Scottish Records & Resources
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Records & Reference Sources
Although the big online players like subscription sites Ancestry and FindMyPast have some Scottish records and FamilySearch also has a good free selection, these vary in coverage and format (many are just transcriptions for example, and some of them are truly abysmal e.g. censuses on Ancestry in my opinion.) The definitive place to go to search for your kin by vital life events is Scotland's People, where you will find births/baptisms, marriages, deaths/burials, wills and testaments, censuses and valuation rolls.
In particular, be sure to plunder the Roman Catholic parish registers they have online as these will no doubt be where you will find many Irish kin who fled to Scotland after the Great Hunger, as well as finding them in Statutory records after state registration was introduced in 1855. FindMyPast also have many of these Scottish Catholic records too - search their Scottish record sets via the hyperlink to their site above and use the keyword "Catholic" to narrow down the results (ignore the odd inclusions!)
ScotlandsPeople is a pay-per-view site where you will have to purchase credits (valid for 2 years) to view actual records and it is the only place you can view certain images. However, all the results pages are free and it is very reasonably priced when you compare it to the cost of buying certificates in England and Wales for instance. The query screens give you quite a lot of flexibility when searching - see my Search tips for Scotland's People page for more advice. There are also some great help and information pages which I thoroughly recommend you spend time perusing if you are unfamiliar with Scottish family history. For example, their Glossary should help you decipher any unfamiliar terms you might come across.
Although the big online players like subscription sites Ancestry and FindMyPast have some Scottish records and FamilySearch also has a good free selection, these vary in coverage and format (many are just transcriptions for example, and some of them are truly abysmal e.g. censuses on Ancestry in my opinion.) The definitive place to go to search for your kin by vital life events is Scotland's People, where you will find births/baptisms, marriages, deaths/burials, wills and testaments, censuses and valuation rolls.
In particular, be sure to plunder the Roman Catholic parish registers they have online as these will no doubt be where you will find many Irish kin who fled to Scotland after the Great Hunger, as well as finding them in Statutory records after state registration was introduced in 1855. FindMyPast also have many of these Scottish Catholic records too - search their Scottish record sets via the hyperlink to their site above and use the keyword "Catholic" to narrow down the results (ignore the odd inclusions!)
ScotlandsPeople is a pay-per-view site where you will have to purchase credits (valid for 2 years) to view actual records and it is the only place you can view certain images. However, all the results pages are free and it is very reasonably priced when you compare it to the cost of buying certificates in England and Wales for instance. The query screens give you quite a lot of flexibility when searching - see my Search tips for Scotland's People page for more advice. There are also some great help and information pages which I thoroughly recommend you spend time perusing if you are unfamiliar with Scottish family history. For example, their Glossary should help you decipher any unfamiliar terms you might come across.
You can also visit the Scotland's People Centre at New Register House in Edinburgh and buy a day pass for access to ScotlandsPeople (£15 in MAR 2019) to view as many records as you want too. However, charges apply if you want to print or save anything to your account, which means you might not save much money by visiting in person if you have a lot of records you want to buy images for. As far as I'm aware you cannot download any images to a USB either.
But you know what, it's worth visiting anyway for the magnificent circular reading room and invaluable if you are trying to untangle lots of cousins in one village (Larkhall Riddell's since you ask) as long as you don't mind doing lots of transcribing.
But you know what, it's worth visiting anyway for the magnificent circular reading room and invaluable if you are trying to untangle lots of cousins in one village (Larkhall Riddell's since you ask) as long as you don't mind doing lots of transcribing.
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Archives, Resources and Contacts
The National Records of Scotland (NRS) are also located at New Register House, combining what was previously the National Archives of Scotland and the General Register Office of Scotland. Most collections have to be viewed in situ in the Historical Search Room and you will need to be very organised! You will need a photo-ID reader's ticket, a booked appointment and to have pre-ordered your items. However, this is the only place you can view certain invaluable documents such as land records.
What do they have to view? The NRS Catalogue, like so many archives, is a bit of a beast to wrestle with. You can search by keywords, but that rather supposes that you are in tune with however the various archivists have chosen to describe items over many years. You can browse the various top-level reference categories that describe how the record collections have been broadly recognised, but be warned there are currently over 10,000 of them!
Perhaps the most accessible way of understanding the collections from a genealogical point of view is to invest in "Tracing your Scottish Ancestors - the official guide" by Tristram Clarke. This is a hugely practical guide that ought to become your constant companion if you are doing a lot of research in this archive. It does get updated regularly so check for the latest edition before purchasing.
The NRS also have some excellent research guides online, as well as some very helpful reference material. For example, be sure to check out the "Detailed List of the Old Parochial Registers of Scotland". Published in 1872, this is a very thorough assessment of the original registers that were deposited with the authorities. Gaps in the records and the condition of the registers are carefully noted, which might explain poor search results.
