Who  Were  Your  Scottish  Kin?

Welcome to Scottish Kin­ ­  ­

Image of dictionary showing definition of kin

Scottish Kin offers professional genealogy and family history research services that can help you find out more about your Scottish ancestors, wherever you are in your research process.

The story of your family's past can be fascinating, surprising, mysterious and frustrating. Millions around the world have reconnected with their Scottish heritage. They have seen their ancestors' homes or even visited their graves. Scottish Kin would love to help you do the same.

Our research process starts with a free initial consultation to determine how best to help you achieve your genealogy aims. With an agreed research plan you are always in control of the budget and can be sure that you won't incur unexpected costs.

Image of signpost at John O'Groats representing how Scots migratedScottish Kin's genealogy research services include essential research for those who are just starting to wonder about their Scottish roots or are not quite sure where to start. If you have been researching your own family tree for some time, Scottish Kin's expertise and experience with Scottish genealogy resources beyond birth, marriage and death records could take you to the next stage. Education, occupation, land and military record sources can really bring your ancestors' story to life.

Perhaps you are looking for a special gift to mark a very special occasion - a milestone birthday or anniversary? We would be happy to help - please contact us to discuss your requirements.

Gift certificates are also available for any of Scottish Kin's genealogy services - perfect for that "hard to buy for" person!

There are wonderful archives in Edinburgh, Glasgow and throughout Scotland containing so much that is simply not available online. From our base near Edinburgh we can help to find the record that might break through the "brick wall" in your research. These might include land documents, deeds, court or kirk session records and many more.

Older Image of old Scottish handwritingdocuments may be written in unfamiliar handwriting and may also contain terms not in general use today. The first challenge then is "what does it say?" and secondly "what does it mean?" Scottish Kin has the skills and experience to answer both of these questions.

If you're planning a vacation in Scotland, why not have some research done in advance so that you can also take the opportunity to see more about your ancestors' lives? We would be delighted to help.

On This Day

7 Nov 1801: Robert Dale Owen, US social reformer, was born in Glasgow.

Latest blog posts

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Warlocks and Scandal in West Calder
We were reminded again recently how useful, and fascinating, Kirk Session records can be - and how easy it can be, when...
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Behind bars
We may not like to find that our ancestor spent time in a nineteenth-century Scottish prison - particularly depending on...
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A tale from the Kirk Session
When researching Scottish family history, advice sometimes turns to using the Kirk Session records. Here we use a specific...

Scottish Words

Cautioner: A guarantor for someone else’s behaviour. Pronounced “kay-shunner”
Kirk Session: The body responsible for the affairs of a particular kirk (Presbyterian Church), consisting of the minister and the elders of the church.
Testate: Having a will

Testimonial

Thank you so much for the research. It’s a wonderful feeling to get a little picture of what life was like a few hundred years ago for my ancestors.

RG, Oregon