On-demand videos: Tracing Your Scottish Ancestors

Bringing you expert knowledge from the world’s leading authorities on Scottish family history, this on-demand collection is the perfect way to deepen your research skills and uncover more about your Scottish ancestors.

From unmissable online resources to expert tuition from National Records of Scotland, Scotland’s People, and leading genealogists, each session gives you practical tools you can use immediately in your own research.

📅 What’s Included in the on-demand collection?

• Four expert video recordings
• Over five and a half hours of video footage to watch at your own pace
• Your Tracing Your Scottish Ancestors free guide
• Handouts and slides

The collection consists of four videos:

• Tracing Your Scottish Ancestors: Meet the Experts – Introductory discussion panel
• Tracing Your Scottish Ancestors: Online Resources with Chris Paton
• Tracing Your Scottish Ancestors: Research Skills with Tahitia McCabe, University of Strathclyde
• Tracing Your Scottish Ancestors: Searching the Records with National Records of Scotland & Scotland’s People

🧭 What will I learn?

Across four expert-led sessions, you’ll learn how to:

• Begin your Scottish genealogy with confidence
  Understand the essential first steps and avoid the most common research pitfalls.
• Use Scotland’s key online resources effectively
  Including Scotland’s People, National Records of Scotland, and other digital archives.
• Strengthen your research skills
  Interpret historical evidence, follow complex family lines, and tackle gaps in the records.
• Search and understand Scottish records
  Explore BMDs, census returns, parish registers, wills, maps, and more.
• Break through brickwalls
  Learn techniques for overcoming missing data, name variations, and confusing entries.
• Understand the social history behind your ancestors
  Discover the communities, traditions, and laws that shaped their lives.