Tracing Your Scottish Ancestors (National Archives of Scotland) Paperback – 1 Nov. 2011

Whether you are researching your Scottish family tree at a distance online or visiting the national repositories in Edinburgh, this is an essential purchase. It is well written and uses illustrative examples without digressing into anecdotal digressions. It is packed with practical information, explains the purpose and context of the records available and points you in the direction of sources to take you further (archives, family history societies, websites and books). It has been designed to be looked up with section headings, numbered paragraphs and clear cross references. I have a number of books on Scots genealogy and have been researching branches of my family since the 1980s and have found much here that is useful. It is both the best starting place for a beginner and a valuable tool for the more experienced.The author Dr Tristram Clarke is an insider - an archivist who works for the National Records of Scotland. He gives you the catalogue details for the holdings. The copy I have of Clarke's guide is the 2018 reprint revised in 2015. One of the values of buying the most up-to-date reprint is just that - it is recent and relevant (the NRS have a vested interest in keeping it that way). I have witnessed their own staff look up a copy to check a reference in response to a query. Note that the book is Crown Copyright but has been published under an Open Government Licence - this means you can reuse information from it free of charge providing you observe the terms of the licence.

I have managed to cope with on line searchs for relatives in Scotland, but this book seems to add some flavour to the difficulties! My real roblem is that at some point those "Scottish" ancestors were from Ireland, but try as I may I can't find out from where.

Well designed and clear. This is an indispensable aid to Scottish Family History. I am a professional level genealogist and I would not want to be without this guide.By the way NAS/NRS are to be applauded for keeping the Guide up to date with their own phenomenal progress in providing access to Scotland's archives.

Best book I have purchased in a long time, been a great asset to my family history I am on at this moment of time. Value for money.

For 1p!! Couldn't believe my luck. Just what I need to help me in my search to find my scottish ancestry. Arrived promptly and was in excellent condition so thank you very much. Woukd recommend this seller.

Great book and useful hints and tips as I am researching our family tree.

Useful resource for genealogy research

Great