Bring a whole new perspective to your family history research by visiting the village that your ancestors called home. By Rachel Bellerby of Family Tree magazine.

Imagine walking down the streets your ancestors once trod, stepping into the church where they celebrated baptisms and weddings, and maybe even finding the old family home. All of these could be a reality when you visit the village where your ancestor once lived.

Before your visit

If your research has led you to identify your ancestor’s home village, consider taking a trip to that location – both to discover more about your ancestor, and for the sheer pleasure of seeing the places that would have been so familiar to them.

To make the most of your visit, see what you can find discover before your trip. For example, what old buildings which your ancestor might have known (such as a village church, pub or schoolhouse) are still in existence? If the street where your ancestor lived no longer seems to exist, could it simply have changed its name over the years? Compare a historic and a modern map to see what you can discover. Even if you can’t find the actual house or street, there are likely to be some landmark buildings still in existence close by, such as the village shop, market cross or war memorial.

You could also try to get an idea of how the village would have looked when your ancestor lived there. Old paintings or postcards can show local landmarks such as the high street, village church, etc, that bygone villagers would have known – Francis Frith has a great selection: www.francisfrith.com. Also check whether there are any trade directories in existence for the years your ancestor was there (local history libraries usually have copies) to see what businesses, schools and churches served the local community; perhaps you might even be able to identify where your ancestor worked if you’ve found his or her occupation on the census.

Research notes

Next, prepare a working file for use during your trip. This could include a copy of your family tree;  notes on the relevant ancestor(s) such as date of birth, street where they lived etc; information on street names or landmarks you’re hoping to see; the dates your ancestor was resident in the village and notes on any questions you’re hoping to answer during your visit.

You could also find out the location of the nearest museums, archives and local history libraries which could form part of your research trip. Whilst you’re in the area you could take the opportunity to discover resources which aren’t available to you online. Are any of the older parish records for the village still kept at the church? If so, make contact with the minister and request an appointment to explore these.

Try an online search to find out whether the village has a local history group or civic society and if so, try e-mailing a request for information about the ancestor(s) in question, explaining that you’ll be visiting the area and hope to find out more.

In the same vein, you could find out whether there are any history talks or meetings that you could attend whilst you’re in the area; perhaps a nearby family history society or local history group is holding a meeting which would coincide with your visit, giving you the chance not only to enjoy the talk but also the opportunity to meet local family history enthusiasts.

Making the most of your trip

Once you’re in the village, look out for blue plaques and information boards and talk to locals in the village shops and pub. Nearby museums may have displays of artefacts relating to local crafts and industries, and maybe even a library or photo collection. Local bookshops and museums often stock history books about the surrounding area that are difficult to find elsewhere.

Remember that some of the buildings your ancestors would have known may not now be fulfilling their original use. For example, the schoolhouse may now be a café, or the village hall could be the office of a small business. Your earlier background research using old photos and maps should help you here, as will a careful look at any buildings which appear to be from the period your ancestor was in the area.

If you’re staying in a family-run bed & breakfast or hotel, remember that your hosts will most likely have an in-depth knowledge of the area and its local families and may well point you in the direction of more information.

And most of all, enjoy your time in your ancestral home village – take in the atmosphere, the views, the buildings around you… you’re standing in the place your ancestors did, looking at the scenery they saw and the buildings that they passed on their way to work or school. What a special experience.

Top tips

• Do your homework beforehand to maximise your chances of discovering information during your visit;
• Take photos of relevant buildings for your research file;
• Photograph information boards in the village for later use;
• Explore the surrounding towns and hamlets – your ancestor may have worked in these, or visited for market day, local festivals. etc.

For more tips on making the most of your family history research, visit Family Tree’s website.

(image copyright DS Pugh)
 
 
 

Find out more about the food that our ancestors would have enjoyed with Family Tree magazine’s guide to using cookery books in family history.

Think back over the decades and, chances are, food and cooking play a big part in your memories. Events such as weddings, christenings and even a humble tea around the kitchen table are part of the fabric of family life. Things were no different for our ancestors, wherever they lived and whatever their circumstances, and you can bring your research to life by finding out more about the foods that your ancestors would have eaten and the recipes they might have used.

Discovering old recipes, and even perhaps cooking them in the modern day is a great way to find out about traditions, regional food variations and what sort of food was available in a particular era. Events such as rationing, the changing seasons and even the weather could affect what food was available; something which is easy to forget in this age of 24-hour supermarkets and international cuisine.

How to get started

The ideal find for family historians is an heirloom hand-written recipe book containing recipes collected by family members over the years. However, for those of us not lucky enough to possess such a treasure, there are plenty of other options.

If you own old commercially produced recipe books previously used by an older family member, be sure to check through the pages carefully, as some cooks wrote notes beside well-loved recipes, perhaps suggesting alternative ingredients or even noting events at which a particular recipe was used.

Interpreting recipe books

Don’t worry if your quest for personal family recipes isn’t as fruitful as you hoped; old recipe books provide plenty of information on what our ancestors would have been cooking and baking. Two long-lived and widely-read such volumes are Mrs Beeton’s Book of Household Management and The Be-Ro Book, both of which have been reprinted dozens of times over the decades.

Each of these books, which can be obtained from online booksellers or second-hand bookshops, contains family recipes using ingredients which were in widespread use at the time of publication. The cooking methods, preparation details and notes on how to serve the food are a fascinating glimpse into kitchen life in years gone by.

Online recipes

The internet is a great source of old family recipes, with thousands of enthusiasts sharing their recipes and tips. You could search for recipes that you remember from your own childhood, or dishes which feature in family folklore. Even if you have just a rough idea of what ingredients would have been included, you might strike lucky and find the dish online.

Look for websites with connections to the regions where your ancestors lived; there are hundreds of American sites featuring international recipes from the homeland of those who emigrated to the US and wanted to keep a taste of home.

Enjoy taking a trip into your family’s culinary past and be sure to keep your own favourite recipes for future generations to enjoy.

Historic recipe websites

• Pinterest - Heirloom recipes and ideas for organising your old recipes
• Recipes Past and Present – A community website with recipes from Victorian times to the 1970s
• Old and Vintage Cook Books – Over 4,000 old cookbooks for sale

Find out more about the lives and times of your ancestors in every issue of Family Tree magazine.

(Image © Tuck DB Postcards)
 

During our live Twitter chat last week, Fergus Soucek-Smith of 'Old Scottish' and #AncestryHour's righthand man in Edinburgh, posted a link to one of his many fantastic blogs.  This particular article is jam-packed with publications which are all available online and is just too good for researchers of Scottish history to miss!  In case you are one of them, here it is again.  Many thanks Fergus for sharing such a great resource!

We've written before about the National Library of Scotland's (NLS) massive ongoing digitisation project - the NLS plans to digitise literally millions of items from their collection, and make them available online for free. Well as part of that project, earlier this week they launched their digital versions of the publications of the Scottish History Society. This is great news, unless, like me, you have most of these in the original print form, in which case your book collection has just gone down in value!

The Scottish History Society (SHS) was founded in 1886 with the aim of publishing original sources of Scottish history. It forms part of a rich tradition of publishing clubs in Scotland (and we will be writing about some of the others in another post in the near future), and has become one of the longest-running and most successful of them. Over the last 130 years, the SHS has published over 170 books, covering a very wide range of historical topics. The NLS has now put the complete run on its website. We've added a list of all of the titles available from the SHS below, but we thought we'd highlight some of our favourites.

Arthur Mitchell's monumental work "Contribution to the bibliography of Scottish topography" is a superb reference work. It was published in two volumes: the first is arranged geographically (by county, then by parish), while the second is arranged by subject area. The books list many thousands of articles, books, pamphlets and chapters, and is indispensable for local historians, and extremely useful for family historians as well. Our copy was so heavily used I had to send it to my bookbinder for repairs!

There are two particularly useful titles for those interested in Jacobite history: List of persons concerned in the rebellion, published in 1890, and Prisoners of the '45, published in three volumes in 1928-1929, edited by Sir Bruce Gordon Seton and Jean Gordon Arnot. While certainly not comprehensive, and in many ways superseded by more recent research, they are both very useful starting points.

An intriguing, explicitly genealogical title, albeit one that is not always entirely reliable, is Genealogical collections concerning families in Scotland, made by Walter Macfarlane, 1750-1751. Families covered by this volume include Balfour, Bethune, Munro, Moncrief, Morton of Cambo, Kinnaird of that Ilk and Inchture, Mackenzie, Grant, Maclean, Mackintosh, Leslie, Bisset, Fraser of Lovat, Oliphant, Maule, Lawmond [Lamond], Carnegy, Martine, Schevez, Forbes, Strang, Knox, Spang, Douglas, Robertson of Strowan, Fraser of Dores, Fullarton, Urquhart, Gordon, Rose of Kilravock, Stirling and Kinninmond of that Ilk. As ever with printed genealogies, any information should be treated with a great deal of caution.

As graduates of the University of St Andrews, we are both interested in the history of Scotland's oldest university, and of the town. There are no fewer than three relevant titles in this collection: Rentale Sancti Andree, being the chamberlain and granitar accounts of the archbishopric in the time of Cardinal Betoun, 1538-1546, Early records of the University of St. Andrews The graduation roll, 1413 to 1579, and the matriculation roll, 1473 to 1579, and ​Acta Facultatis Artium Universitatis Sanctiandree, 1413-1588. The first of these is a very useful source for 16th century Fife, while the latter two are among the earliest surviving education records in Scotland.

Another source for sixteenth-century Fife is the Sheriff Court Book of Fife, 1515-1522. This excellent volume includes a full index of people and places. It's worth noting that much of Kinross was at this time under the jurisdiction of the Sheriff of Fife.

There are a number of other early books of court records from around Scotland:

• Court book of the Barony of Urie in Kincardineshire, 1604-1747
• Records of the Proceedings of the Justiciary Court Edinburgh, 1661-1678
• Records of the Baron court of Stitchill 1655-1807
• Minutes of the justices of the peace for Lanarkshire, 1707-1723
• Court book of the Barony of Carnwath, 1523-1542
• Court book of the Burgh of Kirkintilloch 1658-1694
• Court books of Orkney and Shetland 1614-1615

These are interesting not just for their geographical range, but also for the different types of court they cover. Each volume includes a detailed index, which is obviously very useful.

