Scottish GENES

Saturday, 7 February 2026

Registration now open for Strathclyde's postgraduate genealogy courses

From the University of Strathclyde:

Registration is now open for the April 2026 start Postgraduate Certificate in Genealogical Studies.

The online modular route offers greater flexibility, perfect for students who prefer to learn at their own pace over a longer period of time. There are no formal exams on any of our courses. Instead, you’ll complete modules through engaging assignments and coursework.

What you will gain from the programme:

develop a grounding in the theory and practice of genealogical research, records, archives and heraldry;
focus on the sources available to genealogists and family historians;
gain a deeper, more critical understanding of the field, its literature, professional and academic practice;
professional recognition (ASGRA, AGRA, RQG) from PGDip level.

Application deadline

Please submit your application no later than the 31st of March 2026.

Normally, a degree or similar evidence of study skills is required however non-standard educational or professional qualifications will also be considered Download our FAQ document for further guidance.

Information including fees and course content can be found on the MSc Genealogical, Palaeographic and Heraldic Studies course page.

** This year marks 20 years since the Postgraduate Certificate in Genealogical Studies course first commenced, as designed by Bruce Durie. I was in the first cohort of students for this, and the subsequent year's Postgraduate Diploma, although did not continue to the masters, as this took a bit longer to set up and I was already onto other things (I may go back some day to complete the Masters, who knows?!). I can thoroughly recommend the course for those wishing to take a serious approach to becoming a professional genealogist.

It's not an easy course - there is a LOT of work involved - but the rewards are worth it!

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. To purchase in the USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page.

Forthcoming talk: The Bombing of Edinburgh and Leith

From Leith Local History Society (https://www.leithlocalhistorysociety.org.uk):

Please join us on Tuesday, 17th February at 7pm in Leith Community Centre to listen to Tom Woods fascinating talk about the bombing of Edinburgh and Leith during World War II. He has recently published a book on the same topic. Tom was previously one of the most senior law enforcement officers in Scotland and his last role was in command of the investigation into the infamous World's End murders. After leaving the police he has worked in various posts including Adult and Child protection and writes for the Scotsman on crime and justice. Tom has also written another best selling book Ruxton. The First Modern Murder.

Further details at https://www.facebook.com/events/909716141427158/.

Chris

A search for bilingual Gaelic and English headstones in Scottish kirkyards

The BBC's Gaelic news page, Naidheachdan, has an interesting article entitled "Am faca sibhse clach-uaighe dhà-chànanach?", meaning "Have you seen bilingual headstones?", available at https://www.bbc.co.uk/naidheachdan/sgeulachdan/ckgkmel4vlko.

The article discusses a headstone from Monzie graveyard in Perthshire, dated to 1793, which is written in English on one side, and in Scottish Gaelic (Gàidhlig) on the other. The dialect of Gaelic spoken in Perthshire at that time has now been extinguished, making the find a sort of 'Rosetta Stone', providing evidence of local pronunications of the language in this part of Scotland at that time.

The article discusses whether other examples can be found to help flesh out the picture some more.

The article is written in Gaelic, but can be easily translated with Google Translate.

Chris

Share discoveries with the British Newspaper Archive as it approaches 100 million pages of content

The British Newspaper Archive (www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk), a collaboration between the British Library and FindmyPast, is on the point of reaching 100 million pages of content, with the current total at the time of writing at 99,828,117 pages.

On the site's Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/TheBritishNewspaperArchive), it asks the following:

Now, as we approach our 100 millionth page, we’d love to hear from you. What have you used the BNA to uncover? #100MillionPages

By replying, you’re happy for us to quote your comment (and your name) in our milestone blog and related marketing.

The following are the latest additions for Scotland and Ireland over the last 30 days:

Scotland:

John o' Groat Journal
1957, 1986-1987, 1989-1993

Invergordon Times and General Advertiser
1887, 1889-1891

Fifeshire Advertiser
1849-1856, 1858-1869, 1900

Edinburgh Evening News
1996-2004

Govan Press and Weekly Advertiser for Govan & Kinning Park
1889, 1891-1892

People's Friend
1930-1948

Sunday Post
1929, 1940

Ireland:

Irish Railway Gazette
1844-1850

Belfast Telegraph
1986-1999

Chris

Sunday, 1 February 2026

Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the Old Parish Registers genealogy course returns 16 March

The next 5 week long Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the Old Parish Registers family history course from Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd (www.pharostutors.com) commences in just over a week's time from Monday, 16 March 2026.

The following short video introduces the course:

(Also available at https://youtu.be/1aGSA-mEiQY)

And the following is the course description, and how to sign up if interested!

Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the Old Parish Registers

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.

Whilst not compulsory, it is strongly recommended that you complete the Pharos course Scottish Research Online before studying Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the Old Parish Registers, as it will be assumed that you are already familiar with the more basic resources available online for Scottish ancestral research.

Lesson Headings:

    * Kirk Sessions records and parish poor
    * Burgh records and town poor
    * Occupations, taxation and early lists
    * Land transfer and the value of sasines
    * Land, inheritance and estates

Each lesson includes exercises and activities; a minimum of 1 one-hour chat session per week. (See How the Courses Work at https://www.pharostutors.com/howcourseswork.php.) NB: Unlike previous courses, I am trialling using Zoom for these chat sessions, rather than the previously used text-based chat rooms - recordings of Zoom sessions will be made available after each lesson chat.

