The county of Perth, formerly known as Perthshire, sits at the heart of Scotland, and its vast geographic size has seen it called ‘the big county.’ It existed as an administrative county from 1890 until 1930, when it was linked with Kinross-shire which, in direct contrast to its neighbour, is one of Scotland’s smallest counties. The county town is Perth, and a large number […]
Category: Family history
Zoom Into Angus
The Modern-day council area of Angus traces its name to an eighth century Pictish king, Óengus son of Fergus (ruled 732-761). Óengus (Angus) hailed from Circinn, one of the four principal Pictish kingdoms roughly coextensive with the modern county of Angus. The signing of the Declaration of Arbroath at Arbroath Abbey in 1320 marked Scotland’s establishment as an independent nation, and so Angus has become known as the birthplace of […]
The prettiest station in Britain
Wemyss Bay Station has been a vital part of Scottish transport links since its inception in 1865 when it was built to connect to Clyde steamer services to Rothesay, Largs and Millport. This halved the journey time for people travelling from Glasgow. This film from our Moving Image Archive’s collection shows the popularity of this […]
Tracing your family history through football
Did your grandfather referee the Junior Cup final? Did your father play inside left for Third Lanark? If so you may just be able to further your family history research using the newspaper resources that we offer at the National Library of Scotland. The National Library of Scotland has a large collection of microfilms, a […]
SAFHS Conference and Family History Fair 2017
The Scottish Association of Family History Societies (SAFHS) Annual Conference and Family History Fair is on Saturday 22 April 2017 at The Bay Hotel, Pettycur, Burntisland Road, Kinghorn, KY3 9YE. The theme of this years event is ‘Building Bridges: Making Connections’. Along with many other stall holders, the National Library of Scotland will be in […]
The Empire Exhibition 1938
The Empire Exhibition 1938 The Empire Exhibition ran from May to October 1938 at Bellahouston Park in Glasgow. King George VI with Queen Mary officially opened the Exhibition on the 3rd of May 1938 2017 marks seventy-nine years since the Exhibition. Reflecting on current political and social economic trends perhaps we can identify, more than […]
Scottish Catholic records
If you are interested in researching your Catholic ancestors in Scotland then Andrew R. Nicoll’s book “Scottish Catholic Family History: a family historian’s guide to Catholic parish registers and cemetery records for Scotland and the Bishopric of the Forces” (2011) provides a good starting point. It provides details of what records are available, where they […]
Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research
The Society for Army Historical Research was established in 1921 to encourage the study of the history of the British Army, including the Militia, Yeomanry and Territorial Army, as well as land forces of the Commonwealth and Empire. In addition to research on individual campaigns and commanders, the Society’s interests cover the wider political, social and cultural aspects […]
Histories of Scottish Families : digital resource
Are you interested in family, local or Scottish history? The Library has recently digitised a selection of almost 400 printed items relating to the histories of Scottish families, and you can read them all on our website in the Digital Gallery (Click here). All areas of Scotland are included, from Dumfries to Shetland, and many different […]
Scottish Poorhouses
The Poor Law (Scotland) Act 1845 set up parochial boards in towns and rural areas and a Board of Supervision in Edinburgh. One of their purposes was to build poorhouses for those paupers who were not eligible for ‘outdoor relief’, which consisted of small sums of money given out weekly. The Board of Supervision published […]