Scottish Genealogy

Tracing Your Ancestors

by Bruce Durie

Written by an authority on the subject and based on established genealogical practice, it is designed to exploit the rich resources that Scotland, the country with possibly the most complete and best-kept set of records and other documents in the world, has to offer. Using worked examples, and addressing the questions of DNA, paleography and the vexed issues of Clans, Families and tartans, Bruce Durie covers both physical and electronic sources, and explains how to get beyond the standard "births, marriages and deaths plus census" research, reminding the reader that there are more routes to follow than just the internet, and that not everything written down is correct! Comparisons are made with records in England, Ireland and elsewhere, and all of the 28 million people throughout the world who claim Scottish ancestry will find something in this book to help, challenge and stimulate. Informative and entertaining, this is the definitive reader-friendly guide to genealogy and family history in Scotland.

Genres: Scotland, Nonfiction, Reference, History

636 pages, Kindle Edition

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.