The National Records of Scotland (NRS) are also located at New Register House, combining what was previously the National Archives of Scotland and the General Register Office of Scotland. Most collections have to be viewed in situ in the Historical Search Room and you will need to be very organised! You will need a photo-ID reader's ticket, a booked appointment and to have pre-ordered your items. However, this is the only place you can view certain invaluable documents such as land records.
What do they have to view? The NRS Catalogue, like so many archives, is a bit of a beast to wrestle with. You can search by keywords, but that rather supposes that you are in tune with however the various archivists have chosen to describe items over many years. You can browse the various top-level reference categories that describe how the record collections have been broadly recognised, but be warned there are currently over 10,000 of them!
Perhaps the most accessible way of understanding the collections from a genealogical point of view is to invest in "Tracing your Scottish Ancestors - the official guide" by Tristram Clarke. This is a hugely practical guide that ought to become your constant companion if you are doing a lot of research in this archive. It does get updated regularly so check for the latest edition before purchasing.
The NRS also have some excellent research guides online, as well as some very helpful reference material. For example, be sure to check out the "Detailed List of the Old Parochial Registers of Scotland". Published in 1872, this is a very thorough assessment of the original registers that were deposited with the authorities. Gaps in the records and the condition of the registers are carefully noted, which might explain poor search results.
There are of course other local archives in Scotland as well as collections of private papers. There appear to be 2 catalogues that can help you understand what might be available and how to access any open collections.
The NRS website hosts the National Register of Archives for Scotland catalogue of private papers, some of which may have been deposited for public access at local archives, libraries or museums. Else you may need to apply to the estate, company or individual listed for access. This might be especially useful for ancestors who worked on a big estate or for a particular company.
The other catalogue hosted by the NRS is for what used to be known as the Scottish Archive Network or SCAN Catalogue. This ought to help you navigate the collections of 52 national and local archives, prior to making a visit to perhaps view more specialist records that might never make it online. The SCAN website has some nice Research Tools. In particular, the advice on Poor Relief Registers is worth checking out.
However, be warned that the site has not been updated in a very long time and apparently there are plans to relaunch the site as Your Scottish Archives by the end of 2022. In the meantime, beware of broken links and some out of date advice. Always check with the archive directly before planning a visit too.
The NRS website hosts the National Register of Archives for Scotland catalogue of private papers, some of which may have been deposited for public access at local archives, libraries or museums. Else you may need to apply to the estate, company or individual listed for access. This might be especially useful for ancestors who worked on a big estate or for a particular company.
The other catalogue hosted by the NRS is for what used to be known as the Scottish Archive Network or SCAN Catalogue. This ought to help you navigate the collections of 52 national and local archives, prior to making a visit to perhaps view more specialist records that might never make it online. The SCAN website has some nice Research Tools. In particular, the advice on Poor Relief Registers is worth checking out.
However, be warned that the site has not been updated in a very long time and apparently there are plans to relaunch the site as Your Scottish Archives by the end of 2022. In the meantime, beware of broken links and some out of date advice. Always check with the archive directly before planning a visit too.
If you are planning a visit to Glasgow, where many Irish settled, then be sure to take advantage of the excellent Mitchell Library's Family History Centre. Although work is still ongoing on upgrading their online catalogues, there are some online guides to their resources. Some of these have basic transcribed databases online, but many will require you to visit in person. The Poor Law Records for Glasgow are sure to contain lots of references to families with Irish origins. One other fascinating fact I learnt recently from an online talk, was that nearly 20% of the Glasgow police force were Irish at one time and the Mitchell has records for this occupation. There is also a fascinating collection of historic images entitled Virtual Mitchell.
Another excellent site for Glaswegian research is The Glasgow Story. The history of the city is clearly told in chapters and there are thousands of images that can be searched for by keywords and places. You can also browse the 1913-14 Valuation Rolls for the city for free.
The University of Glasgow's School of Social and Political Sciences has posted some informative background reading on "The Scottish Way of Birth and Death", which I recommend you read to help you understand the context in which these records have been created.
If your Irish female ancestors married local men and took their name, you might want to delve into George Black's "The Surnames of Scotland - their origin, meaning and history" to find out more about the roots of the paternal branch of your family.
Some of the earliest wills and testaments that survive can be written in a challenging hand. Scotland's People has a page on Scottish Handwriting which has some brief advice and links to other resources. See also Reading Older Handwriting (Palaeography) on the same website. Your task may be made doubly difficult if there are old Scottish dialect words lurking in some of the older documents, so try the Dictionary of the Scots Language site for a translation.
If your Irish female ancestors married local men and took their name, you might want to delve into George Black's "The Surnames of Scotland - their origin, meaning and history" to find out more about the roots of the paternal branch of your family.
Some of the earliest wills and testaments that survive can be written in a challenging hand. Scotland's People has a page on Scottish Handwriting which has some brief advice and links to other resources. See also Reading Older Handwriting (Palaeography) on the same website. Your task may be made doubly difficult if there are old Scottish dialect words lurking in some of the older documents, so try the Dictionary of the Scots Language site for a translation.