There are transcriptions and extracts from early church records in Scotland:

• Records of the Presbyteries of Inverness and Dingwall, 1643-1688
• Rentale Dunkeldense, Being accounts of the bishopric, A.D. 1505-1517, with Mylin's 'Lives of the Bishops', A.D. 1483-1517
• Stirling Presbytery records 1581-1587
• Perth Kirk Session books, 1577-1590
• Register of the minister, elders and deacons of the Christian congregation of St. Andrews comprising the proceedings of the Kirk Session and of the Court of the Superintendent of Fife Fothrik and Strathearn, 1559-1600
• Minutes of the Synod of Argyll, 1639-1651 (1652-1661)

Another group of early church records concern Scotland's relations with the Catholic Church and the Vatican. These include some of the earliest surviving references to one of my own families (Carstairs of Fife):

• Calendar of Scottish supplications to Rome, 1428-1432
• Calendar of Papal letters to Scotland of Clement VII of Avignon, 1378-1394
• Calendar of Papal letters to Scotland of Benedict XIII of Avignon, 1394-1419
• Calendar of Scottish supplications to Rome, 1418-1422 (and 1423-1438)

There are a number of volumes relating to estates, including estate surveys:

• Survey of Lochtayside, 1769 Made by John Farquharson and John McArthur
• John Home's survey of Assynt
• Argyll Estate instructions: Mull, Morvern, Tiree 1771-1805

Several other collections of local records are worth mentioning:

• Ayr Burgh accounts, 1534-1624
• Early records of the Burgh of Aberdeen 1317, 1398-1407
• Aberdeen Guild Court records 1437-1468
• Selections from the records of the regality of Melrose, 1605-1661 (1662-1676, 1547-1706)
• Records of the Earldom of Orkney, 1299-1614

Scotland has a long tradition of links to Poland, stretching back hundreds of years. As well as trade, many thousands of Scots settled, particularly in northern Poland. In more recent times, tens of thousands of Poles have moved to Scotland (and indeed I myself lived in southern Poland for a while in the early 1990s). In that context, Papers relating to the Scots in Poland 1576-1793 is a very useful starting point. Research in this area continues to the present day by among others Dr David Worthington of the University of the Highlands and Islands.

The final volume I want to mention is an unusual one. Alexander Webster was a Church of Scotland, born in Edinburgh, although his father was a Covenanting minister from Fife. In 1742, he proposed a pensions scheme for widows of Church of Scotland ministers which, with some adaptations, was eventually adopted, and was one of the pioneering works in actuarial studies. His work drew the attention of the government, which in 1755 commissioned him to produce data for the first population census of Scotland. Unlike later censuses, Webster's work did not include names, but was just a count of the population in each parish. It includes the number of Catholics, the number of Protestants, and the number of "fighting men" in each parish. Webster's work is reproduced, together with population counts for subsequent censuses, in Scottish population statistics. Although not very useful for genealogists, it does provide the earliest population count for most of the parishes in Scotland, and is therefore very useful for historical demographers.


​Scottish History Society Publications

Tours in Scotland 1747, 1750, 1760
By Richard Pococke ... From the original MS and drawings in the British Museum. edited with a biographical sketch of the author by Daniel William Kemp. [With a portrait.]
Published 1887

Diary and general expenditure book of William Cunningham of Craigends ... kept chiefly from 1673 to 1680
edited from the original manuscript by ... James Dodds.
Published 1887

Grameid: an heroic poem descriptive of the campaign of Viscount Dundee in 1689, and other pieces
By James Philip ... edited ... with translation, introduction and notes by ... Alexander D. Murdoch.
Published 1888

Diary of the Reverend John Mill, minister of the parishes of Dunrossness Sandwick and Cunningsburgh in Shetland, 1740-1803. With selections from local records and original documents relating to the district
edited, with introduction and notes by Gilbert Goudie. [With illustrations and a map.]
Published 1889

Narrative of Mr. James Nimmo, written for his own satisfaction to keep in some remembrance the Lord's way, dealing and kindness towards him, 1654-1709
edited from the original manuscript with introduction and notes by W.G. Scott-Moncrieff. [With a genealogical table.]
Published 1889

List of persons concerned in the rebellion, transmitted to the Commissioners of Excise by the several supervisors in Scotland in obedience to a general letter of the 7th May 1746, and a supplementary list with evidences to prove the same
With a preface by the Earl of Rosebery and annotations by ... Walter Macleod.
Published 1890

Book of record - a diary written by Patrick, First Earl of Strathmore, and other documents relating to Glamis Castle, 1684-1689
edited from the original MSS. at Glamis, with introduction and notes by A.H. Millar. [With plates, including a portrait.]
Published 1890

History of Greater Britain, as well England as Scotland
Compiled ... by John Major ... Translated from the original Latin and edited with notes by Archibald Constable; to which is prefixed a life of the author by Aeneas J.G. Mackay.
Published 1892

Court book of the Barony of Urie in Kincardineshire, 1604-1747
edited from the original manuscript, with notes and introduction, by ... Douglas Gordon Barron. [With a plate and a map.]
Published 1892

Memoirs of the life of Sir John Clerk of Penicuik, baronet, Baron of the Exchequer Extracted by himself from his own journals 1676-1755
edited from the manuscript in Penicuik House with an introduction and notes by John M. Gray. [With plates, including portraits.]
Published 1892

Journal of the Hon. John Erskine of Carnock, 1683-1687
edited from the original manuscript, with introduction and notes, by ... Walter Macleod. [With a portrait.]
Published 1893

Miscellany of the Scottish History Society (First volume)
Contents: The library of James VI. In the hand of Peter Young, his tutor, 1573-1583 / G.F. Warner - Documents illustrating Catholic policy in the reign of James VI., 1596-1598 / Thomas Graves Law - Twenty-four letters of Sir Thomas Hope, ... 1627-1646 / Robert Paul - Civil war papers, 1643-1650 / H.F. Morland Simpson - Thirty-four letters written to James Sharp, ... 1660-1677 / John Dowden - The diary of George Turnbull, minister of Alloa and Tyninghame, 1657-1704 / Robert Paul - The Masterton papers, 1660-1719 / V.A. Noel Paton - Accompt of expenses in Edinburgh by Alexander Rose of Kilravock, 1715 / A.H. Millar - Papers about the Rebellions of 1715 and 1745 / Henry Paton - General index - Index to the library of James VI.
Published 1893

Account book of Sir John Foulis of Ravelston, 1671-1707
edited from the original manuscript, with introduction and glossary, by ... A.W. Cornelius Hallen.
Published 1894

Letters and papers illustrating the relations between Charles the Second and Scotland in 1650
edited, with notes and introduction, by Samuel Rawson Gardiner. Spine title: Charles II and Scotland in 1650. 16 pages immediately following text contain List of members of the Scottish History Society, July 1894. Last 16 pages contain Report of the Seventh Annual Meeting of the Scottish History Society.
Published 1894

Scotland and the commonwealth. Letters and papers relating to the military government of Scotland, from August 1651 to December 1653
edited, with introduction and notes, by C.H. Firth.
Published 1895

Jacobite attempt of 1719 Letters of James Butler, second Duke of Ormonde, relating to Cardinal Alberoni's project for the invasion of Great Britain on behalf of the Stuarts
edited, with an introduction, notes and an appendix of original documents, by William Kirk Dickson. [With a portrait.]
Published 1895

Records of the Presbyteries of Inverness and Dingwall, 1643-1688
edited, with an introduction, from the original manuscript, by William Mackay. [With a facsimile.]
Published 1896

Diary of Sir Archibald Johnston, Lord Wariston, 1639
Editor: Paul, George Morison, 1839-1926
Contents: The preservation of the Honours of Scotland, 1651-52; Lord Mar's legacies, 1722-27; Letters concerning Highland affairs in the 18th century, by Mrs. Grant of Laggan. Wariston's diary edited by George Morison Paul.
Published 1896

Itinerary of Prince Charles Edward Stuart from his landing in Scotland, July 1745, to his departure in September 1746
Compiled from The Lyon in mourning [by Robert Forbes], supplemented and corrected from other contemporary sources by Walter Biggar Blaikie. Map in pocket: "A map to illustrate the movements of Prince Charles Edward Stuart ..."
Published 1897

Memorials of John Murray of Broughton, sometime secretary to Prince Charles Edward, 1740-1747
edited, with an introduction, notes and an appendix of original documents, by Robert Fitzroy Bell. [With plates, including portraits and a facsimile.]
Published 1898

Compt Buik of David Wedderburne, merchant of Dundee, 1587-1630. Together with the shipping lists of Dundee, 1580-1618
edited from the original manuscripts, with introduction and notes, by A.H. Millar. [With genealogical tables.]
Published 1898

Scotland and the protectorate. Letters and papers relating to the military government of Scotland from January, 1654 to June, 1659
edited, with introduction and notes, by C.H. Firth. [With a map and plans.]
Published 1899

Genealogical collections concerning families in Scotland, made by Walter Macfarlane, 1750-1751
edited from the original manuscripts in the Advocates' Library, by James Toshach Clark.
Published 1900

Journals of Sir John Lauder, Lord Fountainhall, with his observations on public affairs and other memoranda, 1665-1676
edited with introduction and notes by Donald Crawford. [With portraits.]
Published 1900

Papers Illustrating the History of the Scots Brigade in the service of the United Netherlands, 1572-1782
Extracted by permission from the Government Archives at The Hague, and edited by James Ferguson
Contents: v. 1. The war of independence, 1572-1609. The time of the twelve years' truce, 1609-1621. The thirty years' war, 1621-1648. The age of William of Orange and the British revolution, 1649-1697.-v. 2. The war of the Spanish succession, 1698-1712. The period of peace, 1713-1742. The war of the Austrian succession, 1742-1749. The last days of the Brigade, 1750-1782.-v. 3. The Rotterdam papers, 1709-82. The remembrance: a metrical account of the war in Flanders, 1701-12, by John Scot, soldier.
Published 1901

Papal negotiations with Mary Queen of Scots during her reign in Scotland, 1561-1567
edited from the original documents in the Vatican archives and elsewhere / by John Hungerford Pollen.
Published 1901

Diary of Andrew Hay of Craignethan 1659-1660
edited, with introduction and notes, by Alexander George Reid.
Published 1901

Cromwellian union Papers relating to the negotiations for an incorporating union between England and Scotland, 1651-1652, with an appendix of papers relating to the negotiations in 1670
edited, with introduction and notes, by C. Sanford Terry.
Published 1902

Loyall dissuasive And other papers concerning the affairs of Clan Chattan by Sir Æneas Macpherson, knight of Invereshie, 1691-1705
edited, with notes and introduction, from the originals at Cluny castle, by Alexander D. Murdoch.
Published 1902

Chartulary of the Abbey of Lindores, 1195-1479
edited from the original manuscript ... with translation and abstracts of the charters, illustrative notes and appendices by John Dowden. Documents in Latin with English translation. The introduction contains a history of the abbey, and a biography of the founder, David, earl of Huntingdon.
Published 1903

Letter from Mary Queen of Scots to the Duke of Guise, January 1562 Reproduced in facsimile from the original manuscript in the possession of the late John Scott, of Halkshill, Esq., C.B.
edited, with translation, historical introduction and appendix of original documents, by John Hungerford Pollen.
Published 1904

Miscellany of the Scottish History Society (Second volume)
Editor: Firth, C. H. (Charles Harding), 1857-1936
Contents: The Scottish king's household and other fragments from a 14th century manuscript / Mary Bateson - The Scottish nation in the University of Orleans, 1336-1538 / John Kirkpatrick - Muster-roll of the French garrison at Dunbar, 1553 / Robert S. Rait - The antiquity of the Christian religion among the Scots, 1594 / Henry D.G. Law - The apology for William Maitland of Lethington, 1610 / Andrew Lang - Some letters and correspondence of George Graeme / L.G. Graeme - A Scottish journie, being an account in verse of a tour from Edinburgh to Glasgow in 1641, by P.J. / C.H. Firth - Narratives illustrating the Duke of Hamilton's expedition to England in 1648 / C.H. Firth - Certain papers of Robert Burnet ... Gilbert Burnet ... and Robert Leighton / H.C. Foxcroft - Letters and documents relating to Robert Erskine, physician to Peter the Great, 1677-1720 / Robert Paul - The will of Charlotte Stuart, Duchess of Albany, 1789 / Francis Steuart - Index.
Published 1904

