Why did you start tracing your family tree and why would you encourage others to start?

Here are five 5 reasons I think people should ask about their family history this weekend; there are many more I am sure!

Want to make a start? Use our free guide to help you get started: https://www.scottishindexes.com/learningdetective.aspx 

One

It’s a great puzzle! Great fun. As you learn more it’s as if your jigsaw gets bigger and bigger. There are more pieces to find and more puzzles to solve. Some are easy; some are more challenging. If you love puzzles you will love family history! Is there a family mystery you want to uncover?

Two

It helps you understand your relatives. As you talk to your family about their life you learn more about them. More than that, though, you can learn more about the family you never met. Finding out about a great-grandmother could help you understand your parent’s childhood; the life experiences that shaped them. 

Three

It stimulates thinking and long-term memories. Sadly as we age our short term memories can suffer. This can make conversations difficult with older people. Asking them about their childhood can stimulate long-term memories and lead to an enjoyable conversation. Of course, some may not want to talk about it. Always be kind and considerate of other people's feelings. 

Four

It’s a great way to learn about history. We may know the basics of history but discovering your ancestor's place in the past gives you a whole new perspective. Were they some of the weavers who rioted due to low wages in the early 1800s? Did they leave Ireland during the great famine? Were they interviewed as part of a Royal Commission report into housing? Did they witness King George IV visit Edinburgh in 1822? Were they moved from their home as part of the Highland Clearances? Whatever part your ancestors played in the past they are part of history.

Five

Discover more about the place where you live. If you still live in the area your ancestors lived in, you may be surprised by what you discover. Did your children go to the same school as your great-great-grandmother? Is the house they live in still standing? If you are planning a trip to Scotland, knowing where your ancestors lived, even the house they lived in, can make the experience so much more enjoyable. 

Want to make a start? Use our free guide to help you get started: https://www.scottishindexes.com/learningdetective.aspx 

Breaking Down those Brickwalls: Scottish Death Certificates

New Register House, Edinburgh

As is the case with birth and marriage certificates, 1855 is a great year from a genealogist's point of view.

In this first year of registration Scottish death certificates included the following information:

Date, time and place of death, usual residence, deceased's name, sex, marital status, age and occupation, the deceased's place of birth, spouse's name, both parents' names (including the mother’s maiden surname) and whether deceased, occupations and whether they were deceased, the names and ages of children (or age and year of death if the child pre-deceased the parent), cause of death, duration of last illness, doctor's name, when the doctor last saw the deceased alive, place of burial, the name of the undertaker and details of the informant.

Much of the bounty of information recorded in 1855 was sadly not continued after that year. From 1856-1860 you can expect to find the name, marital status, occupation, date, time and place of death and usual residence, full names of both parents and whether deceased, cause of death, duration of disease and doctor's name, place of burial and undertaker's name, and details of the informant.

Did you know?

By looking at your ancestor's death certificate between 1855 and 1860, or even that of a close relative such as a sibling, you may get a clue as to where the rest of the family were buried. If it was a family plot you may then be able to trace your ancestors using transcriptions of the gravestone, if it has survived. It’s not unusual to find three generations recorded on one gravestone!


Find out more about Scottish civil registration on our website: http://www.scottishindexes.com/learningcivil.aspx

Breaking Down those Brickwalls: Designations

To trace our Scottish family tree we begin by searching for birth, marriage and death certificates. Before 1855 we use church records but all too often we cannot find the records we need.

There are many reasons for ‘missing’ baptism records. It may be that the register was lost or damaged. By the mid 1800s, there were many different church denominations in Scotland, meaning you may need to look at many separate registers, not all of which are available online. To find out how to do this, visit our Learning Zone: Births, Marriages and Deaths in Scotland before 1855.

Even when you make a careful search, however, it may be that no baptism survives and you seem to have hit a brickwall in your research.

What we need to do now is be more imaginative, looking beyond the obvious records. In Scotland, a ‘designation’ is given in certain types of documents, particularly legal records. This designation was given to distinguish one person from another. At a time when many people did not know their date of birth and they certainly didn’t have a National Insurance (or Social Security number) or a postcode (or zip code), something was needed to identify the person mentioned in a document.

