·           Write down everything you already know about your family focusing on names, births, marriages and deaths and the places they occurred.

·           Talk to all your older relatives focusing on the same information as in Point 1 above and record any personal accounts of who your relatives were as people.

·           Check any family archives, such as birth, marriage, death certificates and wills as well as any letters, photographs and heirlooms and record all further information.

·           Draw up your first family tree either on a large sheet of paper or with the assistance of one of the wide variety of computer software packages.

·           Highlight what information needs to be verified from official records, for example unknown dates of birth, first names, and previous generations not traced so far. 

·           The details you seek are likely to come from the registers created when births, marriages and deaths were recorded.  

·           Such records were introduced in Scotland in 1855 and both indexes and actual certificates can be accessed at www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk although sometimes they are not as clear as you would wish.

·           Scottish census records from 1841 are another resource available today. Such personal data is not available until 100 years after it was obtained but information from 1841 to 1901 is now available either at www.ancestry.co.uk or   www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

·           If you wish to go back further than the mid 19th Century, when official records began, you will need to look at local Parish Church Registers.

·           Images from the parish registers in Scotland covering baptisms and marriages can be found at www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk and, although not complete, the largest collection of UK parish registers is located on  www.familysearch.org. Wills and testaments can be found also on www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

·           If you search on line be clear as to what information you seek and why. If you start by simply typing in an ancestor’s name you are likely to receive conflicting data which becomes meaningless without the appropriate context.

·           Initial research of the names of family homes, the occupation of a great grandfather and the area of Scotland from where your family originally came is essential if the internet is not to become confusing – see also Pts 1, 2 & 3 above.

Archives to visit include:

·           For birth, marriage and death certificates and census returns: General Register Office for Scotland, 3 West Register Street, Edinburgh EH1, Scotland (www.gro-scotland.gov.uk)

·           For historical documents to flesh out the basic facts: The National Archives of Scotland, 2 Princes Street, Edinburgh, EH1, Scotland.  (www.nas.gov.uk).

If you are just starting your research you should read some "how to" books or

guides.  Some internet sites such as scotlandspeople above also have guides on

researching.

STAY FOCUSSED AND GOOD SEARCHING!