1500-1750).

Scotweb's Scottish History Magazine. This Scottish history site includes details on the Highland clearances, Scottish origins up to William Wallace and the battle of Stirling Bridge.

The Scottish Reformation with information on the struggles between the medieval Catholic Church of Rome and the evangelism of Protestant creeds that resulted in the establishment of Presbyterianism in Scotland and the episcopal Church of England. It looks at the discrimination and persecution of non-conforming Presbyterians (the Covenanters) and the migration of Scots to Ulster.

Scotland Genealogy Forum where you can post and view messages.

Directories, Names, Maps and Place Names
National Library of Scotland - Online Directories. These include post office, street and trade directories. Currently there are 694 directories covering 1773-1911 online.

What's in a Name details the origin of personal names or first names. It lists name variations, pet names, diminutives and abbreviations that you may find on genealogical databases and old records. This developing site has begun with Scottish names but Gaelic and other European names are being added to the database.

Online Scottish Names Directory maintained by Graham Jaunay. This directory details the surnames being researched, the county (if known), and lists the email contact of the researcher. There are also online forms for adding your surnames to the directory. Use this directory to advertise the surnames you are researching and to contact other researchers.

The Gazetteer for Scotland. This geographical database features details of towns, villages, bens and glens. It also includes text from Francis Groome's 19th century Ordnance Gazetteer for Scotland.

Addressing History is a searchable, historical database of the people of Edinburgh, Scotland. This project has combined data from digitised historical Scottish Post Office Directories with historical maps. The project has focused on three eras of Edinburgh mapping and Post Office Directories (1784-1785; 1865; 1905-1906).You can search by people, places and professions.

ScotlandsPlaces is a website that allows users to search across different national databases using geographic locations. This site has links to digital copies of maps and plans of counties, cities, towns, villages, farms, roads, canals, harbours, churches, schools, public buildings, private houses, mines and quarries. There are also links to photographs, manuscript records and printed books from millions of pages in government and private records. These include tax rolls, owners of land and heritages, and the annual reports of county Medical Officers of Health.

National Library of Scotland - Maps of Scotland. This site offers access to over 44,000 maps of Scotland dating from 1560 to 1935 including country maps, county maps, military maps, ordnance survey town plans, coasts of Scotland on marine charts, estate maps, Admiralty charts of Scotland, ordnance survey air photo mosaics 1944-1950 plus much more. Updated

Newspapers

The National Library of Australia eResources page offers home access to 103+ subscription databases. This free service is available to anyone residing in Australia who has a National Library card. You can apply for a library card online from this site. The card will be mailed to you within 5-10 working days. You then use the number on the card and your surname to login. Click on the Licenced resources (yellow keys icon) to access a list of available databases. Scottish material available includes the following newspapers: (Click on the letter N on the alphabetical bar for access)

19^th Century British Newspapers
Newspaper Title/Variant Title, City, start and end date

Aberdeen Journal, Aberdeen, 1 Jan 1800 to 23 Aug 1876

Aberdeen Weekly Journal, 30 Aug 1876 to 31 Dec 1900

Caledonian Mercury, Edinburgh, 1 Jan 1800 to 27 Aug 1859

The Caledonian Mercury and Daily Express, 29 Aug 1859 to 21 Feb 1860

The Caledonian Mercury, 22 Feb 1860 to 20 Apr 1867

Chartist Circular, Glasgow, 28 Sep 1839 to 18 Sep 1841

Glasgow Herald, Glasgow, 4 Feb 1820 to 31 Dec 1900

Dundee Courier, Dundee, 2 Jan 1844 to 19 Apr 1861

Dundee Courier and Daily Argus, 22 Apr 1861 to 14 Apr 1862

The Dundee Courier & Argus, 15 Apr 1862 to 15 Nov 1899

The Dundee Courier & Argus and Northern Warder, 10 Jan 1873 to 11 May 1886

The Scotsman Digital Archive 1817-1950. This subscription site offers full key word searching of the Scotsman newspaper. Subscription options available include a 24 hour pass with unlimited access for £7.95. $$.
If you live in New South Wales this archive can be accessed for free from the State Library of New South Wales site if you have a library card. Residents of NSW can apply for a card here http://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/using/membership/

The Edinburgh Gazette, the London Gazette and the Belfast Gazette are official newspapers of the United Kingdom government. These gazettes offers access to insolvency data, bankruptcy, public and legal notices plus honours and awards (for government, business or individuals).

The British Newspaper Archive. This new ongoing project currently has 188 titles online with over 5+ million newspaper pages available. The earliest title dates from 1700 and the most current, 1950. It is free to search with keyword, publication and browse by location searches available. Filtering options include date, newspaper, region, county and place. A search returns a sentence or two of the newspaper. A subscription is needed to access the digitised page. This site offers several subscription packages including a 12 month subscription (£79.95) which gives unlimited access to every page in the archive. Alternatively there are 30 day (3000 credits - £29.95), 7 day (600 credits - £9.95) and 2 day (500 credits - £6.95) pay-per-view packages. New

Resources and Databases
See also Birth, Death and Marriage Records
Historic Hospital Admission Registers Project (HHARP). This site is the home of 19th century children’s hospital records. It provides access to nearly 120,000 individual admission records 1852 to 1914. Hospitals include three London hospitals: the Hospital for Sick Children at Great Ormond Street, Evelina Hospital and the Alexandra Hospital for Children with hip disease. It also includes the Royal Glasgow Sick Children’s Hospital with records dating from 1883 when the hospital was opened until 1903. Registered users (free) get access to more detailed information and the ability to print and download results of searches.