What is included in a Designation?

Generally, a designation will include the person’s name, residence and occupation. In the case of a child (and some adults) the father’s name may also be given along with his occupation and residence (it may also be stated that he is deceased). This information could help you get over a brick wall and continue on with your research.

Did you know?

A designation is the addition or description of a person. It is necessary in legal documents to design or identify the parties in such a manner as to distinguish them from all others; and in practice this was done by setting down the title of nobility, or the name and surname of the party, with his addition or description, by his estate, profession, trade, or place of residence. In certain instances it would also include the name of the party’s father.

The National Records of Scotland

Where do we find designations?

Legal records always give a designation. These may be criminal court records, wills and ordinary (civil) court records (such as ‘Actions of Affiliation and Aliment’) and sasine records (property records).

No matter what social class our ancestors were, there may be a legal record that survives and this could be the key we need to unlock our family tree.

Finding legal records

Wills are an easy place to start. Many Scottish wills are available on ScotlandsPeople and the index is free to search. You can search many sasine records (property records) in the National Records of Scotland.


We have indexed many Sheriff Court records and we update our index most weeks. You can search these for free (with no login or subscription) and just order the entry you need. Our index includes the designation. Click to see the entry for Agnew versus Carter in 1859, notice the pursuer is named as “Jane Agnew, daughter of and residing with John Agnew, Mason, Knockbrex, Penninghame”. We have also indexed some sasine records and deeds and we plan to add more.

Although prison registers do not generally give a ‘designation’ they do give an age and birthplace which can be helpful. The registers also tell us which court heard the case, and when the court records survive these give a designation. When you order a prison record from us we will tell you if there is (or may be) a corresponding court record. In fact generally, the person’s address is sufficient to identify which ‘John Smith’ we are talking about.

What to do next

Look over your family tree brick walls, which legal records might your family appear in? Did they own property, or were they more likely to end up in prison? Is there an illegitimate child in the family? Could there be a Sheriff Court record? Did your ancestor learn a trade? Then there may be an apprenticeship record.

Did you know?

Small words mean a lot!

‘Or’

Historically women were always recorded with their maiden surname in Scots legal documents. By the 19th century, it was the usual practice to record women with both maiden and married surnames in legal records. Let’s say our ancestor was born Margaret Scott and married James Thomson: we would expect to find her recorded as ‘Margaret Scott or Thomson’.

‘At’, ‘In’ and ‘Of’

The way the residence of a person is recorded is also important. The small words ‘at’ ‘in’, and ‘of’ all mean very specific things.

You can see the following example here on our website. “Aeneas McPherson of Flichity & Lachlan McIntosh in Nessendally” - Aeneas is described as ‘of Flichity’, the small word ‘of’ (instead of saying 'in' or 'at') shows that Aeneas McPherson had heritable possession of Flichity. This is a clue to more records. Lachlan, on the other hand, is described as “ Lachlan McIntosh in Nessendally” meaning Lachlan was a tenant of those lands.

In other records a person may be described as ‘at’ a place, this would indicate they were an occupier, not a tenant or owner.


Understanding these small, but significant words, can unlock your family tree. If you need more help just get in touch.

Scotland's First World War Pensions Appeal Records

Work has begun on indexing Scotland's First World War Pensions Appeal records. Until now these records have been arranged by month of hearing. This means that unless you knew when the appeal happened you might have to search 288 boxes to find the paperwork for your ancestor! Not very practical. 

These records hold vital information for around 30,000 Scottish servicemen and the reports can help you understand what these men went through. Here is an example for you.

Name: George Blane

Unit, Rank and No.: 9th Btn. Seaforth Highlanders, Private, No. 4437

Date of Hearing: 5 January 1920

Age: 26

Last Address: 14 Mossvale Street, Paisley

Report and other documents from Paisley L.W.P.C.

Man’s Statement:

I enlisted on 10th September 1914 at Paisley Barracks and went to Fort George where I commenced my training. This training lasted till 23rd November, 1914 when I was finally discharged as no longer fit for service on account of having Chronic Bronchitis. This disability was brought on by constant exposure in very severe weather. I was wet through about twice a week, sometimes with the water running out of my boots and was only provided with one shirt and pair of drawers at the time and could not therefore change my underwear. Very often I had to stand in my trousers and dry my shirt before the fire. I hold that it was due to this condition of things that I contracted my disability. I never had bronchitis before I enlisted and was constantly on the road conducting my business as a general dealer, and through this Chronic Bronchitis I am no longer able to stand the exposure which is required of me.