Letters of John Cockburn of Ormistoun to his gardener 1727-1744
edited, with introduction and notes, by James Colville.
Published 1904

Records of a Scottish cloth manufactory at New Mills, Haddingtonshire, 1681-1703
edited from the original manuscripts, with introduction and notes, by W. R. Scott.
Published 1905

Chronicles of the Frasers The Wardlaw manuscript entitled 'Polichronicon seu Policratica temporum, or, the true genealogy of the Frasers', 916-1674 / by James Fraser
edited from the original manuscript with notes and introduction, by William Mackay.
Published 1905

Records of the Proceedings of the Justiciary Court Edinburgh, 1661-1678
edited, with introduction and notes from a ms. In the possession of John W. Weston, esq., by W.G. Scott-Moncrieff and with additional notes by the owner of the manuscript.
Published 1905

Records of the Baron court of Stitchill 1655-1807
transcribed by George Gunn ; edited by Clement B. Gunn. "Introduction" by George Gunn: p. ix-xxxix.
Published 1905

Statutes of the Scottish Church, 1225-1559 Being a translation of Concilia Scotiae: Ecclesiae Scoticanae statuta tam provincialia quam synodalia quae supersunt.
With introduction and notes by David Patrick.
Published 1907

Ochtertyre House booke of accomps, 1737-1739
edited with introduction and a glossary by James Colville. [With a genealogical table.]
Published 1907

Charters, bulls and other documents relating to the Abbey of Inchaffray. Chiefly from the originals in the charter chest of the Earl of Kinnoull
edited by William Alexander Lindsay ... John Dowden ... John Maitland Thomson ... With map and facsimiles.
Published 1908

Selection of Scottish forfeited estates papers. 1715; 1745
edited from the original documents, with introduction and appendices, by A.H. Millar.
Published 1909

De Unione Regnorum Britanniae Tractatus
By Sir Thomas Craig. edited from the manuscript in the Advocates' Library, with a translation and notes by C. Sanford Terry.
Published 1909

Household book of Lady Grisell Baillie 1692-1733
edited, with notes and introduction, by Robert Scott-Moncrieff.
Published 1911

Seafield correspondence from 1685 to 1708
edited, with introduction and annotations, by James Grant.
Published 1912

Rentale Sancti Andree, being the chamberlain and granitar accounts of the archbishopric in the time of Cardinal Betoun, 1538-1546
Translated and edited by Robert Kerr Hannay. [With a facsimile.]
Published 1913

Records of the Earldom of Orkney, 1299-1614
edited with introduction and notes by J. Storer Clouston.
Contents: Early records - Decrees, and other records, of the courts - Dispositions of land in Orkney - Dispositions of tenements in Kirkwall - A few miscellaneous documents.
Published 1914

Letter-book of Bailie John Steuart of Inverness 1715-1752
edited by William Mackay.
Published 1915

Rentale Dunkeldense Being accounts of the bishopric, A.D. 1505-1517, with Mylin's 'Lives of the Bishops', A.D. 1483-1517.
Translated and edited by Robert Kerr Hannay. And a note on the cathedral church by F.C. Eeles.
Published 1915

Letters relating to Scotland in the reign of Queen Anne
By James Ogilvy, First Earl of Seafield, and others. edited by P. Hume Brown.
Published 1915

Papers relating to the Scots in Poland 1576-1793
edited with an introduction by A. Francis Steuart. A collection made by and in part edited by Miss Beatrice Baskerville; translations from Latin by J. Mackay Thomson - Preface.
Published 1915

Origins of the 'Forty-five And other papers relating to that rising
edited by Walter Biggar Blaikie.
Published 1916

Contribution to the bibliography of Scottish topography
By Sir Arthur Mitchell and C.G. Cash. Edinburgh : Printed by T. and A. Constable for the Scottish History Society, 1917. 2 volumes: 2nd series, volumes 14 and 15.
Published 1917

Papers relating to the Army of the Solemn League and Covenant, 1643-1647
edited with an introduction by Charles Sanford Terry.
Published 1917

Miscellany of the Scottish History Society
Contents: Dundee court-martial records, 1651 / edited by Godfrey Davies - The bishop of Galloway's correspondence, 1679-1685 / edited by William Douglas - The diary of Sir James Hope, 1646-1654 / edited by Sir James Balfour Paul - Instructions for the trial of Patrick Graham, 1476 / edited by Robert Kerr Hannay - The Scottish contributions to the distressed church of France, 1622 / edited by D. Hay Fleming - The Forbes baron court book, 1659-1678 / edited by J. Maitland Thomson.
Published 1919

Diary of George Ridpath, minister of Stitchel, 1755-1761
edited with notes and introduction by Sir James Balfour Paul.
Published 1922

Mary Queen of Scots and the Babington plot
edited [With introduction], from the original documents in the Public Record Office, the Yelverton MSS. ... by John Hungerford Pollen.
Published 1922

Papers from the collection of Sir William Fraser
edited by J.R.N. Macphail.
Published 1924

Papers relating to the ships and voyages of the company of Scotland trading to Africa and the Indies, 1696-1707
edited by George Pratt Insh.
Published 1924

Early records of the University of St. Andrews The graduation roll, 1413 to 1579, and the matriculation roll, 1473 to 1579
transcribed and edited by James Maitland Anderson.
Published 1926

Miscellany of the Scottish History Society (Fourth volume)
Editor: Campbell, Herbert and Seton, B. G. (Bruce Gordon), Sir, 1868-1932
Contents: Commentary on the expedition to Scotland made by Charles Edward Stuart, Prince of Wales / by Guilio Cesare Cordara ; edited by Sir Bruce Seton - The manuscript history of Craignish / by Alexander Campbell ; edited by Herbert Campbell - Miscellaneous charters, 1165-1399, from transcripts in the collection of the late Sir William Fraser / edited by William Angus.
Published 1926

Scottish correspondence of Mary of Lorraine Including some three hundred letters from 20th February 1542-3 to 15th May 1560
edited by Annie I. Cameron.
Published 1927

Journal of Thomas Cuningham of Campvere, 1640-54, with his thrissels-banner and explication thereof
edited by Elinor Joan Courthope. [With plates, including a facsimile.]
Published 1928

Sheriff Court Book of Fife, 1515-1522
Transcribed and edited, with an introduction, notes, and appendices, by William Croft Dickinson.
Published 1928

Minutes of the justices of the peace for Lanarkshire, 1707-1723
Transcribed and edited by Charles A. Malcolm.
Published 1931

Warrender papers
edited by Annie I. Cameron ... with an introduction by Robert S. Rait.
Published 1931

Flodden papers
Diplomatic correspondence between the courts of France and Scotland 1507-1517. edited by Marguerite Wood.
Published 1933

Miscellany of the Scottish History Society (Fifth volume)
Editor: Greig, J. Y. T. (John Young Thomson), 1891-1963; Dickson, William Kirk, 1860-1949; Marchmont, Hugh Hume, Earl of, 1708-1794; Dunlop, Annie I., 1897-1973; and Tayler, Henrietta, 1869-1951
Contents: Miscellaneous charters, 1315-1401, edited from transcripts in the collection of the late Sir William Fraser / William Angus - Bagimond's roll for the Archdeaconry of Teviotdale, from a thirteenth-century transcript in the Vatican archives / Annie I. Cameron - Letters from John, Earl of Lauderdale, and others, to Sir John Gilmour, President of session / Henry M. Paton - Letters to John MacKenzie of Delvine from the Rev. Alexander Monro / William Kirk Dickson - Jacobite papers at Avignon / Henrietta Tayler - Marchmont correspondence relating to the '45 / G.F.C. Hepburne Scott - Two fragments of autobiography, by George Keith, 10th Earl Marischal of Scotland / J.Y.T. Greig.
Published 1933

Warrender letters Correspondence of Sir George Warrender, Bt., Lord provost of Edinburgh, and member of Parliament for the city, with relative papers, 1715
transcribed by Marguerite Wood ... ; edited with an introduction and notes by William Kirk Dickson.
Published 1935

Commentary on the rule of St. Augustine
By Robertus Richardinus. edited by G.G. Coulton. [With facsimiles.] Text based on a transcript from the original 1530 edition. Transcription of original t.p.: Exegesis in canonem diui Augustini rece[n]s aedita, per Fratre[m] Robertum Richardinum, celebris Ecclesiase Cambuskenalis canonicum. Lvtetiae, In aedibus Christiani VVechel sub scuto Basiliensi. 1530.
Published 1935

Survey of Lochtayside, 1769 Made by John Farquharson and John McArthur
edited with an introduction by Margaret M. McArthur. [With maps.] "The documents published in this volume represent the written part and two of the plans of a survey of the Breadalbane estates lying on the north side and the south side of Loch Tay, made in 1769 by John Farquharson and John McArthur."-Page vii.
Published 1936

Early letters of Robert Wodrow, 1698-1709
edited ... with notes and extracts from the answers to these letters ... by L.W. Sharp.
Published 1937

Ayr Burgh accounts, 1534-1624
Transcribed and edited, with an introduction, by George S. Pryde.
Published 1937

Court book of the Barony of Carnwath, 1523-1542
edited with an introduction by William Croft Dickinson.
Published 1937

Scottish Chronicle known as the Chronicle of Holyrood
edited by Marjorie Ogilvie Anderson ... With some additional notes by Alan Orr Anderson.
Published 1938

Jacobite court at Rome in 1719 From original documents at Fettercairn House and at Windsor Castle
edited by Henrietta Tayler. [With a portrait.]
Published 1938

Charters of the Abbey of Inchcolm
edited by D.E. Easson ... and Angus Macdonald. [With folding maps.]
Published 1938

Miscellany of the Scottish History Society (Sixth volume)
Editor: Dunlop, Annie I., 1897-1973; Easson, David Edward, 1897-; Paton, Henry M.; and Dickson, William Kirk, 1860-1949
Contents: Bagimond's Roll : statement of the tenths of the Kingdom of Scotland / edited by Annie I. Dunlop. -Foundation-charter of the Collegiate Church of Dunbar / edited by D.E. Easson. -Letters from John, Second Earl of Lauderdale, to John, Second Earl of Tweeddale, and others / edited by Henry M. Paton. -Memories of Ayrshire about 1780, by the Reverend John Mitchell, D.D. / edited by William Kirk Dickson. Includes report of the 52nd annual meeting of the Scottish History Society.
Published 1939

Miscellany of the Scottish History Society (Seventh volume)
Editor: Meikle, Henry W. (Henry William), 1880-1958; Stewart, Helen Catherine; and Hamilton, Marion F.
Contents: Diary of Sir William Drummond of Hawthornden, 1657-1659 / edited by Henry W. Meikle - The exiled Stewarts in Italy, 1717-1807 / edited by Helen Catherine Stewart - The Locharkaig treasure / edited by Marion F. Hamilton.
Published 1941

