RELEASE DATE: APRIL 25, 2021
KINSEARCHING
by
Marleta Childs
P. O. Box 6825
LUBBOCK, TX 79493-6825
[email protected]
The author of more than 200 books on the subject of Scots and their emigration, David Dobson is a familiar name to many family historians. Drawing on his vast experience over a fifty-year period of historical and genealogical research in archives and libraries throughout Scotland, he shares the culmination of his knowledge in his new book, SCOTTISH GENEALOGY: THE BASICS AND BEYOND.
As one would expect in a “how-to” handbook, SCOTTISH GENEALOGY provides information on the major sources (for instance, censuses and vital and church records) and repositories for people who are just beginning research on their ancestors. He also furnishes information about resources that genealogists with more experience may have utilized, such as monumental inscription lists, wills and testaments, sasines and land registers, services of heirs (alias “retours”), tax lists, and military records.
What makes this guidebook stand out from all the rest is its focus on other, less commonly known resources, emphasizing publications, manuscripts, and archival materials. Dobson highlights ways to trace forebears by utilizing alternative sources, especially those covering the years between 1550 and 1850.
Among the lesser known topics he discusses are heritors' records; barony court books; burgh records; maritime, fishing, and whaling records; professional, occupational, and educational records; miscellaneous urban and rural records; Covenanter and Jacobite documents; the Register of the Privy Council of Scotland; and mental health records. After delving into these resources, more advanced researchers will be able to put basic facts they have gathered into context.
Another unique feature of this guidebook is Dobson’s inclusion of numerous excerpts from various records. These interesting examples will lead genealogists to the materials most applicable to their own research.
In addition, he furnishes data on the many Scottish merchants, craftsmen, soldiers, and students who emigrated to other parts of the world. He includes special sections on Scots in The Netherlands, Scandinavia, France, Germany, Poland and Lithuania, Russia, southern Europe, Ireland, Australasia, Asia, Africa, Latin America, North America, and the West Indies. The author also gives some information about Victorian era emigration.
Throughout his book, Dobson shares his extensive list of publications and archival records—an inventory that would take years for other individuals to glean and compile from such a far-reaching and huge amount of relevant materials he has discovered during his endeavors. Dobson’s sharing of his vast wealth of expertise in all aspects of family history in Scotland and abroad makes SCOTTISH GENEALOGY: THE BASICS AND BEYOND a worthwhile addition to all genealogical libraries.
Sporting an attractive and colorful front cover, the 157-page paperback has an introduction, maps, illustrations, a list of abbreviations for the source citations, an appendix listing family history societies in Scotland, and two indexes: one for subjects and one for surnames mentioned in the text. To the book’s price of $25.95, buyers should add the cost for postage and handling charges. For U. S. postal mail, the cost is $5.50 for one book and $2.50 for each additional copy; for FedEx ground service, the cost is $7.50 for one copy and $2.50 for each additional book. The volume (item order 1459) may be purchased by check, money order, MasterCard, or Visa from Genealogical Publishing Company, Inc., 3600 Clipper Mill Rd., Suite 260, Baltimore, Maryland 21211-1953. For phone orders, call toll free 1-800-296-6687; fax 1-410-752-8492; website at www.genealogical.com.