How do I get information on my Scottish
ancestors?
What information do you need from me?
What information will you provide to me?
How will you get that information?
How reliable is the information you'll send me?
How far back can you trace?
What happens if you can't find my relatives?
How will you present the information to me?
How long will it take you to do the search?
What other services do you offer?
How can I get in touch with you?
Q - How do I get information on my Scottish
ancestors?
A - If you live in the UK and can easily get to
Edinburgh, you could undertake the research yourself. The primary sources,
Statutory Records, Old Parish Records and the 1841 to 1901 Census returns, can
be accessed in New Registrar House at the east end of Princes Street. More
details on these sources and how to use them can be found on the Information
Sources page. If you can't get to Edinburgh easily or you just don't
have the time to undertake the research yourself, we'll be happy to do it for
you. We provide a variety of services from standard packages to
investigations specially tailored to your instructions. See the Services
page for further details.
Q - What information do you need from me?
A - First of all decide which of your ancestors you
want to start with. You might even want to start
with yourself if you were born or married in Scotland. Otherwise, go for the ancestor who most recently was born,
married or died in Scotland. We'll need a date for the event
you choose. If you know the precise date, ideal. But don't worry if
you can only give us the year or an approximate year. And lastly, we need
to know where in Scotland the event happened - again precision helps, but
don't worry if you only know the approximate location, unless it's a very common
name we've got a good chance of finding your ancestor.
Q - What information will you provide to me?
A - That depends on the type of service you
commission. For the Bronze service, we will provide basic information on
all the ancestors we find in the statutory records, back to your great grandparents. This will
include event dates, addresses, ages, witnesses, informants and Record
references. We'll provide that information on every direct ancestor we
find, which if the starting point was yourself, could cover up to 14 individuals
(2 parents, four grandparents and 8 great grandparents). In addition,
we'll provide you with a chart showing the family relationships and key dates.
More details can be found on our Services page.
Q - How will you get that information?
A - From a variety of sources. The primary
source will be the statutory records kept in the UK since 1855 for births,
marriages and deaths. For information earlier than 1855 we will search the
Old Parish Records kept by many of the Church of Scotland parishes. In
addition we will have access to all the censuses undertaken between 1841 and
1901. There are a number of other sources and more detail can be found by
going to our Information Sources page.
Q - How reliable is the information you'll send me?
A - The most reliable source of information are the
statutory records kept since 1855. Generally, the information found there
is accurate. However, anomalies do occur, for example the further back you
go the more likely it is that informants were illiterate and therefore may not
have known how to spell the person's name. It was then left to the Registrar to
spell the name as he thought best. In my own family tree I have one line
where there are six variations of a particular surname. Over time this
name evolves from Bigley to Begley to Begly to Baiglie to Baigley and finishing
up as Bueglay. Ages too, particularly on death certificates, can be
reported inaccurately, particularly where the person's birth was pre 1855 and
there is no birth certificate to check before informing the Registrar of the
event. Nevertheless, through assiduous checking of all available
information it is usually possible to validate the findings.
Q - How far back can you trace?
A - Statutory Scottish records started in 1855. Before
that parish records were kept by individual churches. The parish records are
less reliable than the official records. We can probably trace your family back
for at least 200 hundred years and possibly further.
Q - What happens if you can't find my relatives?
A - We will let you know that we have been
unsuccessful, and it won't have cost you anything.
Q - How will you present the information to me?
A - We can send the information to you by e-mail, or
provide it on a disk, or produce quality presentations on parchment paper (with various
layouts and backdrops), either framed or unframed.
Q - How long will it take you to do the
search?
A - It depends on the service you select and on aspects like whether your
ancestor's name is a common one and the availability of the records. We
would aim to deliver the Bronze Service within 4 weeks, the Silver Service
within 6 weeks and the Gold Service within 2 months. If you have
stipulated specific requirements other than the standard services, we will
provide an estimated time when you order. If, as the search progresses, we
believe we will require longer, we will advise you of this.
Q - What other services do you offer?
A - We can provide photographs of addresses and locations,
which may be relevant to your family e.g. at the turn of this century children
were often born at home. We offer the possibility of photographing the house. We will
also photograph gravestones. Prices will depend on location, but remember it
does not cost to ask !
Q - How can I get in touch with you?
A - Send us an Email to admin@yourscottishroots.com.
Remember you can ask us to provide anything with a Scottish basis. If we can't
satisfy your request we may be able to offer an alternative.