In this talk Chris Paton, author of Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records, takes us to pre-19th century Scotland, when things begin to get a little more complicated with our ancestral research. From Kirk to state, a variety of records are available, but it’s one thing to find them, and quite another to understand them, with different handwriting styles, language problems and the feudal nature of Scottish society forming some of the many challenges that make earlier Scottish research fun but challenging. Chris will explore the various record types available, and how to access them both online and offline.

Originally from Northern Ireland, but with both Scottish and Irish roots, Chris holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Genealogical Studies from the University of Strathclyde, and today works as a professional genealogist, running his research service from the Scottish coastal town of Irvine, North Ayrshire.

As well as teaching Scottish based courses for Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd (www.pharostutors.com) he has also tutored for the University of Strathclyde’s Genealogical Studies Postgraduate Programme. In addition he is a published author of several genealogy book titles and guides (see https://scotlandsgreateststory.wordpress.com/books) and is a regular contributor to genealogy magazines in the UK and Ireland, such as Who Do You Think You Are?, Family Tree, and Discover Your Ancestors, as well as the ISBGFH’s British Connections.

Since October 2012 he has been a regular attendee of the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (www.nidirect.gov.uk/proni) stakeholder forum, and from May 2013-May 2017 he was a director of the Scottish Archive Network Ltd trust (www.scan.org.uk). He previously worked as a researcher, producer and director for 12 years in factual television for both the BBC (Bristol and Glasgow) and STV, on various documentary series, including Coast, Meet the Ancestors, Secret History, War Walks and Time Flyers.