The Outlandish Companion - Diana Gabaldon [303]
Neither am I a genealogist. Given my circumstances, I am happily able simply to make up family trees, rather than being obliged to do tedious research.
However, for the benefit of those who find such interests aroused by the Outlander novels, below is a brief description of some resources that may be of help in beginning an exploration into your own Scottish (or otherwise) heritage. I gratefully acknowledge the assistance of many people in the CompuServe Genealogy Forum in compiling this material.
ONLINE RESOURCES
If you have a modem and communications software, the electronic environment is a good place to start. You will find helpful people who can suggest resources and strategies tailored to your particular interests.
CompuServe has two online forums dedicated to genealogical research.* The libraries of these forums contain a vast array of publications, bibliographies, and software (most of it shareware or freeware) for conducting genealogical research, and the message boards provide a unique source of advice, information, and encouragement.
The North American Genealogy Forum (GO NAROOTS) is dedicated to the topic of genealogy research in the United States and Canada. It also has a new feature: Online Queries, which remain in the database for one year.
The World Wide Genealogy Forum (GO WWROOTs) is dedicated to genealogy research in England, Scotland, Ireland, mainland Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and the rest of the world, excluding North America. Both forums feature large message bases, expanded libraries, and many new online chat rooms.
In addition to these two specialized fora, the main genealogy forum has recently been revamped, and renamed as the Genealogy Techniques Forum (GO GENEALOGY). Typing FIND GENEALOGY at a CompuServe menu prompt will also provide you with a list of any other relevant or recently created fora.
America Online (AOL) also has interest groups, chat rooms, and message boards, devoted to genealogical interests. Typing GENEALOGY as a Keyword will provide you with a list of these.
Beyond the two big subscription services, there is a great deal of information available on the Web, but this is well beyond my own scope of knowledge. However, see below, Web Sites of Interest for some Scottish sites that may link to genealogical sources of information.
Mormon temples and community centers are a valuable source of genealogical information. The Mormon church opens their family history centers to the public as a community service, and most of their data are computerized and readily available for search on CD-ROM. Local historical societies are also a valuable resource of reference.
Your local public library likely has the address of every historical society in every county in the country; also many in Europe. See also some of the book and publication listings below.
BOOKS
The following titles were recommended by helpful people in the CompuServe Genealogy Forum as a starting place (complete bibliographic and descriptive information wasn’t given for all titles, but is supplied where available).
G. G. Vandagriff. Voices in Your Blood: The Handy Book for Genealogists, by Everton Publishers Staff. Baltimore, Md: Clearfield Company, 1991.
Includes all the courthouse addresses in the county, very short introductory essays on the resources in each state, prices for services, etc. New editions are published about every five years. It’s published by the same people who publish Genealogical Helper.
A good world atlas
Guide to Genealogical Research in the National Archives. Washington, D.C.: National Archives