Sae here the sindry practical steps that a body can tak for tae redd oot thair ain kin, an stert backwards fae the day.

First an maist important thing tae dae, afore ony ither, is get haud o the auldest fowk in yer family, sit doun wi thaim, an speir awa tae get the names o awbody, ony dates thay micht ken, a swatch o ony auld photies tae pit them in mind, an aince ye’r done, sit doun, gaither thegither yer jottings, an mak a chairt o whit ye ken. Unless ye dae this first, afore ye stert oot, it’ll no be lang afore ye get yersel in a fankle.

Gin ye’r a body that haesna ony near faimly, hae a raik for ony papers ye micht hae – birthlines, mairrage lines, or whitever – an see whit ye can learn fae thaim tae get a stert.

The neist step is births, deiths, an mairrages. Nooadays, maist o this information can be fund online at the wabsteid cryed Scotland’s People. Aw births, deiths an mairrages fae the year 1855 haes been eikit thareawa as deegital eemages as, ye see, it becam the law in Scotland fae 1 Januar 1855 that a body haed tae register sic things. Afore 1855 haunling o this ilk cam unner the remit o the kirk or chaipel that a body belanged, sae whit releegion yer forebears hung-tae will be gey important for the kind o papers ye micht find. But we will speak mair o this efter.

Anither thing that ye micht want tae dae on stertin oot, is pey a veesit tae yer leebrar hameaboot, if yer faimly belanged the place whaur ye bide. It micht be that yer leebrar hauds buiks or even papers tae dae wi yer forebears or microfilms o auld parochial registers. Awa an speir at them tae get mair wittins.