Family History Research Group

Many of us wish to learn about our family history – who our ancestors were, where they lived, how they earned a living and perhaps to discover some of the fascinating things they did or even some of the criminal activities they committed or tragedies they suffered.

Each family is a giant jigsaw puzzle with lots of missing pieces and some pieces will never be found.

Each puzzle is different but all are interesting, fun, time-consuming, rewarding, frustrating, addictive……………………. We may be able to help you find some missing pieces.

Thanks to the internet, it’s never been easier to trace back to a glen or village where your family lived centuries ago. Start with a person whose full name you know, with identifying details such as place and date of birth, marriage or death. You will usually find tracing a Scottish line of descent back to 1855 fairly straightforward, remembering that someone who died soon after 1855 may have been born in 1780 or earlier. Going further back, we use old parish records, some of which date back to 1553, but OPRs are incomplete and provide less information than statutory registers.

The National Records of Scotland is responsible for the registers of births, marriages and deaths, and for Censuses. Records are publicly available and, since 1998, anyone can access the records through the genealogical website – Scotland’s People.

Ancestry is probably the most widely known website and holds millions of records. Many are transcriptions but you should look at original documents if available. We can show you how to access Ancestry Institution at the library, free of charge.

Ways in which we can help

  • In 2019, in conjunction with PKC, two Heritage Society members became Volunteers at the Library;
  • In the 9 months to February 2020 we responded to about a dozen queries;
  • The service is free but a donation to Breadalbane Heritage society would be welcomed;
  • Images of records at “ScotlandsPeople” must be purchased; the charge is £1.50 per record (2021) which you would pay;
  • Under non-Covid circumstances we would meet and show you how to access Ancestry free of charge at the library, and how to find some of the other resources;
  • What we are currently able to do is answer queries and we are willing to do some research on your behalf if you are unable to use the tools yourself or don’t have the time.

In November 2020, the Heritage Society hosted an on-line lecture presented by Helen Stewart on “Tracing your Family History in Scotland”. If you would like to see a video of this event, please click on this link: Tracing your Family History in Scotland. This will take you to the post which includes the video.

If you would like further information or are interested in researching your family tree, please use the contact form on our Contact page, with ‘Family History Research‘ as the subject title.