Getting started with your Scottish family research
Introduction
Many people are interested to know where they came from and thanks to the Internet, researching your family history is now so much easier. To trace your Scottish ancestry and find out when, where and how your relatives lived, follow the advice below and enjoy this fast growing and increasingly popular hobby.
Success/failure - Determining Factors
How successful you are in researching your Scottish family history is determined by a number of factors, many of which are out with your control - the survival of records, how common your surname was, your family's mobility, their social status and level of literacy, and the possibility of transcription errors. However, success can also depend on your own tenacity, keeping an open mind and not taking anything for granted, being methodical, approaching a problem from more than one angle and corroborating any evidence you may find.
What Do You Want To Achieve?
Before you begin your family history research, it is a good idea to focus on what you want to achieve. Do you wish to pursue the paternal (male) line with its continuity of surname, or the maternal (female) line, or perhaps even verify a family legend? You may find that the decision is made for you, if the research proves difficult. If, however, you decide to pursue more than one line, always file the results separately to avoid confusion.
Family History Begins At Home
The golden rule in family history research is to try to work backwards from what you already know. As such, family history truly does begin at home and you may be surprised at how much you already know or have access to within your own extended family. It is not necessary to have a lot of detail to start, but it makes sense to log whatever information is readily available and to seek out further details from relatives.
You
Begin by recording your own details - date and place of birth, marriage, spouse, children - then the details of parents, grandparents and so on as you recall them.
Relatives and Anecdotal Evidence
Information from relatives can increase your knowledge of the family, but a patient and tactful approach is required. Family anecdotes can become distorted with the passage of time, but should still be noted for later verification.
Documents, photographs
Most families can lay their hands on old documents or photographs, which can be of use to the family historian. Examples of things you might find are:
Birth, marriage or death certificates, obituaries, family bible, school leaving certificates, apprenticeship papers, university/college graduation certificates and awards, military service records, business papers, immigration papers, diaries, address books, birthday books, letters, postcards, newspaper cuttings, memoirs.
Old photographs may jog the memory of an elderly relative, and it is important to ask them to identify as many faces as possible, so that this information is preserved.
Any information that can be gathered from within the family can help to establish a foundation on which to build your family history.
Read Up on Family History, Join a Society
Libraries and bookshops stock a range of material on family history. Look for books that concentrate on sources for Scottish research, which differs markedly from that in England. You may want to consider joining a family history society in your area. For a very small annual fee you will receive all the benefits of membership (magazine, research facilities, well-stocked libraries, research services, ready advice) and meet like-minded individuals. Consider also joining a society in the area in which you are conducting research.
See htpp://scotfamtree.11.forumer.com for details of and links to Scottish family history societies.
-----------------------
Get Organised
Organisation is key to the success of your venture:
* Arrange your findings in a systematic way - you may amass rather a lot of information before you are through. Label your sources meticulously - they may be required for later verification.
* Always record where you have searched to avoid duplication of work, even if the search yielded no results.
* Record names and dates in a uniform manner for ease of reading.
* If pursuing more than one line, always keep the material in a separate file.
* Details that perhaps may seem irrelevant should always be noted - you never know when they might become important.
* Always try to corroborate evidence. Never take anything at face value or jump to conclusions without verification.
Recording Your Findings
The way in which you choose to record findings is really entirely up to you. You may prefer to use one of the many family history software packages on the market, which have the obvious advantage of allowing information to be easily updated and printed out, but you will still need some sort of filing system for all the documents, notes and correspondence which you will inevitably accumulate. The information gleaned from relatives can be recorded on a chart for easy identification of relationships. There are several different types of chart and most good family history books will give examples of each:
Drop-line Pedigree Chart
- probably the easiest one to follow. Starts with yourself at the bottom of the page, working up through each generation to your earliest known ancestor at the top. Includes information on siblings, second marriages, and illegitimacies.
Birth Brief
- records the details of four or five generations horizontally left to right, but unlike the drop-line chart, it does not really have enough space to include siblings, and the space for detail decreases as the number of entries grows.
Indented Narrative
- found in many software packages, the narrative is indented one space for each generation, with each person given a number according to their generation. Although more information can be included, it can be very difficult to visualise the layout.
Making a chart of your information helps you to visualise your family history, and to pinpoint the gaps in your knowledge, which require further investigation. Information on each individual, for which there is no room on the chart, can be recorded separately for each person and also on a Family Group Sheet, showing the details for a single family.
Is Anyone Else Researching Your Family?
It may be worthwhile checking to see if anyone else is currently researching your family, or if work has been done in the past:
Relatives
- someone in the family, perhaps a distant relative, may have already done some family history work. Make enquiries within the family.
Ancestral File
- information taken from pedigrees and family group sheets submitted to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS) after 1978, is available on the Ancestral File, which can be viewed at your local LDS Family History Centre, and on-line at www.familysearch.org.
Family History Societies
- many family history societies publish lists of members' interests. See www.safhs.org.uk for details of local family history societies.
Local Libraries
- local libraries in the area where you are researching will hold copies of published and unpublished family histories pertaining to their area. See www.familia.org.uk for information on family history resources in UK public libraries.
Magazines
- some of the various monthly family history magazines have features, letters pages or dedicated advertisement pages where individuals can advertise their family history interests.
