Sunday, July 3, 2011

Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry...and Mine!

Image Source

After months of researching my ancestry through the use of multiple resources on the web, I have found out that I have a Scottish heritage; I was very excited to learn that some of my ancestors were viking warriors, some royalty and commoner family members as well. I love the history that genealogy offers to me, a family historian. Searching for ancestors is not just a hobby that can be completed in a weeks time. It's an ongoing process of learning and I've been pretty lucky to have found out the things that I have so far. Scotland has a fairly good system of records for people like myself, wishing to trace their Scottish ancestry. Compulsory registration of Births, Deaths and Marriages was introduced in 1855 and these records are accessible and held by the General Register Office for Scotland. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (the Mormons), who have a religious duty to trace their ancestors, have copied the parish records and included them in their database. Local libraries in Scotland may also hold copies, as will the family history societies and the genealogical societies. There are many options to choose from if you are just starting your family tree. Below are a few links to get you started.






Have a look on this site, which will help you make a start in understanding the principles of researching your family history Family Tree Folk , then download some family history sheets Genealogy Forms and starting with yourself fill one in, you will find the sheets act as a check list and you may also find that you don't have all your own information and have to go searching in your home and asking your parents/other relations about it.


Once you start researching you will notice many people don’t have primary information numbers on their research...which shows you it is hearsay, copied from others and guesswork and there is no place in research for guesswork. One wrong name in your tree and it means you are not researching YOUR family. Your best bet would be to just take your time, and just research your family at your own leisure. Rome wasn't built in a day and neither was your family tree of ancestry. Pick one surname and research it; include your sources, without this documentation your research is pretty much just a fairy tale!

0 comments:

Post a Comment