Scottish Catholic Archives go online

For many researching their Scottish ancestry, it may come as a surprise to learn that the database we've been so happy using for the last few years, http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/ does not contain everyone's data. 
In particular, up until now, there were no sacramental registers for Catholics (records of baptism, confirmation, marriage and death). 
The records which have been available represent the main branch of the Church of Scotland.
The Scottish Catholic Archives, under the auspices of the Bishops' Conference of Scotland, and in partnership with the Office of the Registrar General and Keeper of the Records of the National Archives, has launched the baptismal portion of these records by adding them to the Scotlands People database. 
This is roughly a half million records. Additional records will follow later this year.
As is true with the Protestant records, not all parishes are fully represented, and dates for search can therefore be misleading. Check the catalogs carefully before assuming that a search has been definitive -- one parish may have records back to 1703, another back to 1538.
Baptisms, marriages, censuses, death records and wills should be compared to other records to complete the search for your family.
To visit the website for the Scottish Catholic Archives, go to http://www.scottishcatholicarchives.org.uk/Archives/tabid/67/Default.aspx


Photo: Carol, Mary, Rosemary, Vinny, Audrey at the Scottish Catholic Archives, Sept 2009

As some of my longer-term friends know, Harlan Whatley made a film called the Tartan Apple about Scottish-Americans in New York, and invited me to be part of it. It was a fun project, he did something that  was important for the community at large, and his film won several awards. It's available online at https://www.createspace.com/205040 and to learn about his other projects check out the Internet Movie Database listing at http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1146507/

Carol at Wallace Monument, Stirling Castle in background

A windy day at the Wallace Monument with Mary, Jan and Rosemary

Deborah found an ancestor

Bob at Stirling Castle

Nancy at ScotlandsPeople Centre

Edinburgh, Scotland Sept 2009

Just got back from a research trip to visit the National Archives of Scotland, the ScotlandsPeople Centre at the General Register Office, and the Scottish Catholic Archives. The support we received from the staff was just great. Our guest speakers included David Sellar, Lord Lyon King of Arms and Ken Nesbitt of the Scottish Genealogy Society. The program included day trips to Rosslyn Chapel, the Wallace Monument, Bannockburn and Stirling Castle. I gave two lectures and lots of consultations to fellow members of the New England Historic Genealogical Society. Next stop for me is Stone Mountain Highland Games in Georgia back in the US of A. Pictured are Rosemary, Paul, Cornelia, Deborah. Special thanks to  McLean Scotland