Two missions of Jacques de la Brosse An account of the affairs of Scotland in the year 1543 (by Jacques de la Brosse and Jacques Menage); and, the journal of the Siege of Leith, 1560
edited by Gladys Dickinson. [With a facsimile.]
Contents: Consists of two documents, in the original French with English translation. The first, Discours des affaires du Royaume descosse, by Jacques de La Brosse and Jacques Menage, is printed from ms. fonds francais no. 17890, folios 29-34, in the Bibliotheque nationale, Paris. The second, the Journal, by an unidentified author, is printed from Memoires et documents, Angleterre, reg. 15, folios 154-182, in the Archives of the Foreign office, Paris. cf. Pref.
Published 1942

Selections from the Monymusk Papers, 1713-1775
Transcribed and edited by Henry Hamilton. [With maps.]
Published 1945

Charters of the Abbey of Coupar Angus
Transcribed and edited by D.E. Easson. 2 volumes.
Published 1947

Accounts of the collectors of thirds of benefices, 1561-1572
edited by Gordon Donaldson.
Published 1949

Miscellany of the Scottish History Society (Eighth volume)
Editor: Easson, David Edward, 1897-; Mackie, J. D. (John Duncan), 1887-1978; Pryde, George S. (George Smith); Tayler, Henrietta, 1869-1951; and Armstrong, C. A. J. (Charles Arthur John)
Contents: Miscellaneous monastic charters / edited by D.E. Easson. -A letter of James III to the Duke of Burgundy / edited by C.A.J. Armstrong. -The English Army at Flodden / edited by J.D. Mackie. -Lord Chancellor Glamis and Theodore Beza / edited by Gordon Donaldson. -Documents relating to Prince Charles Edward's grandson / edited by Henrietta Taylor. -Papers relating to a Refrewshire farm, 1822-30 / edited by George S. Pryde.
Published 1951

Scottish population statistics, including Webster's Analysis of population, 1755
By James Gray Kyd.
Published 1952

Letters of James the Fourth, 1505-1513
Calendared by Robert Kerr Hannay ; edited, with a biographical memoir, and an introduction by R.L. Mackie ; assisted by Anne Spilman. "Report of the sixty-fourth annual meeting of the Scottish History Society": 8 p. at end.
Published 1953

Early records of the Burgh of Aberdeen 1317, 1398-1407
edited by William Croft Dickinson.
Published 1957

Miscellany of the Scottish History Society (Ninth volume)
Contents: Papers relating to the captivity and release of David II.-Accounts of Sir Duncan Forestar, comptroller, 1495-99.-Report by De la Brosse & D'Oysel on conditions in Scotland, 1559-1560.-Diary of Sir James Hope, 1646.-Proceedings from Prince Charles' landing to Prestonpans.
Published 1958

Wigtownshire Charters
edited by R.C. Reid. [With a genealogical table.]
Published 1960

John Home's survey of Assynt
edited by R.J. Adam, with a map drawn by K.M. MacIver.
Contents: Introduction.-The survey of Assynt.-Home's accounts.-Appendix A. Tenants and inhabitants of Assynt.-Appendix R. Alexander Mackenzie of Ardloch's accounts as factor of Assynt, 1764-1773.
Published 1960

Court book of the Burgh of Kirkintilloch 1658-1694
edited by George S. Pryde.
Published 1963

Argyll Estate instructions: Mull, Morvern, Tiree 1771-1805
edited by Eric R. Cregeen. With a portrait and maps. The maps are in a pocket on the back cover. Includes the report of the 77th annual meeting of the Scottish History Society.
Published 1964

Acta Facultatis Artium Universitatis Sanctiandree, 1413-1588
edited by Annie I. Dunlop. 2 volumes. "First published for the University Court of the University of St. Andrews (St. Andrews University publications no. LVI)-by Oliver and Boyd, 1964."
Published 1964

Miscellany of the Scottish History Society
Editor: Murray, Athol L. (Athol Laverick) and Burns, Charles
Contents: E.W.M. Balfour-Mellville (1887-1963), a memoir / by D.B. Horn. - Bagimond's roll for the diocese of Moray / edited by Charles Burns - Accounts of the King's Pursemaster, 1539-1540 / edited by Athol L. Murray. - Papers of a Dundee shipping dispute, 1600-1604 / edited by W.A. McNeill - A scottish liturgy of the reign of James VI / edited by Gordon Donaldson - Lists of schoolmasters teaching Latin, 1690 / edited by Donald J. Withrington - Letters of Andrew Fletcher of Saltoun and his family, 1715-1716 / edited by Irene J. Murray - Sir John Clerk's observation on the present circumstances of Scotland, 1730 / edited by T.C. Smout - A Renfrewshire election account, 1832 / edited by William Ferguson.
Published 1965

Letters of John Ramsay of Ochtertyre, 1799-1812
edited by Barbara L.H. Horn.
Published 1966

Court books of Orkney and Shetland 1614-1615
Transcribed and edited by Robert S. Barclay.
Contents: [Illustrated.] Includes Scottish History Society, 1886-1966: a commemorative record.
Published 1967

Minutes of Edinburgh Trades Council, 1859-1873
edited by Ian MacDougall.
Published 1968

Dundee textile industry, 1790-1885 From the papers of Peter Carmichael of Arthurstone
edited by Enid Gauldie.
Published 1969

Calendar of Scottish supplications to Rome, 1428-1432
edited by Annie I. Dunlop and Ian B. Cowan.
Published 1970

Papers on Sutherland Estate Management 1802-1816
edited by R.J. Adam. 2 volumes. Map in pocket of Volume 1.
Published 1972

William Melrose in China, 1845-1855 The letters of a Scottish tea merchant
edited by Hoh-cheung Mui and Lorna H. Mui.
Published 1973

Papers on Scottish electoral politics, 1832-1854
edited by J.I. Brash.
Published 1974

Calendar of Papal letters to Scotland of Clement VII of Avignon, 1378-1394
edited [and translated from the Latin] by Charles Burns. Annie I. Dunlop (1897-1973) : a memoir / by Ian B. Cowan. Includes the annual report of the Society.
Published 1976

Calendar of Papal letters to Scotland of Benedict XIII of Avignon, 1394-1419
edited [and translated from the Latin] by Francis McGurk. Includes the annual report of the Society.
Published 1976

Scottish industrial history A miscellany
edited by Rae, Thomas I. And Smout, T. C. (T. Christopher)
Published 1978

Papers on Peter May, land surveyor, 1749-1793
edited by Ian H. Adams. Includes bibliographic references and index..
Published 1979

Autobiography of John McAdam (1806-1883) With selected letters
edited by Janet Fyfe.
Published 1980

Stirling Presbytery records 1581-1587
edited by James Kirk.
Published 1981

Government of Scotland under the Covenanters, 1637-1651
edited by David Stevenson.
Contents: Introduction - Conventions, abbreviations and glossary - Calendars. Committee of Estates, October to November 1645 - Committee of Estates, May 1648 - Committee for Dispatches, January to March 1649 - Committee for Dispatches, May to August 1649 - Committee for Managing the Affairs of the Army, April to May 1651 - Appendices. Sessions of Parliament and the Convention of Estates - Presidents of Parliament - General Executive Committees (Committees of Estates and for Dispatches) - Army Committees of Estates - Financial Committees - Session General Preparative Committees -Clerks of the Committee of Estates etc. - Financial officials - Committee records.
Published 1982

Knights of St John of Jerusalem in Scotland
edited by Ian B. Cowan, P.H.R. Mackay and Alan Macquarrie.
Published 1983

Scottish firm in Virginia 1767-1777 W. Cuninghame and Co
edited by T.M. Devine.
Published 1984

Jacobean Union Six tracts of 1604
edited by Bruce R. Galloway and Brian P. Levack
Contents: Introduction - Of the union of Britayne / by R. Pont - A treatise about the union of England and Scotland - A treatise of the happie and blissed unioun / by J. Russell - A brief consideracion of the unyon of twoe kingedomes / by J. Doddridge - Of the union / by Sir H. Spelman -Historicall collections / by Sir H. Savile - Appendix: Tracts and treatises on the union, 1603-1605. The Regal Union of England and Scotland took place in March 1603 when James VI of Scotland acceded to the English throne. In order to strengthen the regal union James set out to reduce these differences. As a result, a large number of tracts were written on "the union" in both countries. The main purpose of this volume is to expand the amount of readily accessible material by printing six of the more important treatises - Introd.
Published 1985

Acts of the lords of the Isles, 1336-1493
edited by Jean Munro and R.W. Munro.
Published 1986

Scottish texts and calendars An analytical guide to serial publications
by David and Wendy B. Stevenson.
Published 1987

Government and social conditions in Scotland, 1845-1919
edited by Ian Levitt.
Published 1988

Letters of George Lockhart of Carnwath, 1698-1732
edited by Daniel Szechi.
Published 1989

Miscellany of the Scottish History Society, Volume 11
Editor: Scott, Andrew Murray
Contents: Thomas Ian Rae, 1926-1989, a memoir / by Ian B. Cowan - A plea roll of Edward I's army in Scotland, 1296 / edited by C.J. Neville - Letters of John Graham of Claverhouse / edited by Andrew Murray Scott - Some late seventeenth-century building contracts / edited by J.G. Dunbar and Katherine Davies - Correspondence relating to Millburn Tower and its garden, 1804-1829 / edited by Clare Taylor.
Published 1990

Calendar of Fearn Text and additions, 1471-1667
edited by R. J. Adam. Includes the Society's 104th annual report, Dec. 8, 1990.
Published 1992

Scottish Office Depression and reconstruction 1919-1959
edited by Ian Levitt.
Published 1992

History of the union of Scotland and England
By Sir John Clerk of Penicuik ; extracts from his MS "De Imperio Britannico" translated and edited by Douglas Duncan.
Published 1993

Miscellany of the Scottish History Society, Volume 12
edited by A.A.M. Duncan and others.
Contents: A question about the succession, 1364 / edited by A.A.M. Duncan - Autobiography, 1626-1670, of John Hay, 2nd earl of Tweeddale / edited by Maurice Lee, Jr. - Letters of Lord Balmerino to Harry Maule, 1710-1713, 1721-1722 / edited by Clyve Jones - Strike bulletins from the General Strike in Scotland, 1926 / edited by Ian MacDougall.
Published 1994

George Buchanan The political poetry
edited with translation and commentary by Paul J. McGinnis and Arthur H. Williamson. Edinburgh : Printed for the Scottish History Society by Lothian Print, 1995. Text in English and Latin on facing pages; notes and commentary in English.
Published 1995

Campbell letters 1559-1583
edited by Jane E.A. Dawson.
Published 1997

Religious controversy in Scotland 1625-1639
edited by David George Mullan.
Published 1998

Scotland and the Americas, c. 1650 - c. 1939 A documentary source book
edited by Allan I. Macinnes, Marjory-Ann D. Harper & Linda G. Fryer.
Published 2002

Mid and East Lothian Miners' Association minutes 1894-1918
edited by Ian MacDougall.
Published 2003