Historical Search Room - National Records of Scotland

The above (reference PT6/2 held by the NRS) is just part of the record but it gives you a sneak peek at what will be coming. Find out more by reading the NRS blog.

If you want to find out more about the lives of your ancestors our genealogists can help. We can research in Scottish archives and help add colour to your family tree.

www.scottishindexes.com

Brickwall Service

Our 2-hour brickwall service is proving very popular. Most people find that on one of their lines they hit a brick wall. It may be that our experience or the access we have to Scottish records is just what you need to break through the brick wall and continue with your journey. If you have a brick wall why not give it a try, you could open up a whole new chapter of your family history. Either email me (just reply to this email) or look at our website for more information.

Was Your Ancestor a Convict?

Every year the Scottish Association of Family History Societies (SAFHS) hold a conference and family history fair. This year the theme is, "Was Your Ancestor a Fife Convict?"

The annual event will take place this year on 21 April 2018 at the Rothes Halls, Glenrothes, Fife. 

One of our genealogists, Emma Maxwell, will be giving the talk, “Finding Your Ancestors' Footprints” and all the talks will revolve around the theme of criminal records. 

As well as the four talks there will be a free ‘Ask the Expert’ area, hosted by the Scottish Genealogy Network. It will be a great opportunity to get some professional advice on how to trace your family history.

To find out more and book your ticket go to the SAFHS 2018 website. 

If you need help to find out what life in Scotland was like for your ancestors get in touch and see how we can help.

Free Scottish Genealogy Tutorials

We are creating free family history tutorials to help you trace your Scottish family tree.

Our first tutorial will show how to find your ancestors on historical maps, using our website.



Our second tutorial demonstrates how to use 'wildcards' to find those ancestors who never seem to spell their name the same way twice!



Subscribe to our YouTube channel so that you don't miss the next tutorial.

Glasgow Docklands 1956 - What was life like?

The National Library of Scotland's moving image archive has thousands of clips and full-length films from across Scotland. They are a great way to get a sense of what Scotland was like in the past and this can help you to research your Scottish family tree.

For example, we love this video showing everyday life in 1956. From the Docklands to the Kelvingrove Park this video shows wonderful footage of Scotland.

From tugs on the Clyde, warehouses on the wharf, coals for export, children playing in the slums, feeding the ducks in Kelvingrove park and children playing in the streets this 10-minute video will draw you back in time.

Hear a young girl reciting this children's rhyme that your ancestors likely sang while they played with their skipping rope.

Oh there she goes,

Oh there she goes,

Peerie heels and pointed toes.

Look at her feet, she thinks she's neat,

Black stockings and dirty feet

If you need help to find out what life in Scotland was like for your ancestors get in touch and see how we can help.

Press Release - 40,000 ‘Lunatics’ - Scottish Genealogy Website Enables People to Discover the True Lives of their Ancestors

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

40,000 ‘Lunatics’ - Scottish Genealogy Website Enables People to Discover the True Lives of their Ancestors

4 August 2017

Glasgow, Scotland – Today Scottish genealogy website www.scottishindexes.com move another step closer to their goal of indexing all historical Scottish mental health records from 1858 to 1915. This release means the index now has 40,000 entries from across Scotland and includes people from every walk of life.

John Rae Thomson - Facts Indicated by Others - “His mother states...that the boys hooted & ran after him in the street crying “daft Jock”. (More images available in the press kit)

These historic mental health records give the story behind the facts. A census record may tell you that your great-grandmother was in an asylum, but not why she was there and that’s what we really want to know. This project, lead by Scottish Indexes, is supported by a growing team of volunteers.

Emma Maxwell, genealogist at Scottish Indexes says, “Our mission is to help people not only research their Scottish family tree, but also understand the lives of their ancestors.”

