Emigration

Published on Friday 30 June 2006 16:03

If you are one of the reported 40 million people worldwide with Scots ancestry, then tracing your lineage has an added dimension.To search you really need the names of your Scottish ancestors, where they came from in Scotland, when they emigrated and where they lived when they arrived. Find out the name of the ship they travelled on and the departure and arrival port.

Accessing the past

Yourself and family sources

Official records

Surnames

The InternetShipping Lists

If you have a departure and/or arrival port and the name of the vessel your ancestor travelled in, you can then search the shipping lists held in your country for details of your ancestor, their age, who they travelled with, and where they were from. Some shipping lists are on the web but others are published in books. Ships passenger lists fopr ships sailing from British ports from 1894 onwards are held by The National Archives in Kew.

www.thenationalarchives.gov.uk

The Highland Emigration Society and the Board of Relief in Highland Destitution

There were a number of funded schemes set up to help people in Scotland who wished to emigrate. The National Archives of Scotland hold records of the small number of people who travelled under these schemes. There is a searchable database of these records on the Scottish Archives Network website.

www.scan.org.uk

Clan Societies

There are numerous clan societies on the web, most of which have an international branch that can help you. The site listed below has links to Clan societies, but if in doubt, just search your clan surname on the web and see where it takes you.

http://clan-maccallum-malcolm.3acres.org

Historical Societies

Again, if you know where your ancestor first landed then you could try the internet to see if the town or city has an historical society.

If you can visit the village your ancestors came from, then you have greater access to individual church records, gravestones, and information at the local library.