July 24, 2021 Meeting; Discover Scottish Family History

Chris Paton

Presentation

“Wha’s like us? Damn few, an’ they’re aw’ deid!” Although Scotland is currently part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, its historic records and traditions are very different compared to the rest of the UK, with many institutions remaining independent from England at the time of the Union in 1707. These include the Presbyterian based state church, the legal system (Scots Law), the education system, and considerably more.

In this session, Ayrshire based family historian Chris Paton outlines the records needed to explore your Scottish ancestry, noting where to find them online and offline, and exploring how they can help to trace your forebears back through time. He’ll discuss church records, civil registration records, censuses, land records, inheritances processes, and along the way flag up some of Scotland’s more interesting historic traditions to help researchers better understand their Caledonian heritage.

Speaker

Originally from Northern Ireland, Chris Paton is a genealogist and writer today based in Ayrshire, Scotland, where he runs the Scotland’s Greatest Story research service at www.scotlandsgreateststory.co.uk. As well as contributing to many of the UK’s best known family history magazines, Chris also writes for his own Scottish GENES news blog at www.scottishgenes.blogspot.com, and regularly gives talks to family history societies across the UK and worldwide. His recent publications include Tracing Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd edition), and Sharing Your Family History Online.