Nature of Source
Records from deeds which were legally enforceable agreements, contracts and other writs registered in the Court of Session. A deed could deal with a variety of matters such as bonds, trust settlements and marriage settlements (a form of will), wills and codicils, tacks (lease agreements), apprenticeship indentures and business contracts. Some deeds may concern the sale of land. The original document or warrant was copied by a court clerk into the register. Each party to the agreement received a certified extract with only the warrant having the original signatures of each person. The clerk often made a brief note of the registration in the minute book which can act as an index. Otherwise a run of indexes to the main Register of Deeds registered with the Court of Session is available at the National Records of Scotland. If the relevant register is not extant or unreadable, try looking for the minute book, extract or original.
Deeds could also be registered with Sheriff Courts, Burghs, Hereditary Jurisdictions (such as Baronies, up to 1748), Commissary Courts (up to 1809) and some local courts (up to 1748). Unlike the deeds registered with the Court of Session, not all these deeds are indexed.
Other Scotland Resources
Census Returns
Charter Rolls
Clan & Tartan Records
County & Local Histories
Court Records
Directories, Trade, Professional, Telephone & Street
Electoral Registers or Burgess Rolls
Emigration Records
Estate Records & Maps
Hearth Tax
Heraldic Coats of Arms & Seals
Kirk/Church Sessions
Land Tax Assessments & Returns
Maps & Gazetteers
Militia Lists
Monumental/Memorial Inscriptions
Newspapers, magazines & journals
Old Parish Registers-Baptisms (OPRs)
Old Parish Registers-Burials (OPRs)
Old Parish Registers-Marriages & Proclamations (OPRs)
Passenger Lists
Pedigrees and Family Histories
Poor Law Records
Retours of Services of Heirs
Sasines, Registers of
Statistical Accounts of Scotland
Statutory Registration-Birth
Statutory Registration-Death
Statutory Registration-Marriage
Surname Origins and Distribution
Valuation Rolls & Stent Rolls (Names of tenants)
Wills/Testaments and Inheritance
Where Found
ScotlandsPeople Centre (The ScotlandsPeople Centre is the official government resource for family history research. Holdings include: Official copies of deeds presented to the Court of Session; Indexes for the Register of Deeds of the Court of Session for the years 1554-1595, 1661-1702, 1705-7, 1714-15, 1750-2, 1765, and from 1770 to the present. ScotlandsPeople Centre is a partnership between the National Records of Scotland and the Court of the Lord Lyon)
Society of Genealogists (Indexes to deeds)
Period Covered
1200 – Onwards
Genealogical Value
- Names, addresses, family relationships.
Further References
Family History Guides
- Adolph, Anthony. Tracing Your Scottish Family History: Collins, 2008
- Bigwood, Rosemary: The Scottish Family Tree Detective: Tracing Your Ancestors in Scotland: Manchester University Press, 2007
- Clarke, T. Tracing Your Scottish Ancestors: The Official Guide: Birlinn, 2012
- Cory, Kathleen B. Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry: Genealogical Publishing Company, 2009
- Durie, Bruce. Scottish Genealogy: The History Press, 2012
- Durie, Bruce. Documents for Genealogy & Local History: The History Press, 2013
- Hamilton-Edwards, Gerald. In Search of Scottish Ancestry: Phillimore, 1983
- Holton, Graham & Winch, Jack. Discover Your Scottish Ancestry: Internet and Traditional Resources: Edinburgh University Press, 2009 (Preview available from Google Books)
- James, Alwyn. Scottish Roots: From Gravestone to Website: The Step-By-Step Guide to Tracing Your Scottish Ancestors: Luath Press, 2005
- Maxwell, Ian. Tracing your Scottish Ancestors: A Guide for Family Historians: Pen & Sword, 2009
- Paton, Chris. Researching Scottish Family History: The Family History Partnership, 2010
- Paton, Chris. Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry through Church and State Records: A Guide for Family Historians: Pen & Sword Family History, 2019
- Stewart, Alan. My Ancestor was Scottish: Society of Genealogists, 2012
- Tovey, Helen. My Scottish Ancestry: Lomond Books, 2011
Other
- Concise Scots Dictionary: Edinburgh University Press, 1999 (Preview available from Google Books)
- Lynch, Michael. Oxford Companion to Scottish History: OUP Oxford, 2011
- Moffat, Alistair & Wilson, James. The Scots: A Genetic Journey: Birlinn, 2011
- Richards, Eric. The Highland Clearances: Birlinn, 2013
- Scots Dictionary: Collins, 2014
- Timperley, Loretta R, (ed). A Directory of Land Ownership in Scotland c 1770: Scottish Record Society, 1976Torrance, Richard D. Scottish Trades, Professions, Vital Documents & Directories: Scottish Association of Family History Societies, 1998
Websites
www.nrscotland.gov.uk/research/guides/deeds (National Records of Scotland: Research Guides: Deeds)
www.nrscotland.gov.uk/research/guides/inheriting-land-and-buildings (National Records of Scotland: Research Guides: Inheriting Land and Buildings)
www.nrscotland.gov.uk/research/guides/court-of-session-records (National Records of Scotland Research Guide: Court of Session Records)
www.dsl.ac.uk (Dictionaries of the Scots Language: DSL Online brings together the two major historical dictionaries of the Scots language: Modern Scots after 1700 in The Scottish National Dictionary; Older Scots before 1700 in A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue)
www.scots-online.org/dictionary (Translate from Scots to English)
www.scottishlaw.org.uk/lawscotland/abscotslawland.html (Scots Law – Scottish Land Law Glossary/Dictionary)
https://landregistryservice.co.uk/index.php?page=service&act=list&country=3 (Land Register Scotland: Land Registry Title Deeds)
Online Databases
www.findmypast.co.uk (Scotland Deeds Index, 1769. The index consists of over 1,000 transcripts, each containing an index of the details found in minute books kept by the Court of Session, Scotland’s supreme civil court. The collection contains a variety of different types of deeds including, assignations, discharges, bonds, obligations, protests and leases)
www.oldscottish.com/register-deeds.html (Old Scottish Genealogy and Family History: Registers of Deeds: Indexes to 20,000 Registers of Deeds from across Scotland transcribed from the Sheriff Court and Commissary Court Registers of Deeds. The original record can be ordered from the site)
www.ancestry.co.uk (Perth Register of Deeds, 1566-1811)
CD Roms
N/A