Miscellany of the Scottish History Society XIII
Contents: Eight thirteenth-century texts / edited by W.W. Scott - Dunfermline gild court book, 1433-1597: missing folios / edited by E. Patricia Dennison - A memorandum on the customs, 1597 / edited by Athol L. Murray - The trial of Geillis Johnstone for witchcraft, 1614 / edited by Michael B. Wasser & Louise A. Yeoman - An early seventeenth-century Scottish conversion narrative / edited by David G. Mullan - Fiscal Feudalism in seventeenth-century Scotland / edited by Julian M. Goodare - Witchcraft cases from the register of commissioners of the privy council of Scotland, 1630-1642 / edited by Louise A. Yeoman - John Hay, earl of Tweeddale, 'Relatione of the wrangs done to the Ladie Yester, 1683' / edited by Maurice Lee, Jr - Colin Maclaurin's Journal of the 'Forty-five / edited by Bruce A. Hedman.
Published 2004

Aberdeen Guild Court records 1437-1468
edited by Elizabeth Gemmill.
Published 2005

Chronicle of Melrose Abbey A stratigraphic edition. Vol. 1, Introduction and facsimile edition
Dauvit Broun & Julian Harrison.
Published 2007

Perth Kirk Session books, 1577-1590
edited by Margo Todd.
Published 2012

Travels in Scotland 1788-1881 A selection from contemporary tourist journals
edited by Alastair J. Durie. Woodbridge, Suffolk: Scottish History Society in association with The Boydell Press, 2012.
Contents: Introduction: Tourist travels in Scotland ; Elizabeth Diggle: Journal of a tour from London to the Highlands of Scotland, 19 April to 7 August 1788 ; Adam Bald: Journal of travels and commonplace book, 1790-99 ; Anon: Tours to the Highlands, 1817 and 1818 ; Thomas Adam: Journal of an excursion to Loch Maree, 24 June to 13 July 1857 ; Henry Underhill: Tour in Scotland, Autumn 1868 ; Mary Allison: Uncle and Aunt's trip to Butterbridge, July 1881.
Published 2012

Register of the minister, elders and deacons of the Christian congregation of St. Andrews comprising the proceedings of the Kirk Session and of the Court of the Superintendent of Fife Fothrik and Strathearn, 1559-1600
Transcribed and edited from the original manuscript with preface and notes by David Hay Fleming.
Published 1889-1890

Records of the Commissions of the General Assemblies of the Church of Scotland holden in Edinburgh in the years 1646 and 1647[-1652]
edited from the original manuscript by Alexander F. Mitchell and James Christie ... With an introduction by the former. 3 volumes. [The third volume edited by James Christie, with an introduction by Lord Guthrie.]
Published 1892-1909

Lyon in mourning, or, A collection of speeches, letters, journals etc. relative to the affairs of Prince Charles Edward Stuart
By Robert Forbes. edited with a preface by Henry Paton.
Published 1895-1896

Diplomatic correspondence of Jean de Montereul and the brothers de Bellievre, French ambassadors in England and Scotland, 1645-48
edited, with an English translation, introduction and notes, by J.G. Fotheringham.
Published 1898-1899

Geographical Collections relating to Scotland
Made by Walter MacFarlane. edited from Macfarlane's transcript in the Advocates' Library by Sir Arthur Mitchell. In three volumes. Illustrations, folded facsimile.
Published 1906-1908

Diary of Sir Archibald Johnston of Wariston, 1650-1654
edited from the original manuscript, with notes and introduction, by George Morison Paul, (David Hay Fleming, James D. Ogilvie). 3 volumes: Series 1, volume 61, Series 2, volume 18; Series 3. volume 34. (See also DOD ID 125651999 and DOD ID 125885870.)
Published 1911-1940

Diary of Sir Archibald Johnston of Wariston, 1655-1660
edited from the original manuscript, with notes and introduction, by George Morison Paul, (David Hay Fleming, James D. Ogilvie). 3 volumes: Series 1, volume 61; Series 2, volume 18; Series 3, volume 34. (See also DOD ID 125651999 and DOD ID 126513633.)
Published 1911-1940

Diary of Sir Archibald Johnston of Wariston 1632-1639
edited from the original manuscript, with notes and introduction, by George Morison Paul. 3 volumes: Series 1, volume 61; Series 2, volume 18; Series 3, volume 34. (See also DOD ID 126513633 and DOD ID 125885870.)
Published 1911-1940

Selections from the records of the regality of Melrose, 1605-1661 (1662-1676, 1547-1706)
edited from the original volumes in the Register House, Edinburgh, and in the hands of Mr. James Curle (the Earle of Haddington, and others) by Charles S. Romanes.
Published 1914-1917

Highland papers
edited by J. R. N. MacPhail. Edinburgh : Scottish History Society, 1914-1934. 4 volumes: 2nd series, volumes 5, 12 and 20; 3rd series, volume 22.
Published 1914-1934

Highland papers
edited by J.R.N. Macphail.
Published 1914-1934

Register of the consultations of the ministers of Edinburgh and some other brethren of the ministry
edited by Rev. William Stephen.
Published 1921-1930

Foreign correspondence with Marie de Lorraine, Queen of Scotland, from the originals in the Balcarres papers
edited by Marguerite Wood.
Published 1923-1925

Prisoners of the '45
edited from the state papers by Sir Bruce Gordon Seton ... and Jean Gordon Arnot. 3 volumes: 3rd series; volumes 13-15.
Published 1928-1929

Calendar of Scottish supplications to Rome, 1418-1422
edited by E.R. Lindsay and A. I. Cameron. (1423-1428. edited by Annie I. Dunlop.).
Published 1934-1956

Minutes of the Synod of Argyll, 1639-1651 (1652-1661)
edited by Duncan C. MacTavish.
Published 1943-1944

Account of the proceedings of the Estates in Scotland, 1689-1690
edited by E.W.M. Balfour-Melville.
Published 1954-1955

British Linen Company, 1745-1775
edited by Alastair J. Durie.

Journal of my life and everyday doings 1879-81, 1885-92
By James Wilson, farmer in Banffshire ; edited by Peter Hillis.
Contents: James Wilson's foreword - Vol. 1, Jan. 1879-Dec. 1881 - Vol. 3, June 1885-May 1888 - Vol. 4, May 1888-Jan. 1892 - Appendix 1. A selection of poems by James Wilson - Appendix 2. Lectures and essays given to the Deskford and Ballindalloch Mutual Improvement Associations - Appendix 3. A short story by James Wilson.

Protestant piety in early-modern Scotland Letters, lives and covenants, 1650-1712
edited by David George Mullan.

Scottish planned villages
edited by Douglas G. Lockhart.
​
Scottish schools and schoolmasters 1560-1633 John Durkan
edited and revised by Jamie Reid-Baxter
Contents: Schools before the Reformation - The impact of the Reformation - Schools after the Reformation - Schoolbooks, grammarians and schoolmaster poets - Subjects other than grammar - Schoolmasters and their status - Schooling in the Highlands - considerations and conclusions. Appendices: Scottish university matriculations 1560-1633 - Pointers for local history research - List of schools and schoolmasters in Scotland 1560-1633 - Supplementary list: schools and schoolmasters 1634-1660.

Hands up if you think Fergus should make this available as a download.  All in favour say 'Aye'!

​Rachel Bellerby of Family Tree magazine explores how you can turn a day out into a fun research trip to help you discover more about what life was like for your ancestors.

From grand stately homes set in extensive parkland, to refurbished mill workers’ housing, the UK is home to some of the world’s finest heritage attractions. But what do these have to do with your family tree, you might ask? Well, if you choose the right site and do a little homework beforehand, not only can you enjoy a fascinating day out, you’ll also come home armed with plenty more information for your family tree.

Before you go

To begin with, work out what type of site would help fill in the gaps on your family tree. If your ancestor worked in service you could visit the stately home where they were employed, or if you don’t know which ‘big house’ it was, choose one close to there your ancestor lived. Many sites have cottoned on to the fact that people like to know about the ordinary workers on a country estate as well as the aristocrats, and have opened up the servants’ quarters and kitchen areas of the house. Castle Coole in County Fermanagh, Belton House in Lincolnshire and Berrington Hall in Herefordshire are just a few of the grand houses with ‘below stairs’ exhibitions.

Or perhaps your ancestor was a mill worker and lived close to their place of work. Taking a trip to an industrial history attraction such as the World Heritage Village of Saltaire in West Yorkshire, or the Birmingham Back to Backs will give you a great idea of what living and working conditions would have been like. There are hundreds of social history and industrial history museums around the UK so there’s sure to be one where you can find out more about your ancestor’s occupation.

To make the most of your day, consider what you’d like to find out whilst you’re there. Is there a library or visitor centre on site? If so, draw up a list of questions you can either find out for yourself during your visit, or enlist the help of a member of staff at the attraction.

If it’s more general social history information you’re after, take a look at the attraction’s website and work out which areas of the site will be of most interest to you. Approach the visit from the point of view of a researcher as well as a visitor and you may be surprised at what you’re able to find out.

Enjoying the day

On the day of your visit, take along a pencil and notebook and if possible, a working copy of your family tree, or at least some of the details of the ancestor you’re researching. If the site offers guided tours, sign up, as you’ll often find out plenty more detail from your guide than is available on information boards in the various rooms. Site volunteers are usually very knowledgeable and many live in the local area and so may have information on local families of the past.

The site’s guidebook will also have lots of information that’s not on the website and don’t forget the gift shop, as these often stock local history books that can be difficult to find elsewhere. If you can, sign up for the site’s e-newsletter, as many of these give details of upcoming talks, behind the scenes tours and living history events.

Once your visit is complete, have a think about how what you’ve seen and learnt could take its place in your family’s story. Photographs of the place could be added to the relevant ancestor’s paper file or computer record, whilst details of working conditions or job roles can be kept on file to help build up a picture of what life was like for the ancestor in question.

Resources
* Check out this interactive map of UK museums, searchable by location and subject
* Heritage Open Days let you see behind the scenes of historic buildings each September
* Find more ideas for exploring your ancestry with Family Tree magazine

(Image shows Birmingham Back to Backs and is copyright Tony Hisgett)

Written by Michelle Leonard

This year Sunday the 18th of June marks Father's Day in many countries around the world including the UK, Ireland, USA and Canada.  Several of the major DNA testing companies are having sales to mark the occasion!  This is a great opportunity to pick up DNA testing kits if you've been thinking of testing yourself, your father or any other relative. 

​Here is a round-up of the DNA sales on offer this Father's Day:

The FTDNA sale offers a substantial discount on their autosomal offering (the Family Finder test) and their Y-DNA 37 marker test.  FTDNA is the only company with a Y-DNA matching database so if you are interested in Y-DNA testing they are the company to test with.   Father's Day is a particularly appropriate time to consider Y-DNA testing as it is the one DNA test that can only be taken by men due to the fact only men have a Y chromosome.  Fathers pass this Y chromosome down solely to their sons and Y-DNA tests, therefore, can only examine one line of your tree while autosomal tests cover them all.  That one line, however, is the direct paternal line which carries the surname and, as such, Y-DNA tests are excellent for surname studies.  Y-DNA also can reach much further back in time than autosomal DNA and can be useful for unknown father and unknown male ancestor mysteries on lines for which an appropriate tester can be identified.

