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Heritage - Family History
First Steps
Would you like to find out more about your Scottish ancestors, where,
when and how they lived, but have no idea where to begin? We hope this
advice and information will help you to enjoy this fast-growing and increasingly
popular hobby. Happy hunting!
Family History Begins At Home
The golden rule in family history research is to work backwards from what
you already know or can find out. Therefore, family history truly does
begin at home. You may be surprised at how much you already know or have
access to within your own extended family. It is not necessary to have
a lot of detail to start with but you should list whatever information
is readily available and seek out further details from living relatives.
You begin by recording your own details - date and place of birth, marriage,
spouse, children - then the details of parents, grandparents and so on
as you recall them. One of the best sources of information to help you
confirm details are the post-1855 birth, death and marriage (BDM) records,
as they contain a wealth of information including full names, ages, addresses,
occupations, maiden names etc. Access to (and copies of) BDM records for
events occurring in East Ayrshire are available through the East
Ayrshire Registration Service
Living Relatives and Anecdotal Evidence
Relatives, especially elderly ones, can help to fill in the gaps. Most
elderly people are delighted if someone shows an interest in the past,
but some subjects (e.g. illegitimacy) may still cause anxiety. There may
be lots of anecdotes but these may not be entirely accurate and everything
should be noted for later verification.
Documents & photographs
Most families can lay their hands on old documents or photographs, which
can be of use to the family historian. Examples of items you might find
within the extended family are:-
BDM certificates, obituaries/intimations,
family bibles, school leaving certificates, apprenticeship papers, graduation
certificates/awards, military records, business papers, immigration papers,
diaries, address books, letters, postcards, newspaper cuttings, memoirs.
Old photographs may jog the memory of an elderly relative, and it is important
to ask them to identify as many faces as possible, since there may be
no one else who is able to do so. Research tip - it is important to record
the details given to you about the photograph for future generations -
the date, names, places, and the events depicted (preferably keeping the
details with the photograph). Any information that can be gleaned within
the family can help to establish a foundation on which to build your family
history.
Read Up on Family History, Join a Society
Libraries and bookshops stock a range of material on family history. Look
for books that concentrate on sources for Scottish research. Why not join
the local family history society? The local family History Society is
the East
Ayrshire Family History Society
Success or failure
How successful you are in researching your family is determined by a number
of factors, most of which are outwith your control - whether records survived,
common Christian names and surnames, the mobility of your family, social
status, the literacy levels, transcription errors. However, success can
also depend on your own tenacity, not taking anything for granted, being
methodical, approaching a problem from more than one angle and corroborating
any evidence you may find.
Older records/archives
Older records such as wills and land records are not held within East
Ayrshire. They can be located by contacting the following agency :-
National Archives for Scotland
P.O. Box 36
HM Register House
Princes Street
Edinburgh
EH1 3YY
Telephone 0131 556 6585
Fax 0131 557 9569
Scottish wills and testaments from the 1500s-1875 are now available
over the Internet. The site is at www.scottishdocuments.com
but can also be accessed through the Scottish
Archive Network. The website allows checks on named individuals or
particular surnames and includes brief details of each person allowing
identification of the exact wills which may be of interest. The site also
gives advice on older handwriting and terminology and highlights wills
of particular periods and of famous Scots. Copies of wills can be ordered
and there will be a cost for this.
In conclusion anything you can glean about your family, especially if
it contains names and dates, will be useful. You should write everything
down, even if you have to check facts later. Obviously anything you learn
about your ancestors will be of interest to you, but you may need correct
names, addresses, dates and occupations to make full use of the resources
held within East Ayrshire
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