Relevant Countries: Scotland
Course Length: 5 Weeks
Start Date: 16 March 2026
Cost: £70

Student feedback:

"The exercises helped you to explore new lesson concepts right away. Especially by directing students to apply new research aids to their own work."

"Very clear explanations of terminology and legal processes Really helpful exercises and comprenesive list of useful catalogues and other references Chat sessions very helpful and engaging."

"This being the second genealogy course I have taken, and the second with Pharos, I found these were detailed foundation courses which will permit me to search better and with less effort in my future research work."

"Great subject-matter and excellent tutor/written materials. It could not have been better."

For further details, and to sign up, please visit https://www.pharostutors.com/scotland-1750-1850-beyond-the-old-parish-registers.

I'll hopefully see you online there!

Chris

Scottish GENES Webinar: Tracing the Irish in Scotland

My next monthly Scottish GENES Webinar will take place on Saturday 21 February 2026 at 7pm (UK time), and will be entitled Tracing the Irish in Scotland.

Following the event, a recording of the presentation will be available for one week to registrants, and a handout will also be supplied.

The following is the talk's description:

The first census in Scotland, the Senchus Fer nAlban, documented the descendants of Irish Gaels in the west of Scotland, a people known to the Romans as the ‘Scotti’ from which ‘Scotland’ derives its name. The stories of both Scotland and Ireland have remained intertwined ever since. Whilst the 17th century Plantations of Ulster led to the settlement of thousands of Scotland in the north of Ireland, the incorporation of Ireland into the UK in 1801, and the subsequent Great Famine of the 1840s, led to an equally vast migration of Irish folk into Scotland in the 19th century, and beyond.

In this session, family historian Chris Paton will explore the Scottish records which can assist in not only documenting what became of the settlers who have arrived over the last two centuries, but which in many cases can also identify an original point of origin in Ireland from which they came. He will cover the vital records as created by the state and the various Scottish churches, the records of confirmation (probate), the administration of poor relief, the records of religious and political conflicts, and more, explaining how such records can help to shed light onto their ancestral stories. In addition he will also flag up some Irish resources that can provide clues to family circumstances in Scotland.

To register for the event, please visit https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_9aN1bbcrQYyt_jjTZ1dbiw - the registration fee is just £10 Stirling.

I hope to maybe see you there!

Chris

Date announced for next Scottish Indexes conference

Thanks to those who attended my DNA talk at yesterday's Scottish Indexes genealogy conference, run by Graham and Emma Maxwell, I hope it helped!

Graham and Emma have announced that the next Scottish Indexes conference will take place online on Saturday 28 February 2026.

For further details keep an eye out at https://www.scottishindexes.com/conference.aspx.

Chris

My farewell to the postion of APG eNews editor

At the end of December 2025 I stepped down as editor of the Association of Professional Genealogists' monthly eNews publication, a position I held for four years, from January 2022, with my last edition being January 2026.

At the time I took on the role the publication had not been in operation for 18 months, and I had initially offered to revive it on a voluntary basis as a means to help develop communication with members in the organisation, before accepting an offer after a few months to take the role on as a paid contractor. (I should add that that had never been my intent, I had fully intended to hand it on after a few months to someone who new what they were actually doing!).

The early editions were just a few pages in length, but working with the APG team over the last four years to develop it, the publication now regularly reaches twenty pages of content, and offers a great overview of the organisation's work.

To my replacement, Allison Beard, I wish the very best of luck, and also to the wider APG team led by Michelle Leonard Cohen. The eNews is available to read at https://www.apgen.org/apg_enews.php, with the February edition now out (in which I am weirdly the main story!).

For more on the APG, please visit https://www.apgen.org.

Thig crìoch air an t-saoghal, ach mairidh gaol is ceòl!

Chris

National Library of Scotland using georeferenced maps webinar

The National Library of Scotland will be holding a webinar on how to make best use of its georeferenced maps on Wednesday 11 February at 3pm-4.15pm (UK). The following is the blurb:

In this interactive workshop, we will show you tips and techniques to help you make best use of our georeferenced maps.

Georeferenced maps are those which have been aligned with the real-world, so they can be viewed as overlays on top of modern satellite imagery and mapping, or even in comparison to your own live location!

We now have over 600 georeferenced layers of mapping freely available on our website, along with tools to filter, measure, draw, compare and export them. Discover how to use these tools, as well as how you can easily bring these georeferenced maps into other web and desktop applications.

The workshop will last approximately one hour with a question-and-answer session after that. This workshop will not be recorded but it is repeated regularly.

If you enjoy georeferenced maps but are not sure you are making full use of them, this workshop is for you!

To register for the free workshop, please visit https://www.nls.uk/whats-on/georeferenced-maps/.

Chris

Monday, 26 January 2026

February 2026 issue of Who Do You Think You Are? magazine on sale

The latest edition of Who Do You Think You Are? magazine (Feb 2026) is now on sale. In the magazine I have a three-page article about Scottish Wills, which may be of interest.

Also this issue, Debbie Kennett looks at Ancestry's Pro-Tools, Claire Vaughan looks at the DNAngels team, and Jo Thompson explores the Second World War NAAFI women. In addition Nicola Vaughan looks at Irish teachers, Jonathan Scott looks at free websites for research, and Nick Peers looks at RootsMagic's use of AI.

Further details on the magazine will be available shortly at https://www.whodoyouthinkyouaremagazine.com/magazine/.

Chris