How To Search for Records

Date: [unknown] [unknown]
Location: Scotland

This page contains instructions for how to use the search feature on various websites.

Scotland's People

This is the official government repository for records in Scotland. It is free to register, but you need to purchase copies of the document in order to obtain all the information on it. This is not necessary. The indexed search results are an approved source for the purposes of the Scotland Project. There are two methods you can use to search their repository: Quick Search or Advanced People Search

Quick Search - From the home page:

1. Enter the Last Name and First Name of the person you are searching.
2. Enter the date range you're searching in: eg. 1800 to 1900
3. Click enter.

This will take you to the initial search results for the name and date range you provided. It provides a count of all the records associated with the information you provided. You may need to narrow your search, by using the Advanced People Search option.

Advanced People Search - From the home page:

1. Click Advanced People Search
2. Select the type of register you want to search: Statutory Registers, Church Registers, Census Returns, Valuation Rolls, Legal Records, Poor Relief and Migration Records
3. Select the type of record you want to search: Each Register collection will have different options
4. Enter the information in the fields provided:
   1. Surname
   2. Forename
   3. Year Range
   4. Select the County (place)
   5. Select the District
5. Click Search to generate the results

FreeCen

FreeCen.org.uk is a website containing transcriptions of various censuses taken in Scotland.

General Search

1. Enter the information you have for the person you are searching:
   1. Surname
   2. Forename
   3. Birthdate Range (If you know the year, enter it in both fields)
   4. Select the County of Birth
   5. Select the Location at the time of the census, if known
   6. Select the year of the census you want to search (select the -- if you want to search all available)
   7. Apply any filters to narrow it down further (optional): Marital Status, Language, Sex and Occupation
2. Click search to generate the search results