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Frequently Asked Questions:
- What can Scottish Forebears find out about my family history for me?
- What information about my family do I need to give?
- What kind of historical records do Scottish Forebears use?
- .. And how much will a search cost me?
- How long will it take Scottish Forebears to do the work?
- ..And what will I get?
- Can Scottish Forebears find my living Scottish relatives?
- ..And how much does this cost?
- Can I just do the research by myself?
- Who are Scottish Forebears?
- FAQs are fine, but how do I get help from a human?
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1. What can Scottish Forebears find out about my family history for me?
Depending on which search option you choose, we can identify your maternal or paternal ancestors - or both - tracing many of them back to the late eighteenth century. We can find when and where they were born, what they did for a living, who they married, what religion they were, how many children they had, what kind of houses they lived in, who their neighbours were and of course at what age and how they died.
That ought to give you food for thought!
For special searches, we can look up churchyard inscriptions, family wills and find out more about the parishes in which your ancestors lived. If you have a specific request - just ask us!
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2. What information about my family do I need to give?
We don't need much information to start researching your family: but it does need to be concrete information: and the more recent the better! If you, your mother and your grandmother were all born in Scotland then we prefer to begin our search with your details rather than your Grannie's. (If this sounds surprising, it's because it helps us to get a "feel" for your family to work through as many generations as possible.)
We need the full name of a person born, or married or known to have died in Scotland. We need to know the date of that birth, marriage or death and preferably the place.
If your ancestor has a common name - that is - a name common in Scotland! - or if you only know his birthplace as "Glasgow" (Scotland's biggest city), then add as many supporting details as possible: family christian names, mother's birthplace, family religion, names of siblings. These details can all help, but nothing is as good as unambiguous facts about one specific event.
Robert Andrew Ewart, born in Athelstaneford, 5th August 1922.
That's all we need to know!
But if you're not sure, just ask us for our advice. Remember - there's no obligation.
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3. What kind of historical records do Scottish Forebears use?
Scottish Forebears have access to all the public records, held here in Edinburgh. These include: centuries of records kept by local parish ministers; the official Birth, Death and Marriage records, which were first taken in 1855; all census records over 100 years old (more recent census records are kept secret); registers of Wills and property records; records of graveyard inscriptions; local street guides and gazetteers... the list goes on.
We Scots are fortunate - we're a small country with generations of our hatching, matching and despatching meticulously recorded, making life so much more rewarding for genealogists.
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4. .. And how much will a search cost me?
Our prices are based on how long we are likely to spend on researching your family: hence a detailed search costs more than a short search. Costs (quoted in pounds sterling) range from £25.00 for our Spot Search to £295.00 for our Special Search.
Have a look at our services page for more details.
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5. How long will it take Scottish Forebears to do the work?
For most of the year, we can carry out a normal search in a week or so, but if you need the work done for a special date - a birthday perhaps? - let us know and we'll schedule your search accordingly. We aim to please!
We'll always try to accommodate your requirements, but accurate, quality work can never be and will never be rushed.
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6. ..And what will I get?
You will receive a fully detailed report on your family history. We include full reference numbers for each of the birth, death, marriage or census records we find, in case you might want to order copies later. We also include a family tree chart, to enable you to visualise the relationships between all your ancestors.
Depending on which service you have ordered, we can include copies of certificates or census records.
Have a look at our services page for more details.
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7. Can Scottish Forebears find my living Scottish relatives?
Yes we can - sometimes.
We've had a lot of success tracing living Scottish relatives, but lets be honest, it can be trickier than tracing dead ones. We're family researchers, not private detectives: we only use publicly available records and we don't attempt to trace people who obviously don't want to be found.
The best thing is to contact us and discuss with us what you need.
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8. ..And how much does this cost?
We don't have set prices for tracing living relatives as each of the cases we have had has been so different. Usually, we prefer to quote by the hour.
Contact us for a quotation at no obligation to you.
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9. Can I just do the research by myself?
Of course you can!
You can also pick up a pair of scissors and cut your own hair, or get a pack of spanners and fix your own car. Lots of people can and do!
But if you don't have the time, or like us, you prefer to employ a skilled hairdresser and a reliable mechanic (names available on request) - then get us to do the dirty work for you. We're pretty good at it!
Then you can use your precious time visiting the farms, streets, clachans or castles where your ancestors grew up and leave sunny afternoons spent in Edinburgh's dusty old archives to us!
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10. Who are Scottish Forebears?
The Scottish Forebears research team is led by Vicky Stephenson and Morna Findlay.
Vicky became fascinated by genealogy during the years she spent working in medical research. She learned her formidable skills by tracing families with interesting hereditary diseases, monitoring patterns of deaths near infamous chemical factories (we hope this isn't putting you off!) and investigating different life expectancies for varying groups of Scots over the centuries and so on... Quite an apprenticeship!
Morna's family own an ancient book of sermons which has been passed down from son to son (and never to daughter) for twelve generations. Resentment at this neanderthal tradition (Morna is the eldest of her family) inspired her rebellious teenage interest in her female ancestors. So far, Morna's son Jim is the only male grandchild in the family but her brothers are working on this "difficulty".
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11. FAQs are fine, but how do I get help from a human?
You can email us right now!, and we'll get back to you as soon as we possibly can. Or take a look at our contact telephone numbers and phone us. We ask only that you remember we're in Scotland and try not to phone in the middle of our night - we don't guarantee to answer the phone then!
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Scottish Forebears |
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