Start Your Scottish Family History Search

Use this page to begin a Scottish ancestry enquiry. You do not need to have everything organised before you get in touch. A few names, places, dates, documents or family stories can be enough to start working out the next useful step.

What To Send If You Have It

• Names of parents, grandparents or older relatives connected to Scotland.
• Approximate birth, marriage, death or migration dates.
• Scottish towns, parishes, counties, islands or regions mentioned in family stories.
• Old certificates, photographs, letters, family-tree notes or online tree links.
• The main question you want answered.

Good First Questions

If you are not sure what to ask, start with one of these:

• Where in Scotland did my family come from?
• Can this family story be checked against records?
• Who were my Scottish great-grandparents?
• Can we extend this family line further back?
• What records should I look at next?

Send Your Enquiry

Include as much useful detail as you can in the message box. If you have documents to share, mention them and Scots Roots can advise the best way to send them.

Your family history may include uncertainty, gaps and sensitive information. Please only send details you are comfortable sharing at this first stage.

What Happens After You Enquire

Your first message does not need to be perfect. Scots Roots will look at the names, places, dates, documents and family stories you send, then advise the most useful next step.

1. Your information is reviewed with care, including uncertainty or gaps.
2. You are told what looks checkable and what may need deeper research.
3. If the project is a good fit, the work can move into record searches, archive checks, a research report or ancestral visit planning.

Past enquiries have led to Scottish place connections, Register House research, certificates, wills, cemetery photographs, family mysteries and stories rooted in Edinburgh’s social history.