Books & Digital Picks
A Guide For Family Historians CHRIS PATON Pen & Sword, 162 pages, £14.99
This month’s family history inspiration
This comprehensive guide, from regular WDYTYA? Magazine contributor Chris Paton (see page 17), identifies and explains a wide range of sources available to anyone researching Scottish ancestry.
The first chapter details many research resources available, both for personal inspection in Scotland and also online. Civil registration records – not just the usual birth, marriage and death records, but also the minor records such as divorces – are considered, and important details are highlighted, which may otherwise be overlooked by the inexperienced researcher.
The next chapter considers the records of the Church of Scotland, the information given in Old Parish Registers, and the often very revealing minutes of parish kirk sessions. Included is information on the records of other churches in Scotland, including the Roman Catholic Church and Secession churches.
Later chapters consider census records and other sources, which may help researchers to determine where in Scotland a family lived. These include valuation rolls, electoral registers, Poor Law records and taxation records, the latter being very useful in the late 18th century.
The book goes on to explore the uses of land and burgh records, whether the family were landowners, tacksmen or simply tenants. For more prosperous families, a chapter on inheritance reveals details of testaments and services of heirs, in addition to wills and confirmations.
A final chapter discusses tracing your ancestors in legal records and looks at the different types of courts in Scotland: sheriff courts, the Privy Council, courts of session, commissary courts
and the Court of the Lord Lyon.
This reference book will be a valuable addition to the library of all family historians, both beginners and more experienced researchers alike.
Janet Bishop is a genealogist and probate researcher located in Kirkcaldy, Fife. Find out more information at genealogyscotland.net
‘Chris Paton explains a wide range of sources’