Scotland's Greatest Story - professional Scottish genealogy research

26/01/2026

February 2026 issue of Who Do You Think You Are? magazine on sale - includes an article by yours truly on Scottish wills. https://scottishgenes.blogspot.com/2026/01/february-2026-issue-of-who-do-you-think.html

24/01/2026

My latest newsletter is now available at https://eomail6.com/web-version?p=1ee65558-f880-11f0-a04d-f185ac2d5764&pt=campaign&t=1769239885&s=79300cd55f6269766d535b6b0b14a1283ddadd754ad71c650d7801d2c6f346f8 , including a tribute to LostCousins founder Peter Calver, details of my Scottish GENES Webinar happening this evening, and the latest genealogy news relevant to Scotland and Ireland.

The latest family history news from Scotland and Ireland

24/01/2026

📢We’re delighted to announce a substantial update to the Scottish Paternity Index

This update includes 1925 Sheriff Court Decrees and Processes from courts across Scotland and the following:

Cupar decrees 1890-1898
Dundee decrees 1876-1879 and 1921-1925
Glasgow decrees 1864-1865
Perth decrees 1873-1875
Rothesay processes 1833
Dumfries processes 1808-1810 and 1844-1848
Stirling processes 1820
Aberdeen processes 1920-1924

Visit the Scottish Indexes website to search and learn more about these amazing documents.

24/01/2026

LostCousins founder Peter Calver passes away https://scottishgenes.blogspot.com/2026/01/lostcousins-founder-peter-calver-passes.html

24/01/2026

I hope you can join me this evening for the first Scottish GENES Webinar of 2026, prior to Burns Night on Sunday - why not make this weekend a Scottish one?!!! 😃🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

The next Scottish GENES Webinar will be on Saturday 24 January 2026, at 7pm (UK time), and will be entitled "Down and Out in Scotland: Researching Ancestral Crisis". If you can't attend the live session a recording will be available for a week after, and there will also be a handout.

In this talk I will be looking at what happened when disaster befell our Scottish ancestors, when there was usually someone close to hand with a quill, parchment and ink to record the proceedings. It's a wide ranging talk covering situations such as poverty and debt, illness, brushes with the law, rebellion, the 'scorning of the Kirk', and considerably more. It is often true that the most likely times our ancestors will appear in the records will be during times of crisis.

Registration is just £10, available via https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_kfJUDoCaQZyLpCl_9HkzuA

I hope to maybe see you there!

Chris

22/01/2026

Two days to go before the next Scottish GENES Webinar with Chris Paton, and then Burns Night on Sunday - make this weekend a Scottish one!!! 😃🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

The next Scottish GENES Webinar will be on Saturday 24 January 2026, at 7pm (UK time), and will be entitled "Down and Out in Scotland: Researching Ancestral Crisis". If you can't attend the live session a recording will be available for a week after, and there will also be a handout.

In this talk Chris will be looking at what happened when disaster befell our Scottish ancestors, when there was usually someone close to hand with a quill, parchment and ink to record the proceedings. It's a wide ranging talk covering situations such as poverty and debt, illness, brushes with the law, rebellion, the 'scorning of the Kirk', and considerably more. It is often true that the most likely times our ancestors will appear in the records will be during times of crisis.

Registration is just £10, available via https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_kfJUDoCaQZyLpCl_9HkzuA

19/01/2026

This coming Sunday sees Burns Night, and what better way to get into the mood than to attend the latest Scottish GENES Webinar the night before?!

The session will be on Saturday 24 January 2026, at 7pm (UK time), and will be entitled "Down and Out in Scotland: Researching Ancestral Crisis". (If you can't attend the live session a recording will be available for a week after, and there will also be a handout.)

In this talk I'll be looking at what happened when disaster befell our Scottish ancestors, when there was usually someone close to hand with a quill, parchment and ink to record the proceedings. It's a wide ranging talk covering situations such as poverty and debt, illness, brushes with the law, rebellion, the 'scorning of the Kirk', and considerably more. It is often true that the most likely times our ancestors will appear in the records will be during times of crisis.

Registration is just £10, available via https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_kfJUDoCaQZyLpCl_9HkzuA

I hope to maybe see you there! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Chris

19/01/2026

That's a nice wee British Library PLR royalties statement just received, thanks to all who have borrowed my books in UK based libraries! Predictably, my books detailing Scottish and Irish internet resources available for family history are still the front runners in library loans, but the book that I am particularly delighted to see at number 3 in the list of my most requested titles is Sharing Your Family History Online. This essentially shows you how to take your research and make it work for you to generate new leads, by throwing it back out there to lure new cousins and resources to you, rather than you just go looking for them. The book is available from Pen and Sword in the UK at https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Sharing-Your-Family-History-Online-Paperback/p/18718 and is currently available on offer for just £6.50 (half price), plus p&p.

For many enthusiasts pursuing their family history research, the online world offers a seemingly endless archive of digitised materials to help us answer the questions…

16/01/2026

Just over a week to go! 👇 If you can't attend the live session a recording will be available for a week after, and there will also be a handout.

The next Scottish GENES Webinar will be on Saturday 24 January 2026, at 7pm (UK time), and will be entitled "Down and Out in Scotland: Researching Ancestral Crisis".

In this talk I'll be looking at what happened when disaster befell our Scottish ancestors, when there was usually someone close to hand with a quill, parchment and ink to record the proceedings. It's a wide ranging talk covering situations such as poverty and debt, illness, brushes with the law, rebellion, the 'scorning of the Kirk', and considerably more. It is often true that the most likely times our ancestors will appear in the records will be during times of crisis.

Registration is just £10, available via https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_kfJUDoCaQZyLpCl_9HkzuA

I hope to maybe see you there!

Chris

14/01/2026

Hi folks, the next Scottish GENES Webinar will be on Saturday 24 January 2026, at 7pm (UK time), and will be entitled "Down and Out in Scotland: Researching Ancestral Crisis".

In this talk I'll be looking at what happened when disaster befell our Scottish ancestors, when there was usually someone close to hand with a quill, parchment and ink to record the proceedings. It's a wide ranging talk covering situations such as poverty and debt, illness, brushes with the law, rebellion, the 'scorning of the Kirk', and considerably more. It is often true that the most likely times our ancestors will appear in the records will be during times of crisis.

Registration is just £10, available via https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_kfJUDoCaQZyLpCl_9HkzuA

I hope to maybe see you there! (A recording will also be available for a week after, if you can't make the live event).

Chris

09/01/2026

ScotlandsPeople adds 290,000 new records in annual update

From Scotland, a daily news blog about genealogy, family history and personal heritage.