Chicago Genealogy: Scottish Resources is today’s post.
For other posts on ethnic resources for Chicago genealogy, click the link.
Please note: This list is meant to include resources in addition to the ones found at the traditional genealogical sites like FamilySearch, Ancestry, Fold3, and the like. And the lists are by no means exhaustive, so if you know of other digital collections on Chicago and Illinois that you’ve found useful in your research, please let me know.
Genealogy Guide
Finding Scottish Ancestors Online
Loe, Nancy. Finding Scottish Ancestors Online. San Luis Obispo, CA: Sassy Jane Genealogy, 2017. 82-page full-color e-book with direct links to Scottish resources in the U.S. and Scotland.
This Sassy Jane Genealogy Guide helps you use leading websites and lesser-known databases for Scottish research, featuring search strategies for finding parish records, civil registrations, marriages, wills, tax lists, property assessments, burial registers, and other records.
You’ll also find resources for Scottish place names and geographical location research, and discover supporting resources, including help with Scottish handwriting, clans and tartans, and tutorials to advance your skills with Scottish records.
Books
Cory, Kathleen B. Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry. 3rd ed. Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2004.
Durie, Bruce. Scottish Genealogy. Stroud, Gloucestershire: The History Press, 2012. Best overall book on Scottish research.
Tracing Your Scottish Ancestors: The Official Guide. National Archives of Scotland. 6th ed. Edinburgh: Birlinn, 2012
Rethford, Wayne, and June Skinner Sawyers. The Scots of Chicago: Quiet Immigrants and Their New Society, 1997.
Clans
Innes of Learney, Thomas, Sir. The Tartans of the Clans and Families of Scotland. Edinburgh: Johnston, 1938. Includes colored plates of coats of arms.
Scotland of Old: Clan Maps of Scotland
Scottish Clan Map (free)
Internet List
COOK-CO-IL. A mailing list for anyone with a genealogical or historical interest in Cook County, Illinois. To subscribe send “subscribe” to [email protected] (mail mode) or [email protected] (digest mode).
Illinois Newspaper Project
The Illinois Newspaper Project (INP) is funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities and administered by the Library of Congress as part of the U.S. Newspaper Program (USNP) and the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP).
Under the USNP, the INP team traveled throughout Illinois inventorying and cataloging collections held by libraries and repositories, private organizations, and individuals. A Web-based searchable database of all newspapers discovered and preserved through the project is available. All microfilm produced for INP is made available through interlibrary loan.
Search here by title or OCLC number for information on repository and holdings for the following Chicago Scottish newspaper titles:
http://www.library.illinois.edu/inp/database.php
British American – published in Chicago OCLC no. 25538640
Western British American – published in Chicago OCLC no. 23181535
Organizations
The Illinois Saint Andrew Society (aka Chicago Scots) and links to Chicago Scottish history, genealogy, and folklore
North Riverside, IL 60546
In 1846 Chicago Scots founded the Illinois Saint Andrew Society, the oldest charitable institution in the state. Today, the Society is a membership-based non-profit, dedicated to serving the Scottish-American community, preserving Scottish tradition and promoting Scottish culture. The Society welcomes everyone who is Scottish by birth, by heritage, or simply by inclination. They sponsor the annual Chicago Scots Scottish Festival and Highland Games.
Periodicals & Articles
60 West Walton, Chicago, IL 60610 (312) 255-3512
Encyclopedia of Chicago – Scots
The Scottish Genealogist. [Edinburgh]: The Scottish Genealogy Society. V. 1 (1954) – present. Indexes available. Newberry Call # E67. 8355.
MacMillan, Thomas C. “The Scots and Their Descendants in Illinois.” Illinois State Historical Society Transactions, no. 26 (1919): 31–85.
I have got to plan a trip to Chicago during that Festival – it sounds great, Lee.
At their annual Scottish Festival and Highland Games, the St. Andrew Society always has a genealogy tent staffed with knowledgeable volunteers and a number of basic reference books (probably many of the ones you listed). It’s a nice place to start and the volunteers can help direct you. There are also tents at the festival from many clans. They always have a list of the various names associated with the clan and people who love to talk family history and genealogy research. Plus there is food, bagpipe bands and men in kilts.