Ancestry.com Scottish databases cover census records (1841-1901), parish and probate records, newspaper indexes, directories plus landed gentry publications and more. The records are fully indexed with a free surname search. Subscription options offer access to information or digitised records. Use the Search tab and choose Card catalogue then Filter by Location - Scotland to see what is available.

Scottish Archive Network's digital archive offers online access to the Highlands and Islands Emigration Society Passenger Lists (1852-1857). The Society, set up by private subscription, promoted and assisted the emigration of destitute Highlanders to Australia. The lists are organised by ship and by family and record name, age, residence and sometimes notes on health and situation.

University of Aberdeen, Scottish Emigration Database currently details 21,000+ passengers who embarked at Glasgow and Greenock for non-European ports (1 Jan-30 Apr 1923) and other Scottish ports 1890-1960. A destination search for Australia returned 151 hits.

Scottish Genealogy from and around the World. This site has online biographies of 2000+ Scottish Ministers from the 16th-20th century from Fasti Ecclesiae Scoticanae, volumes 1 and II. Details can include birth, death and marriage information as well as family and other details.

The University of Glasgow Roll of Honour provides details of graduates, students and staff who served in the First World War. Photographs are included, if available.

The Clearances.org. An extensive site dedicated to the Highland Clearances in Scotland. There are searches available for articles, parishes, people, ships, ports and destinations.

National Library of Scotland. Scottish Book Trade Index to printers, publishers, booksellers, bookbinders, printmakers, stationers and papermakers based in Scotland, from the beginnings of Scottish printing to c1850.

Resources by Area
Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire Archives. There is family history link and detailed information on records held. The catalogues link includes access to the online catalogue plus links to number of guides and lists available for download. There is also access to indexes to the Aberdeen Burgh Registers of Apprentices 1797-1878.

Aberdeen & North East Scotland Family History Society's Index to Memorial Inscriptions for the counties of Aberdeenshire, Banffshire, Kincardineshire and Moray. It lists 10,000+ names and any dates associated with them plus who else is recorded on the same headstone.

Inveraray Jail, Argyll. The Former Prisoners Database provides extensive details on 4,000+ prisoners including those who were transported.

Ayrshire & Arran Family History. This site includes guidance on how to begin, a list of family history societies, details of professional researchers and information and contacts for Ayrshire libraries and archives.

Mull Genealogy by Ian Phillips includes location, surname, birth and burial indexes plus resources, links and other information for the Isle of Mull, Argyllshire.

Maybole Homepage. This site is dedicated to Maybole, Ayrshire, the ancient capital of Carrick. The detailed information includes local and family history resources.

Am Baile - The Gaelic Village. This site offers a major learning and research resource for everyone with an interest in the language, culture and history of the Scottish Highlands and Islands.

Inverness Emigrant Index 1828-1854 by Peter Madden records the details of 2100+ assisted emigrants from Inverness to New South Wales and Queensland (Australia). It lists name, age, year and ship of arrival, native place, parents' names and residence plus the names of relations in the colony.

Orkney Genealogy: Family Heritage of the Orkney Islands of Scotland by Walt Custer. Also including Caithness and the Shetland Isles. There are downloadable birth/baptism and marriage indexes arranged by surname.

Shetland Family History with an online surname list, photos plus much more.

The Wigtownshire Pages. offers a guide to resources available for family history research in Wigtownshire including useful information on the parishes of Wigtownshire.

Societies
Check the societies in your area of interest for any online resources.

GENUKI's Scotland Pages. This gateway site has a list of societies.

Scottish Genealogy Society.

Scottish Association of Family History Societies. This site includes a list of members of the Association plus contact details.

Scottish Military Historical Society.This site has a lot of valuable information online.

Anglo Scottish Family History Society hosted by the Manchester & Lancashire Family History Society.

Aberdeen & North-East Scotland Family History Society covers Aberdeenshire, Banffshire, Kincardineshire and Morayshire.

Alloway & Southern Ayrshire Family History Society.

Borders Family History Society covers Roxburghshire, Berwickshire, Selkirkshire and Peeblesshire.

Caithness Family History Society.

Central Scotland Family History Society covers Clackmannanshire, Stirlingshire and West Perthshire and some parishes in West Lothian.

Dumfries & Galloway Family History Society covers Dumfriesshire, Kirkcudbrightshire and Wigtownshire.

East Ayrshire Family History Society.

Fife Family History Society.

Glasgow & West of Scotland Family History Society covers Argyll & Bute, Ayrshire, Dunbartonshire, Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire and Stirlingshire (part).

Highland Family History Society covers Caithness, Sutherland, Ross-shire, Inverness-shire, Nairnshire and the northern parishes of Argyle.

Lanarkshire Family History Society.

Largs and North Ayrshire Family History Society.

Lochaber & North Argyll Family History Group.

Lothians Family History Society.

Moray & Nairn Family History Society.

Orkney Family History Society.

Renfrewshire Family History Society.

Shetland Family History Society.

Tay Valley Family History Society for the former counties of Angus, Fife, Kinross and Perthshire.

Troon @ Ayrshire Family History Society.

West Lothian Family History Society.