LOOKBAK SCOTLAND Searches
Whether you require a full ancestry search or simply some assistance with your own work, Lookbak Scotland is only too happy to help. We have a number of searches available, tailored to meet differing needs. Payments quoted are all in pounds Sterling. Methods of payment depend on where clients are based and can be explained by getting in touch with the website.
A deposit is required for all searches.
Confirmation search
- Carried out to ensure a complete search is possible and provides initial information about the person at the centre of the search ie birth, parents, siblings, marriage or death, if appropriate.
- The search can also be used to help those carrying out their own research who may simply need confirmation they are on the right track or help solve an impasse.
Complete search
- Both paternal and maternal family lines
Additional search. All branches established by a complete search. Consists mainly of female lines introduced through marriage. Cost is flexible depending on the research involved.
* Prices of a forward search may be higher depending on the number of siblings involved and how far back the emigration occurred. Please contact to discuss.
Scottish records provide a fascinating amount of information about the individual, more so than in most countries.
Statutory recording of births, marriages and deaths was introduced in 1855, slightly later than in England, but arguably offers more information given the details they contain.
Birth certificates, for example, give the sex and name of the child born, names of the parents and occupations, the date and place of the birth and the exact time of that birth, among other things.
Death certificates offer the age of the deceased, cause of death and the names of the deceased’s parents.
Census records have developed immensely since the first count in 1841 which produced little more than a list of names and ages at an address with nationalities. Over the years they expanded to give occupations, details of the property in which people lived and relationships of the individuals mentioned among other things.
Old Parish Records were the precursors. Kept by Church of Scotland ministers, they also detailed births, marriages and deaths in their particular livings. How far back they stretch fluctuates from parish to parish. Records can be interrupted for any number of reasons but most get back at least to the late 1700s although some reach back for a century and more beyond that. They come in all forms from immaculate, steady hand writing to almost illegible scrawls in margins. Much depended on the dilligence, perhaps even the sobriety, of the individual minister but they still provide a valuable, fascinating glimpse into the time of our forebears.
Catholic Church records are also available along with several other sources such as Military and Divorce records.
So there are several excellent sources of information that can help build up an all round interesting picture of your ancestors.
Doug offers alternative searches primarily focused on the national records of Scotland. Normally the initial search would focus on the paternal line of the individual requested.
Historical searches outwith family trees are priced individually and depend on the amount of travel involved and expenses to be incurred. Again contact Doug to discuss.
Lookbak Scotland – Scottish Family History Research
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