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This, the first full-scale study of Scottish local history, is an exhaustive survey of the vast body of documents available to the researcher in Scottish archives, libraries, and record offices.

The introductory chapter is on Scottish local history in general and the basic study techniques. The next two chapters describe the records available in public libraries and record offices (local and national), and how to use them for best results. Three chapters then show the methodology of local history by examining the following themes: The Family and the Community (with emphasis on family and oral history); Dwellings and Buildings (land records, deeds, property registers, etc.); and Settlement Studies (the history of individual villages, towns and parishes). Following is a chapter on writing and publishing the results, and the book then concludes with an appendix setting out the development of local government functions from 1825 to 1975, with detailed information on further reading and sources of information.

See also the companion book Scottish Family History.


EDITORIAL REVIEWS

"...these two books [Scottish Local History and Scottish Family History] provide an excellent introduction to researching and writing the history of a Scottish family or locality...there is no question that both of these books are extremely well done and should benefit anyone who wants to know more about Scotland and Scottish sources."--THE NEW YORK GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD, Vol. 121, No. 3 (July 1990).

"These two books...provide an excellent background on the records and the social conditions in Scotland needed in order to undertake an investigation of Scottish families and to write a history which places the individual family members in the society to which they belonged."--THE VIRGINIA GENEALOGIST, Vol. 34, No. 3, (July-September 1990).