National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh. Photo:
Wikimedia Commons
The National Library of Scotland holds vast collections of books, manuscripts, photographs, moving images etc. Check out the NLS Catalogues, Digital Resources and Websites page and you can lose yourself for many hours roaming around the deposited material. You will have to visit the iconic building on George IV Bridge in Edinburgh to view most of items, but there are some treasures online (especially if you obtain a library ticket and actually live in Scotland.)
The NLS Maps resources are just brilliant - read about them on my Scottish Geography page.
The National Library of Scotland's Internet Archive page has thousands of free digitised resources that are going to happily divert you a rainy afternoon (there are nearly 5000 items!) These include antiquated treasures such as old Army and Navy lists, various Scottish name or clan genealogies and several volumes of Fasti Ecclesiae Scoticanae, which detail the historic appointments of Church of Scotland ministers.
Of particular note are the huge number of Scottish Directories right up until the 1940's that may reveal business ancestors. None are indexed here but often browsing can reveal valuable contextual information. However, there is an indexed interface to a subset of these directories up to 1911 on the NLS Scottish Post Office Directories page.
The NLS Maps resources are just brilliant - read about them on my Scottish Geography page.
The National Library of Scotland's Internet Archive page has thousands of free digitised resources that are going to happily divert you a rainy afternoon (there are nearly 5000 items!) These include antiquated treasures such as old Army and Navy lists, various Scottish name or clan genealogies and several volumes of Fasti Ecclesiae Scoticanae, which detail the historic appointments of Church of Scotland ministers.
Of particular note are the huge number of Scottish Directories right up until the 1940's that may reveal business ancestors. None are indexed here but often browsing can reveal valuable contextual information. However, there is an indexed interface to a subset of these directories up to 1911 on the NLS Scottish Post Office Directories page.
Poorhouse records can be some of the most wonderfully rich genealogical fare with which to enrich your family history, as I found when I discovered my Irish 3xgreat grandfather and both of his extended families lurking within the pages of the Paisley registers! You can search a PDF index for these same registers yourself via Paisley Archives Poor Law site. With nearly 9000 mentions of "Ireland", you could be lucky too. As already mentioned above, the Mitchell Library is the place to go for Glasgow Poor Law Records. You can also learn more about the architecture and history of the various Scottish establishments via Peter Higginbotham's hugely informative Workhouses site.
I also learned recently from Graham Maxwell of Scottish Indexes (see below) that there are images of other Scottish Poor Law Registers available online to browse with FamilySearch. They are not indexed and are very well hidden in the catalogue I'm afraid as they do not exist as one cohesive collection. I am still wrestling with how best to advise you to find them, so for the time being here is a link to one example - Poor Law Records for Hamilton, 1865-1893. I think they are catalogued by place name and county, but somewhat bizarrely you need to query the catalogue with this information in the Author field?! Peter Higginbotham has compiled a list of all the post 1845 poorhouses in Scotland by county, so I would advise experimenting with some of these places in the Author field and add "poor law" as a keyword phrase.
I also learned recently from Graham Maxwell of Scottish Indexes (see below) that there are images of other Scottish Poor Law Registers available online to browse with FamilySearch. They are not indexed and are very well hidden in the catalogue I'm afraid as they do not exist as one cohesive collection. I am still wrestling with how best to advise you to find them, so for the time being here is a link to one example - Poor Law Records for Hamilton, 1865-1893. I think they are catalogued by place name and county, but somewhat bizarrely you need to query the catalogue with this information in the Author field?! Peter Higginbotham has compiled a list of all the post 1845 poorhouses in Scotland by county, so I would advise experimenting with some of these places in the Author field and add "poor law" as a keyword phrase.
There are some commercial sites run by Scottish research companies that could prove to be invaluable if you are unable to access some very specific original records yourself. You may be able to either purchase scans or fuller transcripts or perhaps more complete documents. You may get lucky - take a look;
- Scottish Indexes has some interesting sources for health, legal and land records. The Learning Zone has some excellent articles to help you understand the record sets and tips for researching in Scotland. They also host some excellent free online conferences - join their Facebook group to be kept informed.
- Old Scottish Genealogy & Family History offers a huge index to Scottish asylum records and some specific legal records. The Blog has a very long library of detailed articles where I'm sure you will find lots to interest you.
Once you establish a locale where you think your Irish kin may have settled, it can be worth getting in touch with and even joining the relevant local family history society. Members often venture out to transcribe the rapidly eroding memorial inscriptions of local cemeteries for example or may be prevailed upon to do local record look-ups for you if you cannot travel yourself. The Scottish Association of Family History Societies is the national organisation that can help you get in touch with the right regional society. There is also a useful gazetteer of over 3500 Scottish burial grounds on their site.
Read On... Scottish Research Bookshelf
(c) Irish Geneaography - 2024
