Scotland's Greatest Story - professional Scottish genealogy research

22/09/2025

Napier Commission returns to be added to ScotlandsPeople in November https://scottishgenes.blogspot.com/2025/09/napier-commission-returns-to-be-added.html

22/09/2025

Researching Scottish Ancestral Crisis course starts October 27th

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

21/09/2025

Scottish GENES Webinar: Gaelic Scotland for Family Historians
Saturday 25 October 2025, 7.00pm (UK time), £10.
https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_ynCiTOHbSuyvkwhCkEScdQ #/registration

This will be a generic introduction on Zoom focussing on the history of the Gaels in Scotland, the language and culture, and of course, how to research your Gaelic ancestry, not just in the Highlands and Islands where the language is still spoken today, but across most of the country. If you've wondered where Scotland got its name, what 'aliases' are, have crofting ancestors, ancestors affected by the Clearances or the Jacobite times, family members forced to emigrate, and/or are simply curious to find which repositories and sites hold the relevant records, there will hopefully be plenty in here of interest!

(And whilst I do speak Gàidhlig, the session will be in English...!)

20/09/2025

Happening this evening! My first Scottish GENES Webinar, "Using DNA for Family History Research: A Beginner's Guide", takes place tonight (Saturday) at 7.00pm (UK time).

The talk will offer a jargon-free introduction to how DNA research can be used in our ancestral pursuits, with an introduction to the three main types of test available, and with some case studies from my own research to illustrate the most commonly used form to help resolve some brick wall issues!

The fee to attend is UK £10, and you can register to attend at https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_6zmDVN02S16qflkpYCAFTg

A recording will be made available for a week after.

I'll hopefully see you there! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

18/09/2025

I've just carried out a successful technical rehearsal for my first Scottish GENES Webinar, "Using DNA for Family History Research: A Beginner's Guide", which is happening in two days time on Saturday 20th September at 7.00pm (UK time)!

The talk will offer a jargon-free introduction to how DNA research can be used in our ancestral pursuits, with an introduction to the three main types of test available, and with some case studies from my own research to illustrate the most commonly used form to help resolve some brick wall issues!

The fee to attend is UK £10, and you can register to attend at https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_6zmDVN02S16qflkpYCAFTg

Whether you can make it for the live session or not, a recording will be made available for a week after.

I'll hopefully see you there!

17/09/2025

Just three days to go until the first Scottish GENES Webinar, "Using DNA for Family History Research: A Beginner's Guide".

The talk kicks off at 7pm (UK time) on Saturday 20th, and if you can't make it, a recording will be made available for a week after.

Thanks to all who have signed up so far, but if you'd still like to, you can do so at https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_6zmDVN02S16qflkpYCAFTg #/registration - the fee is UK £10.

I'll hopefully see you there!

16/09/2025

I've just recorded this weekend's first Scottish GENES Webinar, on the topic of "Using DNA for Family History Research: A Beginner's Guide". It's a packed talk, with lots covered! The talk kicks off at 7pm (UK time) on Saturday 20th, and if you can't make it, a recording will be made available for a week after.

Thanks to all who have signed up so far, but if you'd still like to, you can do so at https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_6zmDVN02S16qflkpYCAFTg #/registration - the fee is UK £10.

I'll hopefully see you there!

13/09/2025

Just one week to go for the first in a new Scottish based genealogy webinar series!

Scottish GENES Webinar - Using DNA for Family History Research: A Beginner's Guide
Saturday, September 20th 2025, at 7pm UK time. UK £10.

In this session family historian Chris Paton will provide a jargon-free introduction for beginners on how DNA can be used for family history research to break down brick wall problems; along the way he will highlight three case studies from his own ancestral research where DNA has offered answers to problems which the paper trail alone could not resolve.

To register, please visit https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_6zmDVN02S16qflkpYCAFTg

(If unable to attend on the day, a recording will be made available for one week after.)

In this session, genealogist Chris Paton provides a jargon-free introduction for beginners on how DNA can be used for family history research to break down brick wall problems. As well as offering a brief overview of the history of DNA, and an introduction to how various DNA tests are used in certai...

13/09/2025

My next 5-week-long Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the Old Parish Registers course starts on Monday, but there are still spaces available! The course looks at many records online and others only available in archives which can progress your Scottish research further back before civil registration. Visit https://www.pharostutors.com/scotland-1750-1850-beyond-the-old-parish-registers for further details on the course, and on how to sign up.

09/09/2025

Scottish GENES Webinar - Using DNA for Family History Research: A Beginner's Guide
Saturday, September 20th 2025, at 7pm UK time. UK £10.
(A recording will be made available for a week after.)

In this session family historian Chris Paton will provide a jargon-free introduction for beginners on how DNA can be used for family history research to break down brick wall problems; along the way he will highlight three case studies from his own ancestral research where DNA has offered answers to problems which the paper trail alone could not resolve.

To register, please visit

In this session, genealogist Chris Paton provides a jargon-free introduction for beginners on how DNA can be used for family history research to break down brick wall problems. As well as offering a brief overview of the history of DNA, and an introduction to how various DNA tests are used in certai...

07/09/2025

Hi folks, after a three week break to give my hand a chance to heal, the Scottish GENES Newsletter is back, with this week's edition available at https://eomail6.com/web-version?p=92f63f78-8bd7-11f0-945c-49f27f6371a8&pt=campaign&t=1757242851&s=eb402797a9813856191abd56b4c569884358b72b3851d9caa79977f5409b2fc4

Don't forget that you can freely subscribe to it via the blog at https://scottishgenes.blogspot.com/ - if you have done so, and it didn't arrive in your inbox about midday UK time, please do check your Junk folder (some email programmes aren't as friendly as others!).

The latest genealogy and family history news from Scotland and Ireland

07/09/2025

This month I intend to start a series of monthly Scottish GENES webinars, based on a range of genealogy topics. My first webinar will take place via Zoom on Saturday 20th September 2025 at 7.00pm UK time, and will be on the topic of "Using DNA for Family History Research: A Beginner's Guide". After the session there will be an opportunity for Q&As.

In this session, I will provide a jargon-free introduction for beginners on how DNA can be used for family history research to break down brick wall problems. As well as offering a brief overview of the history of DNA, and an introduction to how various DNA tests are used in certain situations, I will also highlight three case studies from my own ancestral research where DNA has offered answers to problems which the paper trail alone could not resolve.

The fee for the webinar is UK £10. To register, please visit https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_6zmDVN02S16qflkpYCAFTg

(For those unable to attend on the night, a video will be made available of the session which will be viewable for one week after it takes place).

I hope you can join me!

Chris Paton