I’ve been preparing for a class I’m teaching this coming Sunday on Scotlands People. I LOVE this website. I’ve been using it for about ten years and have become quite adept at extracting information with minimal waste of credits.
If you are unfamiliar with Scotlands People here is the quick scoop on the website. It is not free, but it’s not expensive either. You purchase credits 30 at a time for £7. I’m an American so my cost is worked out based on the exchange rate at the time of purchase – usually about $10-11. Once you have credits you are ready to go to work.
There are several different record sets. You choose your record set and then put in some search terms. The website will spit back a number telling you how many results match your terms. I massage my terms and filters until my results are manageable. The more you know about a person to start, the better you can tailor your search terms.
Once you like your terms and the results they bring up, you purchase a list of results for 1 credit or about 37¢ per page. If your results are on multiple pages you only pay for one page at a time. The list of results tells you a very limited amount of info. From there if you see a record that looks like the one you want, you purchase it for 5 credits or about $1.85. If you are really accurate you might get a record for about $2.22. Not bad!
Bonus – depending on how you set up your search terms, sometimes your list will include records for other family members. For instance my Boles family is awesome to research. There are so few of them I can search by last name only, no gender, a parish, and a year range and pick up a whole bunch of siblings in a list of birth records.
Scotlands People is one of my very favorite websites! I love that every record is on there and I don’t have to wait for a trip to an archive or library, and I don’t have to wait for someone to look up my document and mail/email it to me. I find what I need and get the image immediately.
I’m excited for Sunday night!
My favourite too — and in my case pretty much my major source as ALL (yep 100% so far) of my ancestors were Scots. My other favourite Scottish source is the Lothian Health Service archive. I have several relatives who used the Lothian health service in the 20th century and the archivists have been unbelievable I. Helping me find out more about them!
That’s great! I’d never heard of the Lothian Health Service before. Do they charge a fee? My great grandma was 100% Scottish (so far anyway) too so I have a large chunk of my tree that is Scottish.
I haven’t been charged and they scanned and posted me documents (to New Zealand). They’ve collected hospital and health records from lots of institutions in the Lothian region, including the place my great grandfather went after he lost a limb in WWI, and the hospital where my great grand aunt gave birth and subsequently died. The archivist was so helpful — and kind — with that piece of research.
That is great to know! Thank you Su.
You mention that *every* records is on there; I’m wondering what the range / or span is? Births from 1700 – present? Or, 1900 – present, for instance.
Hi Tracy. This is my response to CadyLuck Leedy:
“There is a distinct division in the records. Civil Registration began in 1855 and once that started the records were so wonderfully detailed that it makes your genealogy heart sing! Prior to 1855 there are the OPR records. Those range from 1538-1854. Of course that doesn’t mean that every parish has records as far back as 1538. The Old Parish Records are not nearly as detailed, accurate, or easy to follow. There are also Catholic records on Scotlands People but my Scottish ancestors weren’t Catholic so I’ve never used them. This website also has all of the Scottish Census that are available, Valuation Rolls, Military Service Appeals Tribunal, Soldiers’ Wills, Wills & Testaments, and Coat of Arms.”
Here are few more details specific to your question:
Civil Birth are 1855-1914 (each year they release another years worth of records, true for each category)
Civil Marriage are 1855-1939
Civil Death are 1855-1964
Pretty much if a Vital record was created in Scotland by the government or the Church(es), it is on Scotlandspeople. The LDS church has about 1/3 of those records on microfilm but as far as I know, no one else has them. There are indexes of course and those can be found on ancestry, FMP, and FS. But the records from the period of Civil Registration are definitely worth getting because they have so much information – WAY more info than the index.
I hope that answers your question. Have a great weekend!
This could be very handy for me! My Irish ancestors, who migrated to the US were Scots Irish. I wonder how far back these records go as well, since my ancestors were already in the US by 1750.
There is a distinct division in the records. Civil Registration began in 1855 and once that started the records were so wonderfully detailed that it makes your genealogy heart sing! Prior to 1855 there are the OPR records. Those range from 1538-1854. Of course that doesn’t mean that every parish has records as far back as 1538. The Old Parish Records are not nearly as detailed, accurate, or easy to follow. There are also Catholic records on Scotlands People but my Scottish ancestors weren’t Catholic so I’ve never used them. This website also has all of the Scottish Census that are available, Valuation Rolls, Military Service Appeals Tribunal, Soldiers’ Wills, Wills & Testaments, and Coat of Arms.
Wow will definitely look into it! My people weren’t Catholic either that’s why King Charles wanted them in Northern Ireland and then in the English colonies!
Glad to help. You can get ten free credits by signing up for some Scottish newsletter. I’ve never done it though so I can’t speak to exactly how it works. Just google “Free credits for Scotlands People” and you should get the link.
I doubt I have any ancestors from Scotland, but you never know! Hmm. one of my great-great-grandfather’s brothers DID own a hotel there for a brief period…
Thanks Amy. Your comment made me chuckle. 🙂 It would be funny and a bit awesome if you found out you are part Scottish and I could help you learn the ways of Scottish research. 😉
I think that that one relative (who immigrated to England from Germany, spent sometime in Scotland, then returned to England, and had no children) is as close as I will get!
🙂 🙂
Hello, I’ve found Scotland,s People excellent too, and as you know, we’re looking for the same Boles ancestors! I hadn’t thought of just typing in the name Boles and the parish. Another website I have found useful is the BMD index from the newspapers. As the Boles clan was centred around mining towns, I have also found the Scottish Mining website very useful, for some excellent insight into working conditions and dangers faced by the Scottish miners. There is a list of mining accidents. The Dalserf Parish Church of Scotland has an excerpt called The Village Doctor about health issues facing the miners. I wish I could attend your workshop!
Hi Sheila! I love researching our Boles family on Scotlands People. Their name is uncommon enough that it’s much easier than my Youngs, Browns, and Robertsons. 😉
Which website do you like for Scottish newspapers?
Oh, it would be fun to have you at my class and meet a cousin! Best to you.
Use the voucher code Scotland on the site to get 20 free credits until end of April. Very useful site.
I read this comment in my email and smiled because I had already written and scheduled my post for today (Monday) with this voucher code. I found it when I was finishing up preparing for my class. But THANK YOU for sharing!
I’ve found Catholics on my father’s side where I didn’t expect to and vice versa on my mother’s where I found my great great grandmother was Protestant so you never know.
So true. My family so far has been primarily Protestant or the Established Church of Scotland. A few are non-conformists, no Catholics yet. On this branch anyway. My French lines are all Catholic.
Nice post! I’ve heard a lot of great things about this website! One of my lines is rumored to originally be from Scotland…I just have to break through a couple of generational brick walls so i can hop over the pond and do the Scottish research. Can’t wait! Good luck with your class!
Thank you Lenore! I love Scottish research during the period of Civil Registration. Pre-1855 isn’t nearly as fun. 😉