Tracing Your Scottish Family History, and What DNA Tests Really Tell You
Step-by-step Scottish records from ScotlandsPeople, plus an honest look at what DNA tests can and can’t tell you.
40 pages A4 · phone edition 66 pages
On sale this week The full guide goes on sale here this week, £2.22 for its first week, then £3.49.
Read a previewRead a preview
Read the first four pages right here (of 40). Swipe to turn, tap a page to see it bigger.
The full guide goes on sale this week.
About this guide
Scotland’s civil registers (from 1855) and older records are among the world’s best — and most are searchable online. Step-by-step from what you already know to records over 400 years old, plus how DNA tests fit (and don’t fit) a real family tree.
More about this guide
It shows you how to use ScotlandsPeople, then works through births, marriages and deaths from 1855, census returns from 1841 to 1921, Old Parish Registers back to 1553, and wills, valuation rolls and more. There are tips for getting past brick walls, reading old handwriting, finding Scots who left, and getting help in person.
The DNA chapters explain what tests can really tell you, what ethnicity estimates like “23% Viking” mean, and how to protect your DNA and handle surprises. A workbook, a worked example of following one family back, and a 12-week starter plan help you begin.
What’s inside
- Why Scotland is a great place to start
- Start with what you know
- Using ScotlandsPeople
- Births, marriages and deaths (1855 onwards)
- Census returns, 1841 to 1921
- Old Parish Registers, 1553 to 1854
- Wills, valuation rolls and more
- Getting past brick walls
- Getting help in person
- What DNA tests can really tell you
- “You’re 23% Viking”: ethnicity estimates explained
- Protecting your DNA, and handling surprises
- Family history myths
- Your family history workbook
- Writing up your family story
- Following one family back
- Reading old handwriting and old words
- Finding Scots who left
- A 12-week starter plan
General information only. DNA tests and family history can bring surprises; get support if you need it.
