Scotland Newspapers

The first Scottish newspapers of any significance and continuance were the Edinburgh Evening Courant (1718) and the Caledonian Mercury (1720), which were national papers and gave little local news.

The first regional papers were the Glasgow Journal (1741) and the Aberdeen Journal (1748). The first paper that gave substantial coverage to local news was the Glasgow Mercury (1778).

Online Databases

 * at FamilySearch — index and images
 * Perth, Scotland Newspaper index Cards, 1809 - 1990 ($)
 * Fife, Scotland, Cupar Library Newspaper Index Cards, 1833 - 1987 ($)
 * Edinburgh Advertiser (Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland), 1771 - 1909 ($)
 * Edinburgh weekly Journal, Edinburgh Midlothian, Scotland, 1801 - 1808 ($)
 * Edinburgh Evening Courant (Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland, 1867 - 1869 ($)
 * Edinburgh Courant, Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland, 1884 ($)
 * Scotsman Newspaper, Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland, 1945 ($)
 * , Index and images
 * The Scotsman Digital Archive, 1817-1950, index.
 * Scottish Newspapers on the Internet, British National Library
 * onlinenewspapers
 * world-newspapers
 * abyznewslinks
 * globalgenealogy/globalgazette

Many more newspapers came into being after the French Revolution. You may find information such as; Information taken from newspapers may be indexed to varying extents.
 * Local Events
 * Births
 * Marriages
 * Deaths
 * Obituaries of local worthies
 * Advertisements.

You can find copies of newspapers in the collections of the Newspaper Library section of the; For a comprehensive list of Scottish newspapers and their locations, see:
 * British Library
 * National Library of Scotland
 * Scottish history libraries


 * Ferguson, J.P.S. Directory of Scottish Newspapers. Edinburgh, Scotland: National Library of Scotland, 1984. (Family History Library book .)

Other lists of holdings of Scottish newspapers include:


 * Catalogue of the British Newspaper Library'', Colindale. 8 vols. London, England: British Museum Publications, 1975. (Family History Library book .)


 * Ferguson, Joan P. S. Scottish Newspapers Held in Scottish Libraries. Edinburgh, Scotland: Scottish Central Library, 1956. (Family History Library book ; .)


 * North, John S. The Waterloo Directory of Scottish Newspapers and Periodicals, 1800-1900. 2 vols. Waterloo, Ontario: North Waterloo Academic Press, 1989. (Family History Library book Ref. .)


 * Crane, R.S., and F. B. Kaye. A Census of British Newspapers and Periodicals, 1620-1800. 2nd ed. London: Holland Press, 1966. (Family History Library book .) This lists holdings in major U.S. libraries.

The Family History Library has no Scottish newspapers, but it does have some indexes and other related materials. You can find them in the Locality Search of the FamilySearch Catalog under:

SCOTLAND - NEWSPAPERS

SCOTLAND, [COUNTY] - NEWSPAPERS

Modern newspapers can be helpful for finding living relatives or obtaining the services of someone to make searches in the locality from where your ancestors came. To obtain addresses for current newspapers use:

Benn’s Press Directory. Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England: United Newspapers Ltd, 1996. (Family History Library book Ref .)