​Here are all the FTDNA discounts in full:

AncestryDNA has by far the largest autosomal DNA database at over 4 million testers and it is growing daily.  If you have a DNA mystery or brick wall you are trying to break down using DNA, it is very important to get into this huge database.
​
The price of the AncestryDNA test in the UK has been reduced by £10 from £79 to £69 for Father's Day
(please note that this does not include shipping which is £20 for a first kit and £10 for each additional kit in the same order - maximum ten kits per order)
*sale runs from 7th to 18th June

AncestryDNA are also running Father's Day sales in Ireland, the USA and Canada:

Ireland: Price reduced by €15 from €95 to €80
Shipping €20 per kit and €10 per additional kit in same order
*sale runs from 7th to 18th June

USA: Price reduced by 20% from $99 to $79
Shipping $9.95 per kit
*sale runs from 7th to 18th June
(AncestryDNA is also sold by Amazon in the US with the 20% off plus Free Shipping - see HERE)

Canada: Price reduced by $20 CAD from $129 CAD to $109 CAD
Shipping $19.95 CAD per kit
*sale runs from 7th to 18th June

This is the best deal I have seen for 23andMe in the UK in some time; it is almost exactly £40 cheaper than their direct sale price if you include shipping!  Superdrug usually sell 23andMe kits at £139.99 and they have informed me that this sale price is effective from 31st May to 27th June.  Shipping is free and there are several options:

You can either have the kit delivered to your home address (3-5 working days) or to a local Superdrug store for collection (next day).  If you have been wanting to test with 23andMe but have been put off by the price or have an unknown ancestor mystery to solve and it is the one database you are not already in this is an excellent opportunity to test there at a much lower price than usual.  I would still, however, advocate testing at AncestryDNA first for those who have not tested anywhere yet as they have the larger database, lower price and are fully focused on testing for genealogy purposes.

There is also a sale in the US - $20 off either the Ancestry only kit (reduced from $99 to $79) or the Ancestry and Health kit (reduced from $199 to $179).  Shipping is $9.95 for the first kit and $5 for each additional kit.  This offer is also limited to two kits per customer and the sale runs until 18th June.  23andMe kits are also sold by Amazon in the US and, like with AncestryDNA, it is possible to get the discount and free shipping if you order from there instead.

UPDATED: MyHeritage have also announced a Father's Day sale.  Their autosomal DNA kit has been reduced from £79 to £59 and the sale ends on 19th June (shipping costs £12 for one kit, the same price for two kits and is free if you buy three or more kits).  The price in the US has been reduced from $99 to $69 (shipping costs $12 for one kit with the same discounts for additional kits as the UK version).

It is also still possible to transfer into MyHeritage for free from any of the other major companies - HERE is a link to upload your results to their site.  MyHeritage is one of the newer offerings on the market but as more people test with them their database will grow and you will begin to see unique matches there.  It will, therefore, start to become more important for everyone, especially those with mysteries to solve, to be in this database in addition to the others.

UPDATED: Living DNA have also now announced a Father's Day sale:
UK: Price reduced by £21 to £99 plus delivery
UK Standard Delivery (5-7 working days):   £9.95
UK Premium Delivery (2-3 working days): £14.95
​
EU: Price reduced to €129 plus delivery
EU Standard Delivery (14-20 working days): €12.95
EU Premium Delivery (5-7 working days):     €24.95

US: Price reduced to $119 plus delivery
USA Standard Delivery (5-7 working days):   $9.95
USA Premium Delivery (2-3 working days): $39.95

Canada: Price reduced to $159 CAD plus delivery
Canada Standard Delivery (14-20 working days): $14.95 CAD
Canada Premium Delivery (5-7 working days):     $49.95 CAD

​Australia: Price recently reduced to $169 AUS plus delivery*
Australia Standard Delivery (14-20 working days): $14.95 AUD
Australia Premium Delivery (5-7 working days):      $69.95 AUD
*This is not a Father's Day sale as Father's Day is in September in Australia

The sale will end on 18th June.
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The Living DNA test gives a detailed regional breakdown of UK Ancestry and also includes Y-DNA (male testers only) and MtDNA haplogroup information.  Please note that Living DNA currently do not offer a matching database but this has been promised in the near future.

On a different note I would like to encourage everyone who has already tested themselves or other relatives to contribute data to Blaine Bettinger's Shared cM Project.  The Shared cM Project is an attempt to collect as much data as possible on the ranges of DNA (in centimorgans) shared by known genealogical relationships.  Due to the random nature of DNA inheritance, the more examples we have for this the better informed we will be when trying to work out relationships with new matches.  If you have any confirmed relationships please add the data to the portal so it can be included in the next update.  There are now 16,000 submissions to this fantastic citizen science project and the hope is the 20,000 mark can be reached by 30th June.  HERE is a link to the portal for submission and if you would like to know more about the cM Project please read THIS fantastic article contributed by Blaine to the Journal of Genetic Genealogy (JOGG) that goes into detail on the Project.
UPDATE: The 20,000 submission mark was surpassed on 10th June way ahead of the goal date!  Well done to all who have submitted but please keep on adding your data to the portal as the new target is 50,000 in 2018!  

Written by Michelle Leonard

​AncestryDNA have just announced that their database has surpassed the 4 million testers mark!  Considering they only announced 3 million testers in January the database is expanding at an amazing rate of knots.  This sale is a great opportunity to join that rapidly expanding database.  In particular if you have a mystery to solve (e.g. adoption, unknown parentage, illegitimate grandparent etc) testing at Ancestry must be at the top of your list due to the sheer size of their database.

The price of the AncestryDNA test in the UK has been reduced by 25% from £79 to £59 for DNA Day
(Please note that this does not include shipping which is £20 for the first kit and £10 for each additional kit)
*Sale end 26th April (although it appears it will continue until 2nd May for pre-existing customers)

Ancestry are also running DNA Day sales in Ireland, USA and Canada:

Ireland: Price reduced by €25 from €95 to €70
Shipping €20 per kit and €10 per additional kit
*Sale ends 26th April

USA: Price reduced by 20% from $99 to $79
Shipping $9.95 per kit
*Sale ends 26th April
(AncestryDNA is also sold by Amazon in the US with the 20% off plus Free Shipping - see HERE)

Canada: Price reduced by $30 CAD from $129 CAD to $99 CAD
Shipping $19.95 CAD per kit
*Sale ends 25th April

​FTDNA

The FTDNA DNA Day sale runs for a week this year - it began on 20th April and ends at 11:59pm (CST) on 27th April

​

​Please note that Y-DNA upgrades and upgrades from MtDNA Plus to MtFull Sequence are not included in this sale.  There are, however, excellent deals on FTDNA's autosomal offering (Family Finder), their many Y-DNA tests and their MtFull Sequence test.  FTDNA are the only company with Y-DNA and MtDNA matching databases so if you are interested in Y-DNA and MtDNA testing they are the company to test with.  They have also been around the longest of all of the testing companies.

FTDNA sells worldwide, all prices are in US dollars and shipping is not included (shipping costs $12.95 (£10) per kit but return postage is only included for US kits).  

Additionally if you have tested at Ancestry or 23andMe you can now transfer into FTDNA's Family Finder database and get all of your matches for free - if you wish to unlock access to all of FTDNA's tools and features it costs a modest $19 per kit.  HERE is a link to the autosomal DNA Transfer programme.  Please be aware if you tested at Ancestry after May 2016 you will only get access to your highest confidence matches at FTDNA due to the fact Ancestry began using a different chip at that time.  If you wish to gain access to all of your lower confidence matches you can choose to take FTDNA's own autosomal test after transferring for a reduced fee of $59 (£46) - this is in line with the current sale price.
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LIVING DNA

​​Living DNA have reduced the price of their test by £21 from £120 to £99 for DNA Day
*Sale ends 26th April

They are also offering DNA Day sales in other countries:

EU: Price reduced by €30 from €159 to €129
US: Price reduced by $40 from $159 to $119
Canada: Price reduced by $40 CAD from $199 CAD to $159 CAD 
​Australia: Price reduced by $40 AUS from $199 AUS to $159 AUS

Living DNA are a relatively new entrant to the market but a very interesting one.  Their test gives a detailed regional breakdown of UK Ancestry and also includes Y-DNA and MtDNA haplogroup information.  Please note that Living DNA currently do not offer a matching database but this has been promised in the near future.
​

MyHeritage are also new to the DNA testing world.  They have not announced a particular sale for DNA Day but they do have an ongoing reduced price for their new autosomal DNA kit of £69 in the UK (shipping costs £12 per kit).  The ongoing reduced price in the USA is $79 (plus $12 per kit shipping).

It is also still possible to transfer into MyHeritage for free from any of the other major companies - HERE is a link to upload your results to their site.  As new testers take the MyHeritage test their database will grow and you will begin to see unique matches here.

23ANDME

There has been no indication that 23andMe will be holding a sale for DNA Day - their test, which includes autsomal matching, Y-DNA and MtDNA haplogroup information and certain health reports, can be purchased in the UK for £149.

In the USA, however, there is a 23andMe sale for Mother's Day taking place with $20 off until 14th May (limit of 2 per person).

23andMe's CEO and Co-Founder, Anne Wojcicki, recently announced in a Bloomberg interview that they now have over two million people in their database so testing here cannot be overlooked especially if you have a mystery to solve.  Hopefully there will be other sales throughout the year.

If you would like to take advantage of any of these sales I would urge you to do so via the links contained in CeCe Moore's post HERE as that way you will not only be helping yourself to a discount but you will also be contributing to the DNA Detectives Kits of Kindness Program which will help others too.  This is a program that donates DNA kits to those who are seeking biological family members but cannot afford the cost of testing.  Each kit sold via one of these links contributes a small amount to the Kits of Kindness Program - over 400 people have received donated kits since the instigation of the program in January 2016 and many of them have been reunited with previously unknown biological relatives. 

If you're not sure which test to go for in the sale or you just wish to chat about DNA testing for genealogy pop along to #AncestryHour tonight at 7pm where I will be on hand to answer any queries.
​

Michelle Leonard (@GenealogyLass)

You’ve spent several years and quite a bit of money on tracing your ancestors and building up your family tree. So should you then hand over that information to a stranger on a family history website? Rachel Bellerby of Family Tree magazine weighs up the pros and cons.

The Family Tree team were delighted to meet and chat with many family history enthusiasts at the recent Who Do You Think You Are? Live! in Birmingham earlier this month. One of the recurring questions I noticed when talking to visitors, both new and experienced, was how generous should we be when sharing our family tree data online?

Of course, most of us want to see family history thrive, both as a profession and a hobby. But it’s human nature to feel a bit of a pang when a complete stranger approaches you after being shown a ‘match’ on a family history website. Why should you hand over information about your ancestors to someone who might then take their resulting brand new, shiny family tree and show it with pride to all and sundry? After all, that was your hard work…

Let family history thrive!

