How to Learn About Scottish Ancestors

Tracing your family genealogy can become a process that takes years. Finding small pieces of information can prove difficult and you can be sure that certain family members will have disappeared from the radar and will be difficult to track down. Nowadays, the internet provides a good search resource, but even with this, you may find tracing your family tree rather more complicated than you first hoped!

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

1. Talk to relatives and trace your family tree as far back as you can. Keep notes of all the information you accumulate as this will help you to create a first stage structure. Key things to ask are for first, middle, and last names; birth and death dates; and most importantly, birth and death locations.
2. Find out about the lives and careers of the earliest living ancestors you have records for. If they worked for a large company or public service, make sure you get in contact and see if they have kept any records for individuals such as your ancestors.
3. If your family members used to live in another part of your country, pay the place a visit. Take a look at local museums, libraries and points of interest. You may uncover a valuable piece of information where you least expect it!
4. Some local councils supply their records to historians. Go to local council in person, or check their website, to see if they have kept records.
5. Sort out items that used to belong to relatives and analyse them. Google objects to find out when and where they came from and try to build up a picture of the people you are trying to track down.

Online Research

6. Get access to online Indexed Census Records. Census Records are a good resource to locate general information about names, approximate birth years, and locations. Bear in mind that not all information may be accurate. Websites such as Ancestry.com may provide the information you are looking for.
7. Locate the person you are looking for by typing their information into the search box. You will find that not all names were recorded correctly by the census taker. If a person cannot be found on the index, try different spellings or try typing in only the last name. If a person has a unique first name and you have a general location during the census year, try using just the search boxes for that information.
8. Determine whether the person is your ancestor. You must do this by clicking on the "View Image" of the actual census record. When you recognize a name, take note of all the family members' names, approximate ages, birthplaces, and birthplaces of their parents. This information will help you gain more names to further extend your search and analyze if the person on the page is in your family.

Tips & Warnings

• To help keep record of your findings, family tree making software is available at most computer software stores.
• If you do decide to use a supplemental genealogy website, you may be able to find other people that are researching your family tree. The genealogy community is very helpful and will be interested in sharing and comparing information.
• For credibility, remember to document your sources of information.
• Researching your family tree is a long process. However, genealogists will tell you that it is a fantastic and thrilling hobby!