Scotland Societies

Scottish societies and organizations may have information of value to your genealogical research. Some are set up on a regional basis, others on a countywide basis, and others are only for a portion of a county. Most publish helpful journals, transcripts, and compiled genealogies. They may have ongoing projects searching and indexing records which are of genealogical value. Some publish queries about Scottish ancestors or maintain lists of member research interests.

You may want to join one of these societies and to support their efforts. This article discusses only Scottish societies, but do not overlook other societies in Great Britain and in the country to which your ancestors immigrated.

See Scotland Periodicals for more information about the journals and newsletters published by these societies.

Family History Societies
In every county in Scotland there are one or more family history societies made up of members with genealogical interests in their areas. A coordinating organization for many societies is the Scottish Association of Family History Societies (SAFHS). The society publishes the SAFHS Bulletin, which contains news and updates on its member societies. For information about this organization and its member societies, contact or visit their website at:

Scottish Association of Family History Societies 51/3 Mortonhall Road Edinburgh EH9 2HN Scotland Internet: http://www.safhs.org.uk/

Local History Societies
Many societies study local history and publish journals on the subject. A coordinating organization for local history groups is the Scottish Local History Forum. They publish Scottish Local History Journal. You may write for information about this association to:

The Honourable Secretary Scottish Local History Forum c/o National Museums of Scotland York Buildings, Queen Street Edinburgh EH2 1JD Scotland Internet: http://www.nms.ac.uk/

One-Name Groups
Some organizations gather information about all individuals with a particular surname. If you are interested in such an organization, contact:

Guild of One-Name Studies Box G 14 Charterhouse Buildings Goswell Road London EC1M 7BA England Internet: http://www.one-name.org/intro.html

Finding Records at the Family History Library
TheFamily History Library has copies of many records compiled by these societies. To find them, look for the society’s name in the Author/Title Search of the catalog on microfiche. Or, look in the Locality Search under:

SCOTLAND - SOCIETIES

SCOTLAND, [COUNTY] - SOCIETIES

The Locality Search also lists some records gathered by societies under the record type. For example, cemetery transcripts done by a local family history society are listed in the Locality Search under:

SCOTLAND, [COUNTY] - CEMETERIES

You can also use the Locality Search to find lists and guides that describe societies’ collections. Search under:

SCOTLAND - ARCHIVES AND LIBRARIES

SCOTLAND - [COUNTY] - ARCHIVES AND LIBRARIES

SCOTLAND - [COUNTY] - [CITY, TOWN, or PARISH] - ARCHIVES AND LIBRARIES