Now that all the bickering is out of the way I am going to repeat my first post in this topic. If anyone has any further suggestions then feel free to add them...
I'm not proclaiming to be an expert on this subject, but I think a topic where advice can be offered on how to trace your family tree (as opposed to finding specific members of your family) would be worthwhile! What I offer below is some of the steps I have used and anyone that has tried different methods (or even know of other sites) could put forward what has worked for them!
Anyway, step 1 for tracing your family tree is to talk to as many members of your family as you can. The reasons for this are:
1. who knows your family better than your own family;
2. some of the records you need (e.g. birth, marriage and death certificates) might be held by one of your family members;
3. someone in your family may already have started doing some research and their notes may prove useful (or it could give you another direction to follow).
The next step is to note down EVERYTHING and start to build a basic tree. The simplest way to do this is to use good old paper and pen/pencil... there is no need at this early stage to resort to any fancy computer systems, but if you do a basic word processing tool (like notepad) and a spreadsheet will be sufficient. (You might even be able to download a family tree template for the spreadsheet depending on which one you use; you certainly can for excel!)
Once you have the above it might be worthwhile choosing a branch of your family to concentrate on; if you get stuck somewhere along the way you can then start on another branch and return to your original branch at a later time. Also, while searching for relatives, try not to stick to the one spelling of a name - especially as you go further back in your research!
Once you have traced back a few generations (probably at least to your great grandparents) you'll be ready to use other resources available, such as record offices (like the
General Register Office in Scotland). You can also check out various genealogy websites/forums, but be aware that there may be a cost to retrieving some information AND always double check what you get! Some of the sites I have personally used (with varying levels of success) are as follows:
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Official government source for Scottish genealogy, census and family research - ScotlandsPeople
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Family Search
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Genes Reunited
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Genealogy and Family History Records - Ancestry.co.uk
There are plenty more sites out there, some of which are specific to a particular name. Where the sites have forums, ask questions... but always be polite as people generally won't respond to rudeness or arrogance (at least not in a helpful way). Also remember that some of the info you might be looking for can only be found at a cost, so don't expect anyone to do any free research on your behalf.
During all your research probably the main point is taking notes... and lots of notes! And try to avoid my one main downfall... messy handwriting that even you can't understand!
Further suggestions can be found on
Family History Scotland and the BBC's
tips on starting your research!