George Patrick Baillie - Supposed cause -  A fall on his head as a child (More images available in the press kit)

The records being indexed by Scottish Indexes are held by the National Records of Scotland (NRS) in Edinburgh. Without an index they are hugely time-consuming to search and access to the records would usually mean a trip to Edinburgh. These records contain not just names, dates and places but personal information. For example the admission form of John Rae Thomson tells us that the supposed cause of his mental health problems was ‘Premature Birth’. The same record gives his mother’s account of how boys tormented this poor 26 year-old.

Viv from Scotland says, "Although I knew that some of my relatives were in mental health institutions, the indexes at Scottish Indexes and linked original records have allowed me to find out far more about their stories. I feel that I know so much more about these people, and the information is invaluable."

Ailsa from Australia says, “I have been using Scottish Indexes for quite some time now and found many references to my own family within them. They are great for me to use from Australia.”

ENDS

For further information please contact:

Emma Maxwell, Genealogist, Scottish Indexes, info@scottishindexes.com

Notes to the Editor

• We have prepared a press kit containing 15 images which can be used across all media platforms (download here: www.scottishindexes.com/press_kit.zip). These show full pages of the records and we have selected certain interesting sections of each page which we thought would be of particular interest to your readers. Each is embedded with a copyright statement (approved by the NRS) for your convenience. The examples given can be found in our index: MC7/1 p. 168  - John Rae Thomson and MC7/1 p. 173 - George Patrick Baillie

• www.scottishindexes.com is run by Scottish genealogists Graham and Emma Maxwell, a husband and wife team based in East Kilbride, Glasgow, Scotland. Indexes are created by Graham and Emma with the help of a team of volunteers. All indexes are free to view and the National Records of Scotland (NRS) reference is given so users can either access the documents without charge at the NRS, or purchase the service from Scottish Indexes.

• The original records being indexed by www.scottishindexes.com are held by the National Records of Scotland (www.nrscotland.gov.uk).

• Follow Scottish Indexes on Twitter (@scottishindexes) or Facebook (@scottish.indexes)

• Learn more about Scottish Mental Health Records in our Learning Zone: http://www.scottishindexes.com/learninghealth.aspx

• Read about what life was like in Scottish asylums on our website: http://www.scottishindexes.com/asylums

Register of Emigrants from the Western Isles to Ontario

Kisimul Castle, Castle Bay, Barra

Chris Lawson emailed to let us know about a new publication of special interest to people researching their family from Uist and Barra in the Western Isles of Scotland. We thought this was a great opportunity to share some of our photographs from Barra.

Barra is a breathtaking island and well worth the journey. The reality is that as beautiful as the island is, many people have left over the years. Bill Lawson Publications have just published a 'Register of Emigrants from the Western Isles to Ontario' Volume 2.

This volume covers the main area of emigration from North and South Uist and Barra to Ontario and gives details of over 300 emigrant families from these areas. This new volume is priced at £15 and is available from www.billlawson.com along with volume 1 which is priced at £12.

Scottish Adoption Records

The National Records of Scotland

One of our Frequently Asked Questions is: How can I locate adoption records? It comes as a surprise to many people that until 1930 there was no formal adoption process in Scotland. Formal adoption records are closed for 100 years but if you are the child concerned you can access your own records. See the National Records of Scotland’s website for details.

In most cases people ask us about adoption records because they have been researching their family tree and discovered that their ancestor was orphaned at a young age, raised by someone and record these ‘adoptive’ parents as their parents on a marriage certificate or other record.

In many cases the arrangements for an orphaned child were done on a private basis, perhaps the child was taken in by a relative, friend or neighbour. In some cases children were ‘boarded out’. These are usually cases where a child would have been in the poorhouse but rather the parish arranged for a local woman to care for young children, what we would call foster care today. Of course some children did end up in the poorhouse if there was nobody to care for them.

If this has happened to your ancestor, you may well want to find out more about the situation. Poor records are often the place to start. You can find a comprehensive list here, click the link ‘Records_of_the_Scottish_Poor.pdf’. This list, created by Scottish genealogist Kirsty Wilkinson will tell you which records exist and where to find them.

If you need any help get in touch and we’ll see how we can help you.