But perhaps we’re looking at this the wrong way. Isn’t it great to think that someone’s new to the hobby and is inspired enough to try to find out more? A generous response in terms of sharing your online tree (or part of it) and maybe even answering some questions about your ancestors could lead not only to helping someone develop their passion for family history, but maybe even putting you in touch with living relatives you never knew you had.

And of course, because you’ve taken such a pride in building your tree, researching your ancestors and double-checking all your information (of course you have!) you can feel the satisfaction of knowing that your rock-solid research is helping others – and maybe helping to counteract some of those hastily drawn up and scantily researched family trees that we’ve all come across online.

Fringe benefits

Sharing your information need not all be one-sided either. Not only might the person requesting your family tree be a distant relative, they may have access to family stories, documents or photographs which you haven’t yet seen.

The reason many of us love family history is because we never stop learning. So why not be open to sharing some of the information that you’ve gathered, in the hope that you might learn something new yourself – if not from the person who originally contacts you, but maybe further down the line? Once your tree has been shared, it’ll potentially match with other visitors to the website in question, putting you in the path of some useful contacts.

So let family history thrive! Despite my natural instinct to guard ‘my’ information (and the all-important rule of not giving out information on people who are still alive) I’m going to be generous with my ancestry. After all, if my grandparents hadn’t spent their time telling me family stories, I wouldn’t be enjoying family history as both a hobby and a job today; my forebears took the time to share their tales with me and I want to repay their kindness by being generous with the next generation of family history enthusiasts.

Enjoy everything you need for the hobby you love in each issue of Family Tree magazine. Order your copy on our website.

(image copyright Christiaandup – Creative Commons Licence)

It is less than 20 years since family historians first had access to digitized images of records in the form of the 1901 census.  Many of us date our interest in family history to then and remember how demand crashed the website then we all had to wait what seemed like months until they had sorted it all out and it was back online.  Bandwidth was a consideration in those dial-up days and those early downloads were designed to be low resolution so as not to take hours over a line where an incoming phone call cut off your internet.

​Now we have so much available to us on the Internet, in the form of officially licensed records and the less formal community archives, personal websites and social media and we are told that:

​Last summer the National Archives held a series of round table workshops with archive staff from around the country aimed at producing a Digital Strategy – “A New Vision for Archives”.  I was privileged to attend one of these in Birmingham, (as that rare being a “User”), and we were asked to envisage the future of archives and their users as an exercise in Blue Sky Thinking.

According to their blog about this 
​http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/archives-sector/projects-and-programmes/consultation-on-a-new-vision-for-archives/

And that:

​To my mind this was all about digitising records and attracting funding to do so whilst preferably generating income for archives as well.  They wanted to attract new users from the community at large so that they could tap into new sources of funding.

The results of this exercise and the resulting consultation (4 round tables with 179 participants, an online survey with 235 responses and a public consultation with 130 responses) and a reference group from across the archive sector plus an expert panel composed of much the same have led to the final document “Archives Unlocked” released this month.
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/archives-sector/projects-and-programmes/strategic-vision-for-archives/
​
In its introduction it states that 

And that

“The publics (sic) interest in archives and what they have to offer is growing and digital technologies are opening up our archives like never before, to local, national and global audiences keen to learn and to be inspired”

It articulates three ambitions for the “benefits which archives will deliver"

​One of the key drivers of change is highlighted as User Expectations.  

“Society is changing, opening up new uses for data and records, and posing new questions about what is collected now and in the future, in both paper-based documents and digital formats.”

At the end of the document is the Action Plan (still very broad brush so far) saying that they have to tackle the “barriers to success”, meeting the key challenges facing the sector whilst still advocating for archives and making sure that they are valued or that their value is understood. 
​
The plan would address 3 vital themes of digital capacity, resilience and impact.  Within the archive sector digital capacity would be developed so as to make it easier to find both paper and digital records, and  increasing resilience would encompass more Archive Accreditation, open up the archive sector to new skills and a more diverse workforce, and increase income generation and support innovative service models.

Finally the pledge was to increase the impact of archives “by developing and expanding audiences, piloting approaches to using data and evidence, and influencing thinking in the IT, commercial and knowledge sectors.”
​
Whilst in general agreement with its aims, my feelings about this document are mixed.  On the one hand I applaud its identified ambitions but deplore the fact that it talks grandly about “User Expectations” without any significant user input nor any plans it seems to find out what exactly the user, either existing or future, actually wants or needs.   It is all very much “if we build it they will come” with not a hint of market research!

​Based on what has happened in the archive sector so far I have a number of concerns.

Quite a lot of what has been already digitised for family historians was already on microfilm so that the issue of conservation of original documents cannot always be said to be relevant except that Familysearch will be discontinuing their microfilm loans to their outreach family history centres at the end of this year due to the discontinuation of film stock manufacture.
​
It is a complicated issue.  As users we have not had a say in what has been digitised and to a large extent are expected to be grateful for what we are given.  It is all very Oliver Twist.

I feel it is time for Users to discuss the whole issue of digitisation and its implications. 

We know that the digitisation of parish registers, for instance, has generally reduced footfall in those record offices which have entered into licensing agreements with commercial companies. 

Are we by asking for increased access online condemning record offices and archives to cuts and reduced service? Did we in fact ask for it directly or was it just an opportunity grabbed? 
​
Are we in fact complicit in reducing archival services by not supporting or using them?

In addition are we the genealogical and historical research community condoning the reduced standard of research which the assumption that “it is all on the internet” generates?
​
How can we change this and educate the average researcher that there is so much more out there if archives are difficult to access and what is digitised is not decided by the genealogical community ie the users?

Some archives and record offices have licensed their datasets to commercial companies.  In the case of the National Archives these licences run for 10 years.  Recent controversy about the purchase of Fold3 by Ancestry and its subsequent transfer of UK military records licensed to Ancestry from there to Fold3 has highlighted the minefield that this is.  At present users have no say as to licensing conditions and usually online access is only guaranteed actually at the site of the original records.

This is fine as long as that access is actually possible although there have been occasions when this was not.  Some archives will allow production of the original document if access is not possible online but this is not always the policy and can be problematic if it has been placed in long term storage from which it is difficult and expensive to be retrieved.
The argument is that digitisation and making records available online will attract new users (for instance in other countries) but is this perhaps a case of attracting new paying customers at the expense of the existing ones? 

There are considerable costs involved in putting a digital dataset online but when is the break-even point reached and how much profit do the commercial companies make? 

Certainly some users feel “ripped off” by the commercial companies.
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Should the commercial companies be paying more attention to user education – in fact who should be responsible for educating users as to how to use the datasets effectively and responsibly for their research? 

Should this be a function of the archives which hold the originals or the commercial genealogy sector (and in this I include professional genealogists and archival researchers)? 

It seems to have been a bit of a battle to actually get complete source citation information and information about datasets included on some of the websites and there are still some where it is woefully lacking.  Should this be a component of the licensing conditions?
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Another area of concern is the quality control of digitised images.  This seems to be based on mechanical sampling making it inevitable that mistakes, and missed images will slip through the net.  This is even before transcription and indexing errors come into play.

Some document series such as State Papers and Prize Papers held at the National Archives have been licensed to companies which service the academic sector to whose subscriptions the genealogical community has no access.   Whilst the user still has onsite access digitally this has impacted the way in which researchers work. 

Digital access via these subscriptions means that access now has to be via the computers available onsite and there seems to be a lack of understanding of how professional researchers both academic and otherwise work nowadays.  Rather than pore over the original documents making notes and transcripts onsite many of us tend to photograph where possible so that the digital photos can be viewed and transcribed in our office or home.  These photographic images are in colour and at a relatively high resolution and can be manipulated electronically to zoom in, change the colour palette or merely view on a larger screen to aid transcription. 

Onsite subscription access to digitised images often offers none of these advantages particularly when using onsite computers with which we are unfamiliar and where the only option for obtaining multiple images is to photograph the screen or make a large number of prints as downloading or sharing via email is not an option offered.

Should attention be given to making these subscriptions more user friendly?

Should the accessibility options available for the physical documents such as UV lamps to pick out faint handwriting be replicated in the software tools offered by commercial companies as a matter of course?

Should onsite computers at archives be of a higher standard to compensate for difficulties eg larger monitor screens?

Should difficult to read documents be scanned at a higher resolution to make it easier to zoom without blurring?
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And of course there is the elitist nature of the whole issue given the aim to open up documents to new users expressed in “Archives Unlocked”.  Who benefits from this hiving off certainly not the genealogical community or the “personal interest” public?

These are just some of my areas of concern about digitisation.  I am by no means a Luddite – in my view digitisation is a godsend.  However there comes a time to stand back and take a long hard look at what has gone before and where we want to go next.  In my view that time is NOW and the most important part of that process – the User – is being largely ignored.

I call on you all to become more vocal, questioning and participatory in your use of archives and digitised material.

Persuade your local archive or record office or museum or library to set up a User Group to discuss user issues including archive strategy or apply to join it if it already exists.  Find out who is representing you and contact them with your concerns.

Keep up to date with what is going on in the archive and library sector – you don’t want to suddenly wake up to find your archive access has changed without your knowledge.

Encourage plain speaking and the cutting through of jargon and waffle.
​
Above all demand the same high standards of archives and commercial companies as we apply to our own genealogical research.

Jacqui Kirk - Montague Cottage Research

​The history of the identification tag has been little researched or logged, despite there being a lot to learn from these discs, now known as ‘dog tags’, because of the information they provide. Nothing could have hit home harder than when relatives received one of these discs - possibly even still blood stained. The first British disc was produced in 1907, the order stated that the discs should be made of 1/8th inch thick steel and should be stamped with the soldier’s number, rank, name, regiment and religious denomination, however the rank was later dropped. In 1914, when WW1 broke out it was quickly realised there would be production and cost problems due to the large volume required, and so a new disc made of red/brown vulcanised asbestos fibre was made. However stockpiles of the original aluminium discs continued to be issued, but these are rarely found today.

​Dan Mackey, an avid relic hunter tells us about the amazing discovery of thousands of metal dog tags the team found in 2016…

​I have recovered dog tags from both world wars and from various nations, going on a number of quests, including one to have a WW1 Canadian soldier’s name added to a war memorial after it was missed off, almost a 100 years ago. I have found dog tags for those who have been outcast by their own family and who would rather post me photographs and medals than have the dog tag returned to them. Here’s how myself and two fellow relic hunters, Alan and Jay made an incredible find, which has resulted in a task that we need help with today.

​Before the team travel miles to a new site, usually someone goes out to have a quick look to see if it’s worth a really good search for relics. The site that my fellow hunter, Alan had discovered was a WW2 anti-aircraft battery, but once on site he found pretty much nothing of interest. The site seemed bare, but whilst having a look at the surrounding fields, he found a small copse of trees that contained red brick rubble and typical wartime rubbish. Then something caught his eye amongst the leaves. He picked it up and within seconds realised that he was holding what he thought was a post-war British dog tag. Every digger we have ever spoken to believed that all British dog tags made from metal are post-war, but more on this later. He turned his detector back on and with a wave of it he was receiving signals everywhere. When he put his spade into the ground it revealed not one or two, but what looked like hundreds of dog tags. In fact he found so many that he couldn't carry them all back. So, he back filled the hole, re-burying them, and left for home. In an excited phone call, Alan let Jay and I know of his discovery, he even jangled handfuls of tags down the phone! We agreed for all three of us to dig that site the following Saturday. 

