RELEASE DATE: APRIL 26, 2020
KINSEARCHING
by
Marleta Childs
P. O. Box 6825
LUBBOCK, TX 79493-6825
[email protected]
David Dobson is a very familiar name to readers of this column and family historians trying to trace their pedigrees back to Scotland. A prominent and respected researcher, he has published an astonishing amount of genealogical books about his chosen subject, for which he is well-known. Because there are approximately 50 million people with Scottish roots living worldwide, Dobson also compiled a brief guide as part of the popular “Genealogy at a Glance” series in 2010. Attempting to keep up with the ever-changing sources becoming available in his field of study, he recently completed Scottish Genealogy Research Updated Edition.
Condensing an overview of the basics needed for tracing Scottish ancestors into four laminated pages, Dobson’s publication begins with a few “quick facts.” For example, he points out that, relative to their population, the Scots have the third highest rate of emigration in Europe. As a result, Scots are the second largest ethnic group in Canada. He also tells about the emigration of Scots initially to Europe—particularly to Poland, Scandinavia, the Netherlands, France, and especially Ireland—before their expansion to other continents. By the end of the eighteenth century, approximately 150,000 Scots had settled in the Americas.
Next, he explains the lack of ship passenger lists until the mid-nineteenth century; the only exception was a short period in the 1770s when such records were maintained. He then briefly discusses Scottish surnames and how they can sometimes lead researchers to the clan from which their ancestor descends. In addition, he touches on the difficulty of reading the handwriting in pre-1700 documents and furnishes sources to help overcome the problem.
The majority of Dobson’s data concerns the various types of genealogical research materials that are available. The primary basic genealogical resources are the old parish registers of the Church of Scotland, 1551 to 1854; other church records; post-1854 registration of vital statistics; and census returns from 1841 to 1911.
A large section of the work focuses on supplementary record sources, such as wills and testaments; monumental inscription lists; kirk (church) session records, which pertain to the affairs of the congregation, such as the support of the poor in the parish; services of heirs; registers of sasines; burgh (town) records; estate and family papers; and tax records. Since some of the terms are unfamiliar to genealogists outside of Scotland, Dobson explains the terms and supplies details about the material. Services of heirs, for instance, refer to the documentary evidence arising from a sheriff’s inquest to establish the credentials of rightful heirs to lands in possession of the deceased at the time of his or her death. A sasine is a document that records the transfer of land or buildings by inheritance or sale. Some of these resources, like the monumental inscription lists, have been published. Others, such as the wills and testaments from 1513 to 1901, have an online index. Although the collections of most estate and family papers have been surveyed, many remain in private hands.
He completes his guide by providing updated URLs for the nation’s major online resources. Knowledge about the websites is especially useful, due to the merger of the General Register Office for Scotland and the National Archives of Scotland to form the National Records of Scotland. Dobson also provides informative tips and a list of references to aid in additional research at the end of most segments.
As always, Dobson brings his expertise to bear in a shrewd distillation of facts and data about his field of interest. His convenient and streamlined Scottish Genealogy Research Updated Edition offers valuable insights necessary for discovering ancestors originating in Scotland.
To the guide's price of $9.95, buyers should add the cost for postage and handling charges. For U. S. postal mail, the cost is $5.50 for one item and $2.50 for each additional copy; for FedEx ground service, the cost is $7.00 for one copy and $2.50 for each additional item. The guide (item order 1462) may be purchased by check, money order, MasterCard, or Visa from Genealogical Publishing Company, 3600 Clipper Mill Rd., Suite 260, Baltimore, MD 21211-1953. For phone orders, call toll free 1-800-296-6687; fax 1-410-752-8492; website www.genealogical.com.