Scottish Roman Catholic Parish Records

You can now access Scottish Roman Catholic Parish Baptisms, Marriages and Burials on FindMyPast. These have been available on ScotlandsPeople for a while but for those of us with the British subscription package to FindMyPast these Catholic records will be included in our existing package.

If you’re researching on a budget it’s worth asking if FindMyPast or other sites are available through your local library. One library they are available in is the National Library of Scotland. Also FindMyPast offer a free trial so this could be a great time to start tracing your Scottish family tree.

If you’ve been researching your family tree but you’re a little stuck, come to us and we can help you get over the brick wall and get your research back on track.

Scottish Kirk Sessions

The biggest problem I have in my work is that I am way too easily distracted! Here is an example. I was searching the Tongland Kirk Session Minutes (CH2/1244/2) in the National Records of Scotland the other day and found this very interesting entry from 2 September 1869:

Voluntarily compeared Ann Bird or Morton wife of Joseph Bird, Sailor who confessed that in the month of October last she gave birth to a child in uncleanness, she having been married in the month of July previous: On being admonished to be ingenuous and to speak the truth, she declared that Jonathan Turner was the partner of her guilt and the father of her child. Her husband Joseph Bird is known to bear testimony corroborative of the statement, and although disowning the paternity of the child has adopted it as his own. Having been solemnly admonished by the Moderator she was absolved from scandal.

Tongland Kirk

A search in the birth records found the birth certificate of the unnamed child. James Morton (or Bird) was born on 1 October 1865, and it is column 4 of his birth certificate which is the most interesting. Column 4 on a Scottish birth certificate gives the ‘Name, Surname, & Rank or Profession of Father, Name, and Maiden Surname of Mother And Date and Place of Marriage’. In this column on James’ birth certificate we read: “Ann Morton, married on 22nd July last to Joseph Baird, sailor who she declares is not the father of the child, & further that he was at sea for Months prior to 18 July 1868.”

A search in the census of 1871 shows that James (aged 2) was living with his maternal grandparents. I’ve not traced this family any further as I really should be doing research for clients but if you are related I would love to hear from you.

What do we learn from this? It is important to look at as many records as possible to get a full picture of what’s going on within a family, which can take effort. Historic Scottish birth certificates are available online but Kirk Session records are not (yet). For the time being you can access them in Edinburgh and various satellite locations around Scotland, including archives in Hawick, Aberdeen, Kilmarnock and Glasgow. There are other archives who also have access to the digital images, it’s worth checking with the National Records of Scotland to see if an archive near you has access.

The fact that the Church of Scotland Kirk Sessions are digitised is a great help but there is as yet no index to most of these minutes. Having said that, I wouldn’t have found this entry if I had used an index, when you browse a volume interesting entries jump out at you. If your family is from a small to medium-sized parish in terms of population, and you have access to the digital images, I would recommend browsing the volumes; who knows what you will discover!

Life in the Asylum

There is no denying that asylums across Scotland varied greatly in the mid-nineteenth century. Some details that were published in the 1857 Royal Commission Report are quite sobering. Some accounts however are quite encouraging. I like the entry for Miss Campbell's House:

"MISS CAMPBELL'S HOUSE, MUSSELBURGH; Visited 2d May 1855.

A good house, in a garden. There is only one patient, an old lady, who has been here many years. She was out walking, accompanied by an attendant, when the visit was made. On a second visit she was seen, and appeared to be comfortable, and properly taken care of."

By searching our index for all entries for “Miss Campbell's House” we see that Miss F. Gordon entered the asylum on 9 December 1812, it’s nice to know that she was so well cared for. The full entry in the General Register tells us that Miss F. Gordon died in August 1869.

There are many surviving records for our ancestors who were admitted to Scottish asylums. The national series of records show the date of admission, some background information and when the person died or otherwise left the asylum. The records of individual institutions, now often deposited in local archives, can give details on treatment and sometimes even contain photographs.

From the new section of our website you can read about each Scottish mental health institution, locate it on a map and in most cases find out where the records are now held. We update our database regularly so keep checking back to see what new records we have indexed.

SAFHS Conference and Family History Fair 2016

We are looking forward to the 27th “Scottish Association of Family History Societies (SAFHS) Conference and Family History Fair” which will take place this year in the wonderful conservation village of New Lanark on Saturday 23 April 2016.

