Services
Researching your family history
Making a start
Start with yourself and work backwards in time. Your own birth certificate gives your parents' names and the date and place of their marriage. With this information, you can get a copy of their marriage certificate. It will tell you their ages and their parents' names. Armed with this information, you can calculate what year they were born, and find their birth certificates. You move on methodically from birth certificate, to marriage certificate, to birth certificate. And don't miss out any steps or you might accidentally get onto the wrong trail! In this way you can go back to the start of compulsory state registration of births, marriages and deaths in 1855.
Birth, marriage and death certificates can be found at New Register House in Edinburgh, or online at the Scotlandspeople (new window) website. You can also order a certificate from the local Registrar's service: Tel. 01506 281894, or email registration@westlothian.gov.uk.
Make up a simple family tree diagram of all the information you have gathered so far, then ask older relatives if they can fill any gaps. You can then identify the information you still need to find.
Where to look
West Lothian Local History Library holds lots of family history resources, mainly for West Lothian, but also covering some other parts of Scotland. Staff cannot undertake general family history research for you, but are very willing to give advice, and to answer specific enquiries.
West Lothian Council Archives holds a few sources and hopes to build up its genealogical resources.
Various websites (see links on right) are essential viewing.
For more information on getting started, try the BBC Family History (new window) website.
West Lothian Family History Society (new window) is an active and flourishing society which will carry out research on behalf of its members, and holds family history workshops around the county.
