{"id":11,"date":"2010-09-16T12:02:12","date_gmt":"2010-09-16T12:02:12","guid":{"rendered":"\/?p=11"},"modified":"2025-05-27T10:43:46","modified_gmt":"2025-05-27T10:43:46","slug":"getting-started","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/hebridespeople.com\/staging\/find-your-family\/getting-started\/","title":{"rendered":"Getting Started"},"content":{"rendered":"
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For the genealogy beginner the main problem is where to start, and the basic rule is to start with what you know! <\/h4>\n\n

Talk to relatives and draw out a family tree. Your aim is to reach the early 1900s, when most records become publicly available. If you know where your ancestors lived, you may be able to find them in a census, available from 1841 to 1921. <\/p>\n\n

If you know the exact date of an occurrence after 1855, you can call up a certificate of birth, death or marriage. Both of these are available at Scotlands People, the official Scottish Government website for records and archives.<\/p>\n\n

Before these dates, you may find information in OPR (Old Parochial Registers) or Roman Catholic Registers, but in the Western Isles these were late in starting and are far from comprehensive.<\/p>\n\n

Oral tradition<\/a>, in the form of family stories and patronymics, can be used to check and add to these formal sources, and the records available here are an amalgam of these and other sources, drawn together in a lifetime of research by Bill Lawson<\/a>.<\/p><\/div>\n\n

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Explore the St Kilda archive for free<\/h2>\n\n

Thanks to the Heritage Lottery Fund, all database results for St Kilda are free. Visit the St Kilda archive to see how the database works!<\/p>\n\n

Search in St Kilda<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
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Explore Further<\/h2>\n<\/div>
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Names of the Western Isles<\/a><\/h2>\n\n
It is probably only in the last two hundred years that the people of the Western Isles have used surnames. Previously, although people recognised that … Read more<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>
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Western Isles Genealogy<\/a><\/h2>\n\n
One of the major problems with family tracing in the Western Isles is the scarcity and poor quality of written records. The decennial census is … Read more<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>
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Genealogical Services<\/a><\/h2>\n\n
The Hebrides People \u2018C\u00f2 Leis Thu?\u2019 genealogy service can help you trace your Western Isles ancestors. We specialise in producing family trees that show people\u2019s … Read more<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>
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Oral Tradition<\/a><\/h2>\n\n
Oral tradition includes song, story, and preservation of family relationships. Written records are generally late and of variable quality in the Western Isles compared to … Read more<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>
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Name Standardisation<\/a><\/h2>\n\n
In using any written sources, it is essential to bear in mind that the people of the islands were overwhelmingly Gaelic speaking. These records were … Read more<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For the genealogy beginner the main problem is where to start, and the basic rule is to start with what you know! Talk to relatives and draw out a family tree. Your aim is to reach the early 1900s, when most records become publicly available. 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