ScotlandsPeople is your one-stop resource for tracing your Scottish ancestry.

Search and download millions of birth, death, marriage and census records covering hundreds of years from the comfort of your own home, or visit us in person.

scotlandspeople.gov.uk/visit-us

Death entry of four-time Open Championship winner Tom Morris, who died 24 May 1908.

“Old Tom” and his son “Young Tom” were two of the most celebrated sportsmen of the nineteenth century.

Find out more about them in our records 👇

bit.ly/NRSMorris

Our Old Parish Registers can include all kinds of unusually specific details.

Baby Andrew Murrah, born 1773, was recorded as being “born with an eye tooth come a considerable length but disappeared afterward in the Gum”.

HMS Terrible, launched 27 May 1895 from Clydebank.

One of a series to bear the name since the first Terrible in the 1690s, the ship’s name conveyed its function: to inspire terror!

Find hundreds of photographs from shipbuilding records 👇

bit.ly/ImagesSP

The story of Somerled, the Norse Gael who forged the Kingdom of the Isles. #HistoricalFiction , #ScotlandsPeople

The roller skating rink in #Bathgate , recorded in our valuation rolls from 1915-16.

Scotland was swept by a roller skating craze in the years before World War I, with rinks all over the country.

Find out how valuation rolls can help your research 👇

bit.ly/SPValuationRol…

Kept since 1560, Kirk Session records provide info on births (incl illegitimate), deaths, banns and marriages, poor relief, early census, kirk funds incl mort cloth rental. We have a small collection of copies. Many available on ScotlandsPeople free to view
#ScottishFamilyHistory

Learning old Scottish handwriting can help you to access Scotland's history in our archives.

Get help with learning in our Handwriting Kit

bit.ly/NRSHandwriting

And test your knowledge online, from our one-hour tutorial up to reading entire letters.

bit.ly/SP1Hour

I challenge you to transcribe this one ScotlandsPeople
this being the clearest I could get it
30 credits used up today!
I think I'm done now with your site now.
Irish genealogy is free, not sure why we are paying so much for useless documents like this.

For #NursesDay 2024 on Sunday, we looked into our image library and found this photo from the former Bellshill Maternity Hospital, North Lanarkshire, closed in 2001.

This photo of a nurse looking after babies was taken circa 1970.

Find more images 👇

bit.ly/ImagesSP

Our indexes, Kirk Session records, maps and plans and much more can be searched and viewed for free.

Find out more about our free-to-view research resources 👇

bit.ly/SPForFree

Entries in statutory registers are recorded by year of registration, not necessarily when they took place.

For example, it’s more likely a birth in late December would be registered in January of the following year, as there are 21 days in which to register a birth.

Can you tell how many girls and how many boys were recorded in this old parish register from Pencaitland in 1600, and what were their names were?

If not, our tutorials can help you learn how to read old Scottish handwriting.

Find out how 👇

bit.ly/SPHandwriting

Birth entry of Catherine Hogarth, 19 May 1815.

Born to a publishing family, Catherine married author Charles Dickens in 1835, with whom she had 10 children. Their marriage was an increasingly unhappy one, ending in separation in 1858.

Learn more 👇

bit.ly/SPHogarth

Its 50 years since Robert Watson-Watt died. This past week ScotlandsPeople released the records for everyone who died 50 years ago (or married 75 yrs ago or died 100 yrs ago in Scotland)
Here's the link to Watson-Watt's record with an article.
scotlandspeople.gov.uk/article/our-re…
#radarLove

Search 130,000 entries in historic prison register records on ScotlandsPeople

- Perth
- Edinburgh Bridewell
- Edinburgh Calton
- Largs

Read our guide to help you get the most out of your research 👇

bit.ly/PrisonsGuide

Sometimes less is more.

If you’re struggling to find someone in our records, try omitting their middle name.

For example: inventor John Logie Baird was registered with his middle name spelled slightly differently, as “John Loggie Baird”.

You can search for and find mother’s maiden name on some death entries.

Records are mostly complete up to 1930 and we’re working on filling in information on more modern entries.

Find more about statutory death records 👇

bit.ly/RegisterOfDeat…

Our Scottish Handwriting tutorials provide free online tuition, helping you to decipher old Scottish handwriting from the years 1500-1700.

Very helpful for our older records!

Find out more 👇

bit.ly/SPHandwriting