It is important that you verify any information found in any of these sources.
Many people are interested to know where they came from and thanks to the Internet, researching your family history is now so much easier. To trace your Scottish ancestry and find out when, where and how your relatives lived, follow the advice below and enjoy this fast growing and increasingly popular hobby.
Success/failure - Determining Factors
How successful you are in researching your Scottish family history is determined by a number of factors, many of which are out with your control - the survival of records, how common your surname was, your family's mobility, their social status and level of literacy, and the possibility of transcription errors. However, success can also depend on your own tenacity, keeping an open mind and not taking anything for granted, being methodical, approaching a problem from more than one angle and corroborating any evidence you may find.
What Do You Want To Achieve?
Before you begin your family history research, it is a good idea to focus on what you want to achieve. Do you wish to pursue the paternal (male) line with its continuity of surname, or the maternal (female) line, or perhaps even verify a family legend? You may find that the decision is made for you, if the research proves difficult. If, however, you decide to pursue more than one line, always file the results separately to avoid confusion.
Family History Begins At Home
The golden rule in family history research is to try to work backwards from what you already know. As such, family history truly does begin at home and you may be surprised at how much you already know or have access to within your own extended family. It is not necessary to have a lot of detail to start, but it makes sense to log whatever information is readily available and to seek out further details from relatives.
You
Begin by recording your own details - date and place of birth, marriage, spouse, children - then the details of parents, grandparents and so on as you recall them.
Relatives and Anecdotal Evidence
Information from relatives can increase your knowledge of the family, but a patient and tactful approach is required. Family anecdotes can become distorted with the passage of time, but should still be noted for later verification.
Documents, photographs
Most families can lay their hands on old documents or photographs, which can be of use to the family historian. Examples of things you might find are:
Birth, marriage or death certificates, obituaries, family bible, school leaving certificates, apprenticeship papers, university/college graduation certificates and awards, military service records, business papers, immigration papers, diaries, address books, birthday books, letters, postcards, newspaper cuttings, memoirs.
Old photographs may jog the memory of an elderly relative, and it is important to ask them to identify as many faces as possible, so that this information is preserved.
Any information that can be gathered from within the family can help to establish a foundation on which to build your family history.
Read Up on Family History, Join a Society
Libraries and bookshops stock a range of material on family history. Look for books that concentrate on sources for Scottish research, which differs markedly from that in England. You may want to consider joining a family history society in your area. For a very small annual fee you will receive all the benefits of membership (magazine, research facilities, well-stocked libraries, research services, ready advice) and meet like-minded individuals. Consider also joining a society in the area in which you are conducting research.
See htpp://scotfamtree.11.forumer.com for details of and links to Scottish family history societies.
-----------------------
Get Organised
Organisation is key to the success of your venture:
* Arrange your findings in a systematic way - you may amass rather a lot of information before you are through. Label your sources meticulously - they may be required for later verification.
* Always record where you have searched to avoid duplication of work, even if the search yielded no results.
* Record names and dates in a uniform manner for ease of reading.
* If pursuing more than one line, always keep the material in a separate file.
* Details that perhaps may seem irrelevant should always be noted - you never know when they might become important.
* Always try to corroborate evidence. Never take anything at face value or jump to conclusions without verification.
Recording Your Findings
The way in which you choose to record findings is really entirely up to you. You may prefer to use one of the many family history software packages on the market, which have the obvious advantage of allowing information to be easily updated and printed out, but you will still need some sort of filing system for all the documents, notes and correspondence which you will inevitably accumulate. The information gleaned from relatives can be recorded on a chart for easy identification of relationships. There are several different types of chart and most good family history books will give examples of each:
Drop-line Pedigree Chart
- probably the easiest one to follow. Starts with yourself at the bottom of the page, working up through each generation to your earliest known ancestor at the top. Includes information on siblings, second marriages, and illegitimacies.
Birth Brief
- records the details of four or five generations horizontally left to right, but unlike the drop-line chart, it does not really have enough space to include siblings, and the space for detail decreases as the number of entries grows.
Indented Narrative
- found in many software packages, the narrative is indented one space for each generation, with each person given a number according to their generation. Although more information can be included, it can be very difficult to visualise the layout.
Making a chart of your information helps you to visualise your family history, and to pinpoint the gaps in your knowledge, which require further investigation. Information on each individual, for which there is no room on the chart, can be recorded separately for each person and also on a Family Group Sheet, showing the details for a single family.
Is Anyone Else Researching Your Family?
It may be worthwhile checking to see if anyone else is currently researching your family, or if work has been done in the past:
Relatives
- someone in the family, perhaps a distant relative, may have already done some family history work. Make enquiries within the family.
Ancestral File
- information taken from pedigrees and family group sheets submitted to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS) after 1978, is available on the Ancestral File, which can be viewed at your local LDS Family History Centre, and on-line at www.familysearch.org.
Family History Societies
- many family history societies publish lists of members' interests. See www.safhs.org.uk for details of local family history societies.
Local Libraries
- local libraries in the area where you are researching will hold copies of published and unpublished family histories pertaining to their area. See www.familia.org.uk for information on family history resources in UK public libraries.
Magazines
- some of the various monthly family history magazines have features, letters pages or dedicated advertisement pages where individuals can advertise their family history interests.
It is important that you verify any information found in any of these sources.
