Friday November 6th 2026
NRS outreach archivist Veronica Schreuder
Written by Midlothian View Reporter, Liam Eunson
Anyone hoping to discover more about their Scottish family history can get started with a newly updated edition of an official guidebook, released in time for Christmas.
Tracing Your Scottish Ancestors, published by National Records of Scotland (NRS), is now in its eighth edition and offers step-by-step advice on researching family history using Scotland’s extensive archive collections.
NRS looks after Scotland’s national archives and makes millions of digital records available to the public through its Scotland’s People website, including birth, death and marriage records.
The latest edition has been updated by NRS archivist Veronica Schreuder, six years after the previous version was published. Since then, a number of additional record collections have become available online.
Veronica said: “Scotland has some of the most detailed and well-preserved records in the world but the sheer scale of them can make it daunting to get started.
“This book shows you step-by-step how to develop your family tree and how to use less well-known records to uncover more detail.
“As well as being a practical guide, it also makes a thoughtful gift this festive season.”
The new edition includes advice on using kirk session and other Church of Scotland court records, which document community life between 1559 and 1900.
The records, largely made up of evidence from church court cases, can offer insights into how ordinary Scots lived, worked and worshipped.
Other recently added collections include prison registers from jails in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Perth. Photographs of some inmates at Barlinnie and Perth also offer the possibility of seeing what an ancestor looked like.
Researchers can also search index cards relating to the Scottish Women’s Land Army and Scottish Women’s Timber Corps, which recruited women during the Second World War to help maintain the country’s food and fuel supplies.
Records of crofters gathered during the 1883 Napier Commission inquiry are also covered, offering a useful resource for those researching Highland ancestors who worked the land.
The guide includes information on accessing records that are only available in person at the NRS search rooms at General Register House in Edinburgh.
NRS said its archives offer a wealth of material for anyone interested in exploring their family, local or social history.
Tracing Your Scottish Ancestors is published by Birlinn and costs £14.99. It is available from the Scotland’s People website shop, bookshops and online retailers.
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