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Scotland Research Outline |
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Table of Contents
Introduction
Obtaining Copies Of Publications
Using This Outline
Scottish Search Strategies
Records At The Family History Library
The Family History Library Catalog
Records Selection Table: Scotland
Archives And Libraries
Biography
Cemeteries
Census
Church Directories
Church History
Church Records
Nonconformist Church Records
Civil Registration
General Historical Background
Information Recorded In Civil Registers
Finding Civil Registration Records
Indexes To Civil Registration Records
Court Records
Types Of Courts
Finding Court Records
For More Information
Directories
Emigration And Immigration
General Background
Emigration From Scotland
Records Of Scottish Emigrants In Their Destination Countries
Immigration Into Scotland
Gazetteers
Genealogy
Heraldry
Historical Geography
History
Land And Property
Language And Languages
Maps
Merchant Marine
Military Records
Army
Navy
Militia
Other Branches Of The Military
Handbooks On Military History And Military Records
Names, Personal
Newspapers
Nobility
Occupations
Periodicals
Probate Records
Determining The Court
Finding Probate Records
Indexes To Probate Records
Difficulties In Finding A Probate Record
Poorhouses, Poor Law, Etc.
Schools
Societies
Taxation
Other Records For Scotland
For Further Reading
Comments And Suggestions
LANGUAGE AND LANGUAGES Most records used in Scottish research are in English. They may, however, be difficult to read because of unique Scottish words, Latin words, or different handwriting styles.
Some words you will see in Scottish records are not used in English. The following list contains some of the more commonly used Scottish words:
Scottish
English
aith
oath
ane
one, an
bairne, bairn
child or baby
bairnis
baby’s
baptist
baptized
beand
being
befoir
before
befeir
before
burgh
borough, town
callit
called
compear
appeared
deponit
deponed (witness)
do
ditto
doits
money (coins)
fay, fayr
father
haid
had
ilk (“of that ilk”)
having a surname of the same place
kirk, kyrk
church
laird
title of landholder
lawful
legitimate offspring
miln, myln
mill
main bairn
boy child
maid bairn
girl child
mortcloth
cloth covering body during burial ceremony
moy, moyr
mother
natural
often refers to illegitimate off-spring but could be used for legitimate offspring as well
nevoy
nephew
new born
usually unbaptized child
pns
presence (of)
producit
produced
putit
presented
pwir
poor
quwh
(such as who)
quha
who
qlk, quilk, quhilk, quhilck
which
quairfoir
wherefore
raiefeit
ratified
relict
widow, widower
resile, resiled
withdrawn (such as an offer of marriage)
schew
show
seik
sick
siclike, sicklike, syklyk
likewise
stillborn
born and died same day
unquhile, umquil
late, former, deceased
varnit
warned
vide
see (such as, see page)
wreitting
writing
wmquil, umquil, wmquil, umquil
now deceased
To find definitions for other words that are unfamiliar to you, you can use one of several Scottish dictionaries:
Craigie, Sir William A. A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue, from the Twelfth Century to the End of the Seventeenth. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1937-. (FHL book 403.41 Sco87c.)
Graham, William. The Scots Word Book. 3rd rev. ed. Edinburgh: Ramsey Head Press, 1980. (FHL book 427.9411 G76s 1980.)
Jamieson, John. A Dictionary of the Scottish Language. Edinburgh: William Tait, 1866. (FHL book 427.941 J242j.)
Warrack, Alexander. A Scots Dialect Dictionary. London: W. & R. Chambers, 1911. (FHL book 427.9411 W25s.)
Robinson, Mairi, ed. The Concise Scots Dictionary. Oxford: Aberdeen University Press, 1985. (FHL book 427.9411 C748c.)
Some Scottish records may contain Latin. Knowing some Latin will help you read these records. For help with Latin words, see the Latin Genealogical Word List (34077).
Handwriting styles have changed over time. In early records, the handwriting is quite different from what it is today.
The best way to learn to read the old handwriting is to practice. The following strategies may help you:
For help in reading the old handwriting in Scottish records, use:
Simpson, Grant G. Scottish Handwriting 1150-1650. Edinburgh: Bratton Publishing Limited, 1973. (FHL book 941 G3s.)
Abbreviations are common in early handwriting. When recorders left letters out of a word, they indicated the fact by using various marks, such as a period, a colon, a tail on the last letter of the word, a curvy line over the word, or a raised letter at the end of the word. Abbreviations can be indicated in many ways, and it is important to study individual writers to see how they made abbreviations.