The SAFHS conference is always a highlight in the genealogy calendar. There is a long list of exhibitors and an interesting selection of talks. The theme for the day is "Heritage along the Clyde" so the event will be of particular interest to you if you had ancestors who lived and worked along the banks of the Clyde river.

Emma Maxwell, genealogist
at Scottish Indexes, will be speaking on the
subject ‘Understanding Our Ancestors -
 A Look at Prison Registers and Mental Health Records’

For those of you with ancestors from other areas of Scotland, many of the family history societies will be present and there will also be representatives from commercial companies such as Findmypast and Scottish Monumental Inscriptions, as well as us of course!

There will be four talks given throughout the day, the cost of which is very reasonable: 4 talks £16 or 4 talks and buffet lunch £20.

Speaker 1 is Jane Masters who will give the talk, ‘New Lanark Mill’
Speaker 2 is Dr Irene O'Brien who will give the talk, ‘Industries along the Clyde - Records held in the Mitchell Library’
Speaker 3 is Dr Stephen Mullen who will give the talk, ‘Glasgow, the West of Scotland and New World Slavery, 1660-1838'’
Speaker 4 is Emma Maxwell who will give the talk, ‘Understanding Our Ancestors - A Look at Prison Registers and Mental Health Records’

If you are interested in hearing one or more of the talks it is advisable to book now to ensure you get to hear it. You can book online from the conference website: http://safhs2016.weebly.com/store/c1/Featured_Products.html

We look forward to meeting many of you on the 16th of April, please come along and say hello.

Sponsor an Index

The Problem!

Just a few short years ago there was very little in the way of online genealogy indexes. Tracing your ancestry was slow and time-consuming. Today the world has changed, and many people can trace their family tree in Scotland using online records, perhaps getting back as far as 1800 in just a few hours!

Sometimes, though, we hit a roadblock. We may also be intrigued about the lives of our ancestors and want to dig deeper.

Even if we know that records exist that could help us further, if there is no index and we are not fortunate enough to live near the archive where these records are held, it can be very expensive to have someone research our family tree for us. What we need is an online index!

Large companies are working on this situation by indexing a large number of records, then selling subscriptions. This can be useful if the company has a large number of records that you want, but can be frustrating if you sign up to find out they don’t have the records that will help you.

We want to provide a free website, one which gives you the source reference of the original document so that you can go and view the original record for free, or if you can’t visit in person pay just a small fee for the record you need.

The Solution

We are finding that more and more clients ask us to search records that could also be useful to other researchers. This has left us with the conclusion that it may make more sense for individuals to ‘sponsor’ an index. This way the genealogy community as a whole only pays once for the indexing to be done. The index goes online for free and then all your distant cousins can use it too.

How it works

You sponsor an indexer to spend a set amount of time (in 30 minute blocks) to index a record of your choice, with a date range of your choice. That set amount of time will be spent on indexing the record you have chosen, and then the index will be made freely available online for everybody to access. As a sponsor your name will accompany the release of the new index entries, and  will also remain permanently on our ‘Sponsor Appreciation Page’. Additionally, if the new index contains a specific entry you are looking for you will receive it free of charge.

We have a list of records ready and waiting to be indexed, but if you don’t see what you need get in touch and we’ll see if we can index the record you’re looking for.

30 minutes - £7

1 hour - £10

5 hours - £40

Most items held by the National Records of Scotland can be indexed, but there may be additional charges, get in touch and we’ll see what we can do. Search their catalogue to see what treasures they hold that we could help you access.

How much will be indexed?

How much can be indexed in a set period of time depends on the type of records involved. The ‘Notices of Admissions by the Superintendent of the Mental Institutions’ are one of the slowest records to index. A volume (one month) can take up to ten hours! Prison registers are among the quickest, with over 100 prisoner entries being possible in an hour. Once we know the record you are interested in, we can advise as to the amount we can likely index in the time available.

What to do next

Visit our ‘Sponsor an Index’ page on our website and choose how long you would like us to spend indexing the record of your choice. Add that time to the PayPal cart and proceed to the checkout. Once your payment is through I will email you and you can tell us what you would like us to index. You can find the list to pick from here.