​Morning came around and the excitement was almost unbearable, we quickly jumped into one car and drove to the site. I was very unsure of what I was about to see. A short walk into the woods, past some old building bases and rubble and I found my first dog tag of the day just on the surface. I was excited to find one, Alan said "just wait till you see this!" We walked a few more steps away from the rubble and he put a spade into the ground. He removed what he had put back over his previous hole, and it was as if someone had lifted the lid on a treasure chest full of silver coins. I was sure that Jay and I stood there open mouthed for several minutes, before simultaneously almost diving in head first. We had with us two large buckets which were quickly filled. Everywhere we dug in this area we found dog tags. In most places they were as lovely as the day they were thrown in, still glinting in the daylight and with one wipe they looked brand new. I started the day by wiping each one and then reading the names out loud, however this soon grew too time consuming, so we threw them all into the bucket, to be discovered later after cleaning. At the end of the first day the buckets looked rather full and extremely heavy! I rang my beloved and very understanding wife to see if it would be a problem for us to dig again tomorrow. She wasn't keen, but she understands my passion for what I do. Despite the barracking from Jay and Alan she said it was alright. So we lugged all of the dog tags back to the car, which was no small feat! Then back to Alan's to hose them off and divide them into three roughly equal piles. It’s amazing what you can do with bathroom scales. 

​Once back at Jay's I emptied my bucket of tags onto a sheet on the floor. There were so many tags that they flowed like water revealing names and numbers as they spilled out. I spotted Jays surname on one tag, and handed it to him. I had from the first moment that Alan had found this site said that all these names and numbers needed to be recorded, in the hope that we could return some of them to the families or better still to the veterans themselves, if they were still alive. So the laptop came out and I started right there, that night, logging the serial number, surname, initials, religion, quantity and other notes. I think I wrote about 500 before almost falling asleep with my head on the screen. 

​The next thing I knew, the alarm on my phone was going off. Surely it couldn’t be morning. Light rain, mist, darkness and cold almost sent us back to our beds, but we knew that it would be worth the trouble, and so we were soon out of the door and on our way to Alan's. Once we arrived, Alan called me over and handed me a single dog tag that we had lost when jet washing them clean in his drive the previous day. It was named MACKAY! It was clipped on my house keys and remains there now.

​Once we arrived back at the site we started filling the same huge buckets all over again. The finding of the dog tags didn't seem to be slowing down at all. Thousands and thousands were being dug up and with no sign of stopping we soon realised that this site would keep us going for some time. Again we left the site and lugged everything back to the car before embarking on another jet washing session to clean them off and divide them up. At that point, I had been in the same clothes for two days of solid digging. I found myself standing in the car park of a bus station with a bag I could barely lift due to holding over six stone of dog tags. I waited for the bus and when it arrived I hauled my bag aboard, and the second I sat down I fell asleep and woke up just outside Bicester, phew, a close call I could have missed my stop. I struggled once again with my bag, which was completely soaked through. 

​For the following few days the list got longer and longer and I wondered how I could even start returning them. Generally, when finding one tag, the thing to do is either return it to the family if they want it, or find out as much as you can and hope you can get a photo of the original recipient. But I had thousands in front of me and no idea where to start, so I just kept writing my list which soon reached 1,500. Tobin, another friend of mine, who has contacts everywhere, suggested that he ask around to try and work out how all the dog tags were related to each other. Together we coined the name 'the forgotten army' for the dog tags; it stuck! Meanwhile I contacted the British Legion hoping that they may had details of ex-servicemen service numbers which meant it would be simple to return some. A few emails went back and forth but ended with them not really wanting to help. Meanwhile the list continued to grow reaching over 2,500 and with another batch of the worst dog tags cleaned up, I could see this topping well over 4,000. I started asking Jay and Alan how they were getting on documenting their share, to which they responded "I would rather go and re-bury them than have to do that". I really wanted the list to be completed as soon as possible so I offered to document their tags as well. The thought of going to dig up more, when we hadn’t even finished dealing with what we already had worried me that we would get totally overwhelmed. 

But we finally finished compiling the list, and I wrote to all the national newspapers, then to all of the local towns that the three of us were from. Nobody was interested in helping to return any of these dog tags, but not being deterred and thinking that someone must want to help us, or be interested in this story I wrote to all of the TV archaeologists such as Tony Robinson, Dan Snow etc... I was mostly ignored, and Dan Snow was just too busy with other projects. Fine! I then wrote to every military magazine that I could think of, again nothing. I hit a wall. I took out a handful of random tags and started punching names and numbers into Google. Nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing... this continued for hours. I gave up. The tags then sat in organised boxes for over two years, until the last couple of months. I moved house and the tags sat behind me in the window of my new office, casting a shadow over me... literally! I plucked out a couple and a search brought up a website I had seen before - Forces War Records. I figured that if they had information I needed then I would subscribe. With the easy task done, I loaded up the information. What a great website! I then sat entering every name and serial number I had on the list. It was at this point that I was contacted by a gentleman who had heard about my dog tags, and one in particular. It was a dog tag of a soldier called V. Berrett, Service No: 556457. He informed me that it belonged to his friend’s father who fought with the Wiltshire Regiment. He had enlisted in 1936, fighting Rommel in Africa. I told him that I would return it to him as soon as I could. He asked if I could send a letter explaining all that I knew about the tag and in the letter I, of course, asked for as much information that he could tell me about his father’s war time experiences. I also asked if he had a photograph of his father in uniform. So the first tag made its way home. How many more, if any could I return?

​Using Forces War Records I had a hit with the dog tag to A HINITT 556057, which led to me to the discovery that he was involved in the Normandy invasion. I then found out that he had revisited Normandy in 2014, from an article written by the Nottingham Post, so I emailed the newspaper and I’m currently hoping that they will be able to contact either Arthur Hinitt or his family, so that I can return the second tag. Arthur Hinitt enlisted at the age of 16 after lying about his age. He served with the Sherwood Rangers, saw action at Operation Market Garden, North Africa and was amongst the first tanks to attempt to take the beach in Normandy. However his tank was hit and it sunk before making it onto the beach. Later in Belgium, whilst in a different tank that was hit, and seconds after he bailed out, it exploded, leaving him with hearing problems.

​The best result was yet to come. On 6th Feb 2017 I handed a dog tag over in person to not only a family, but to the veteran himself. Fred Bills’s dog tag began like all the others, cleaned, input into my database, and then run through the Forces War Records website. A hit! I saw that he was wounded once in 1944. I clicked save, then this is where the magic happened. On the site, if someone else has saved a record, a message can be sent to them. I already had a prepared message for this scenario. It basically explains about the dog tags, and if family or friends get in touch I will do my utmost to return it to them. Sure enough the very next day I had an email from Fred’s son, John. John said he was a little sceptical, so I invited him to join my group on Facebook - Extreme Relic Hunters. He did, and from there he sent a few photographs and shared some small snippets of information. We exchanged messages and as I won his trust he invited me to his home when his father would be there and we all had a very pleasant time. Fred told us many stories from his time in the army, from his attempts to volunteer for the RAF, to being drafted into the army and then through Africa, Italy including Monte Cassino and into Austria and later Greece. Most of his stories would have me laughing and some, of course contained the far more serious aspects of war, although even some of those were amusing. Fred had no idea that I had his dog tag with me and was pleasantly surprised to see it, let alone be told he could keep it, as at first he tried to hand it back to me. So another is truly home. A very fantastic experience and one that will certainly spur me on to keep working on these thousands of dog tags.

​The next tag that looks like as if it has an almost 100% chance of going home is one that was issued by the Royal Ulster Rifles. Although when I looked him up on the Forces War Records website, it showed that he was wounded serving with No.3 Commandos in NW Europe. I knew that as a specialist unit, they were bound to have an online forum. A quick search online saw me swiftly joining a forum and moments after I put up a post I was given the information and supporting documents to prove he was actually in No.3 Commando and more importantly that he had a daughter, although nobody knew where she was. I was however sent the address of who they believed may be his grandson, so I was able to send him a letter.

​Now although I don't have leads on these next three interesting tags, they are certainly worthy of a mention.
 
Firstly, Harold Anthony Kilpatrick 4697547, a corporal who served with the Royal Armoured Corps out in Burma. He won the Military Medal and the original Gazette recommendation reads:

​Harold Anthony Kilpatrick was serving in 149th Regiment, Royal Armoured Corps, a component of 50th Indian Tank Brigade, at the time of the above cited deeds. The regiment was formed from the 7th Battalion (King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry), in November 1941, and originally went into action on the Manipur Road in April 1944.

​The Deputy Commissioner's bungalow, famous for the battle on its tennis court and grounds in the desperate defence of Kohima ridge in April 1944, witnessed the demise of numerous British, Indian and Japanese troops in May, not least on the 4th, when Kilpatrick's tank had the dubious distinction of being the first one to reach the location. ‘Burma Victory’, by David Rooney, takes up the story:

​Sadly his medals, like so many others have been sold off by the families over time and went up for auction in 2014 making £2300, £500 over their estimated value. As nice as those medals are, the dog tag I now hold in my hand was worn around his neck that very day.

​Next is Trooper Stanley John Pickard, who served with the 22nd Dragoons part of the Royal Armoured Corps. On the 22nd of October 1944 he was awarded an unusual medal, the Belgium Croix de Guerre 2nd Class with palm. His recommendation papers state: 

​The last tag, from ‘the forgotten army’ belonged to Quartermaster Sergeant Alan Brazendale who had reports of being wounded and then being awarded the Military Medal. Brazendale served with the 4th Country of London Yeomanry, a unit in the Royal Armoured Corps. The recommendation is rather bland and simply states that “in devotion to duty and disregard to safety he kept up the fighting strength of the unit.” I began to feel that maybe Pickard had been a little short changed with his Croix de Guerre, however, after doing a bit more research I then found a photograph of Brazendale being awarded the medal from General Montgomery! 

​You can see more information on our ‘the forgotten army’ at www.extremerelichunters.com, although it is still in the construction phase, the site is live. On a more important note - if anyone would like to help, either with particular units, awards, or with specific details about metal British dog tags from WW2 then please get in touch. At the moment it’s only myself working on these dog tags and it’s quite a monumental task!

Dan MacKay - I am a lifetime military history enthusiast and self-published author of two books, currently writing my third with more planned. With a couple of friends I formed a group called Extreme Relic Hunters for which I run facebook groups and a website.
My main interests are Canadian WW1, German WW2, US WW1, NAAFI items, Combat photography, Dog-tags and named items from both world wars. I aim to return named items and also collect my own family named medals. I metal detect, dump dig and trade items to specialise my collection which takes me around south-east England and part of Europe.

Extreme Relic Hunters, Facebook Page ​https://www.facebook.com/groups/560495727421114/

Forces War Records, Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=forces%20war%20records
Forces War Records, Twitter ​https://twitter.com/F_W_Records