In Scottish church records, ministers often used only the first letter of the words, for example:
Dates, instead of being numerical, are sometimes referred to by the name of the feast day or by one of the terms listed below:
Term
Meaning
current, instant
Same month (Sometimes used to mean “within 30 days” or a month.)
proximo
next month
ultimo
last month
penultimate day, penult day
the day before the last day of the month
jajvii, jmjvii, mvii
indicates the century, such as 1700s
eodem tempore, eod tempore
at the same time (the same date)
eodem die, eod die, E.D.
the same day
Gods die
God’s day, the Sabbath
Feb 1st Sabbath
exact day of month not stated
Feb 2nd Sabbath
event took place in Feb on the 1st, 2nd, or(whatever) Sabbath in the month
Maps can help you locate where your ancestors lived. There are many types of maps, and each can help you in a different way. Maps may describe economic growth and development, boundaries, migration and settlement patterns, locations of clans and families, military campaigns, transportation development, highways, rivers, town size, and effects of plagues.
There are many types of maps, such as historical, parish, county, topographical, enclosure, civil district, clan and family, and church diocesan maps.
Maps are published separately or in bound collections, called atlases. You may find maps in gazetteers, guidebooks, local histories, directories, or historical and social texts.
Since 1800, the Ordnance Survey You will often need minute detail to find the location of an ancestor’s home. City and street maps are helpful when researching in large cities. A partial list of such maps available at the Family History Library is:
Rural and City Maps. Typescript. Salt Lake City: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1985. (FHL book 942 E73c.)
Use maps carefully because:
To do successful research in Scottish records, you must identify where your ancestor lived. Because many localities have the same name, you may need some more information before you can find the correct area on a map. Search gazetteers, histories, family records, and other sources to learn all you can about the area, including the following information:
This information will help you distinguish between places of the same name and help you locate the correct place on a map. See the “Gazetteers” section for more information.
Historical societies, county record offices, and public and university libraries all have collections of maps. The major collection for Scotland is at the National Library of Scotland.
The Family History Library has a good collection of Scottish maps and atlases. To find call numbers, look in the Locality Search under:
Civil Parishes and Counties of North East Scotland. [Scotland]: Aberdeen and North East Scotland Family History Society, [198-]. (FHL book 941 E7c.)
National Map Series, Scale 1:100,000. Var. eds. Edinburgh: John Bartholomew & Son, 1978-81. (FHL book 942 E7bm.) These are detailed, modern sheet maps, roughly one-mile-to-the-inch. Also in a bound atlas.
Parish Maps of Scotland. Salt Lake City: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1991. (FHL book 941 E7ch 1991.)
The Phillimore Atlas and Index of Parish Registers. 2nd ed.Chichester, England: Phillimore & Co. Ltd., 1995. (FHL book 942 E7pa 1995.)
Other useful publications on maps include:
Harley, J.B. Ordnance Survey Maps: A Descriptive Manual. Southampton: Ordnance Survey, 1975. (FHL book 942 E3osa.) This explains the history of and detail on Ordnance Survey maps.
Civil Parish Map Index. Edinburgh: General Register Office for Scotland, [1985?]. (FHL book 941 B4sg no. 1, 1987.)
Wilkes, Margaret. The Scot and His Maps. Edinburgh: Scottish Library Association, 1991. (FHL book 941 E7wm.) This is a good overview of the history of Scottish maps and mapmaking.
Contact your local bookstore to order maps of Scotland, or you may purchase maps by writing to either of the two following places:
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Unique Scottish Words
Latin
Handwriting
Abbreviations
L.S. = lawful son
Instead of writing the words father, mother, witness, son, or daughter, the minister may have used f, m, w, s, or other letters.
L.D. = lawful daughter
N.S. = natural son
N.D. = natural daughter
ch. = child
Ch. N. = child named
N. = named
Dates
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MAPS
has been the major source of topographical maps. English, Welsh, Scottish, and Irish maps are available in one-inch-to-the-mile, six-inches-to-the-mile, and twenty-five-inches-to-the-mile, and even ten-feet-to-the-mile. The series has been revised and published at different dates.
Using Maps
Finding the Specific Place on the Map
Finding Maps and Atlases
SCOTLAND - MAPSSCOTLAND, [COUNTY] - MAPSSCOTLAND, [COUNTY], [CITY] - MAPSGREAT BRITAIN - MAPS
Some helpful maps at the Family History Library are:
Ordnance Survey Office
Department LM
Romsey Road
Southampton, SO9 4DH
England
John Bartholomew & Sons, Ltd.
12 Duncan Street
Edinburgh, EH9 1TA
Scotland
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Version of Data: 6/9/2001]