Scottish Genealogy

Tracing Your Ancestors

by Bruce Durie

THIS fully revised and updated fourth edition of Scottish Genealogy is a comprehensive guide to tracing your family history in Scotland. Written by one of the most authoritative figures on the subject, the work is based on established genealogical practice and is designed to exploit the rich resources that Scotland has to offer. After all, this country has possibly the most complete and best-kept set of records and other documents in the world. Addressing the questions of DNA, palaeography and the vexed issues of clans, families and tartans, and with a new chapter on DNA and genetic genealogy, Bruce Durie presents a fascinating insight into discovering Scottish ancestors. He covers both physical and electronic sources, explains how to get beyond the standard ‘births, marriages and deaths plus census’ research, and reminds the reader that there are more tools than just the internet. Comparisons are made with records in England, Ireland and elsewhere, and all of the 28 million people who claim Scottish ancestry worldwide will find something in this book to challenge and stimulate. Informative and entertaining, this new edition is the definitive reader-friendly guide to genealogy and family history in Scotland.

Genres: Scotland, Nonfiction, Reference, History

368 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Seth Taplin · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a real mixed bag. Some of the fundamentals of document research are fantastic. Other sections, like the one on genetic genealogy are a slow slog, especially if you’ve read any other books on the subject. Chapters on titles, heraldry, coinage, etc may be of interest to some, but if you’re just getting started on Scottish research, skip them for now. The large references on words, abbreviations, and so on will likely be worth tagging for later use.

Overall, it seems like it tries to be everything to everyone, and does it poorly. The good parts are still worth reading, but it feels like it could have been so much better if it hard a narrower focus.

[Lesley Gentry · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good starting point for researching Scottish Genealogy.

[Nancy Loe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Indispensable for advanced researchers.

[Peter]

😣

[Ed · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good starting place for Scottish Genealogy. I just finished a Irish genealogy book as well and the one thing I wish this book would have done is a have a county by county breakdown of what sources are available.

[Diane Hamel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great starting place. Best enjoyed with a wee dram.

[Tracy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book for family historians. Has list of occupations and abbreviations, Gaelic words in English, Scots Legal and Genealogical Glossary and Latin Glossary for Genealogy and History.