TheGenealogist adds Scottish confirmation and English probate records

From TheGenealogist (www.thegenealogist.co.uk):

TheGenealogist has just added a substantial new release to its growing collection of historical records, making over 330,000 names available from a variety of wills and probate sources across England and Scotland. These valuable records are great for historians trying to push their tree back, with records spanning 500 years from the 14th century up to the 19th century. They provide a remarkable glimpse into the lives, legacies, and legal affairs of past generations.

Among the notable figures in this collection is George Buchanan (1506–1582), the Scottish historian, humanist scholar, and tutor to King James VI. His testament appears in the Commissariot Record of Edinburgh (1514–1600), offering researchers a direct connection to one of the great minds of the Scottish Renaissance.

Read more about George Buchanan’s fascinating life in our latest article, “The Scholar Who Tutored a King and Defied a Queen”: https://www.thegenealogist.co.uk/featuredarticles/2025/george-buchanan-8698/

The new collections now available to search on TheGenealogist include:

• Archdeaconry of Cornwall Wills and Administrations 1569-1699
• A Calendar of Wills, Gloucestershire 1541-1650
• Calendars of Lincoln Wills 1320-1600 (covering Lincoln, Leicester, Rutland, Northampton, Huntingdon, Bedford, Buckingham, Hertford, and Oxford)
• Wills and Administrations Preserved in the District Probate Court of Lewes 1541-1652 (covering East Sussex)
• Dougal's Index Register to Next of Kin, Heirs at Law, and Cases of Unclaimed Money
• Commissariot Record of Edinburgh, Register of Testaments, 1514-1600
• Commissariot of Inverness, Hamilton & Campsie Testaments, 1630-1800

These records are fully searchable and form part of TheGenealogist’s ongoing effort to bring hard-to-access historical documents into the hands of family historians, academic researchers, and local history enthusiasts.

Mark Bayley, Head of Online Content at TheGenealogist, said:

"These records span centuries of history, from the 1300s through to the early modern era. Whether you're uncovering humble tradespeople or historical figures like George Buchanan, this collection can help you push your tree back before the time of parish records."

Available now to all Standard and Diamond subscribers, these wills and probate collections are part of TheGenealogist’s commitment to preserving and sharing the stories of the past through original records, expertly indexed and easily searchable online.

(With thanks to Paul Bayley at TheGenealogist)

Chris

Order Researching Ancestral Crisis in Ireland in the UK at https://bit.ly/4jJWSEh. Also available - Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors, Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records, Sharing Your Family History Online, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed), and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records - to purchase, please visit https://bit.ly/ChrisPatonPSbooks. For purchase in tthe USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page.

Scottish and Irish Pharos Tutors genealogy courses in October

I will be teaching two courses for Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd (www.pharostutors.com) this October:

Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the Old Parish Registers
5 weeks, starts Monday 7th October

This is an intermediate level course in Scottish family history for those who are going back beyond 1850. You should have some experience with research in the Old Parish Registers (OPRs) of the Church of Scotland and in using major websites for Scottish research.

This course discusses sources that fill the gap when the OPRs are uninformative or missing, such as the kirk session and presbytery courts records generated by the Kirk (Church of Scotland), as well as the records of dissenting and seceding Presbyterian congregations. From the forerunners of Scotlands modern towns and cities are the administrative records of the burghs, and the trades incorporations and merchant guilds, as well as other professions, which can enhance our understanding of our ancestors lives. And in the final two lessons the course turns up a notch and tackles two areas where the Scottish records, as generated through the feudal system, are truly unique, namely the various registers of land records known as sasines, and the separate legal processes in Scotland for the inheritance of both moveable and heritable estate.

Whilst some of the records discussed in the course are available online, many are available only in the archives, or in private hands, and a strong focus of this course will be in how to successfully employ the relevant catalogues and finding aids to locate such treasures. 

For further details visit https://www.pharostutors.com/scotland-1750-1850-beyond-the-old-parish-registers


***NEW COURSE*** 

Researching Irish Land Records
5 weeks, starts Monday 21st October

The issue of land ownership was a potent question in Ireland for centuries. In the 17th century vast swathes of land was settled by Protestant British colonists during the Plantations of Ulster, drawn mostly from Scotland, whilst the subsequent Cromwellian conquest led to mass confiscation of land across Ireland, to be conveyed to English soldiers and 'adventurers'. The Penal Laws had soon dispossessed the native Irish Catholic population of many rights, including landownership and inheritance rights. At the same time, the first national land valuation survey in the world was carried out, and an elaborate system of land administration imposed. In the 19th century, Ireland's incorporation into the United Kingdom was followed by great tragedy with the Famine, but in its aftermath a new opportunity arose following the Land War to radically alter rental provisions and then to redistribute land away from an absentee landlord class.

Following on from the Progressing Your Irish Research Online* course, this brand new course will look at the various types of records that can help with land research in Ireland from the period of the 17th century to the present day. It will examine the various forms of land tenure that existed, the records of ownership and rental, the valuation and conveyance of property, maps, and many other resources. Importantly it will show how to find the most useful land records, and how to use them for your family history research.

* Although not compulsory, it is recommended that students will have first completed the Progressing Your Irish Research Online course.

For further details visit https://www.pharostutors.com/researching-irish-land-records

I hope to maybe see you there!

Chris

Order Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors in the UK at https://bit.ly/BelfastAncestors. Also available - Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records, Sharing Your Family History Online, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed), and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records - to purchase, please visit https://bit.ly/ChrisPatonPSbooks. For purchase in tthe USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, on Threads at @scottishgenesblog and via Mastodon at https://mastodon.scot/@ScottishGENES.

Gazette article details current Scottish legal rights on inheritance

The Gazette (www.thegazette.co.uk) published an article on December 14th 2020 by Susan Batchelor of Brodies LLP entitled What are your legal rights in Scotland for inheritance?, which may be of interest. 

I've covered historic inheritance for genealogists in my book Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records, but this article details the current provisions as set out in Scots Law today. 

 (With thanks to The Gazette at @TheGazetteUK)

Chris

Pre-order my next book, Sharing Your Family History Online, at https://bit.ly/SharingFamHist. My book Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scottish2 is also out, as are Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Irish1 and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scotland1. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.