The county of Angus and the city of Dundee have a rich and fascinating story to tell – a tale intertwined with the families who have, over the centuries, made this beautiful corner of Scotland their home.
Fishermen, farmers, weavers, shoe makers, tailors, shopkeepers, merchants, lawyers, teachers, landed gentry, poets, jute workers, soldiers, whalers, artists… No matter their occupation or their rank in society, with an eye to the future and a foot in the past, the people of Angus and Dundee shaped the land, the towns and the city with their labour. In return, the land, towns and city – and its society-changing industrial heritage – played a part in making their descendants the people they are today.
During your search to find out more about your ancestors, we look forward to welcoming you.
Finding Your Ancestors – Our Top Ten Tips
1. Search
Look out any family records so you can discover your parents and your grandparents’ dates and places of birth, as well as where and when they married.
If you’re unable to find the necessary information, Dundee Family History Centre should be able to trace their birth, marriage or death entries, regardless of where the events occurred in Scotland and provide you with certificates. Angus Registrars can also search Birth, Death and Marriage records for the whole of Scotland, right back to 1855 and, for a fee, can provide you with certificates of birth, death or marriage.
As long as they were born over 100 years ago, you should also be able to track down your grandparents’ birth certificates online at www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk.
2. Talk
Have a chat with older members of your family and make a note of their recollections of their grandparents, aunts and uncles.
What were they called? How did they earn a living? Where did they live? Where were they originally from? Did they do anything (good or bad!) that might have appeared in the newspapers of the day?
3. Fill in the gaps
Go through any boxes or drawers of family documents very carefully. Official documents such as birth, marriage, death and burial certificates can provide a wealth of information about forebears, including names, date and place of birth, occupation and, vitally, parents’ names, which provides the stepping stone to the next generation.
Qualifications, newspaper cuttings, membership certificates, awards and school reports can provide background information, while photographs, especially with names or dates on the back, can be very helpful.
4. Go online
Family history websites provide statutory records stretching back to 1855, when the registration of births, deaths and marriages became a legal requirement, and also many other helpful documents, such as Census returns from 1841-1911.
5. Sketch your family tree
Using the information pulled together though your own knowledge, talking to relatives and studying official records and family documents, outline what you know of your near-relatives on a basic family tree.
This can be done on a computer although, at this stage, it’s possibly best to sketch out your family tree on a large sheet of paper. Alternatively, download a blank family tree from a family history website or ask at your local family history society
6. Check
Don’t take anything at face value. Cross-reference the basic information you’ve unearthed against official records and/or official archive material. A mistake now could lead to an investigation of the wrong branch of your family’s tree – or claiming another family’s ancestors as your own!
As a descendant of a family from Angus or Dundee, you can ensure you have the correct basic information by contacting Dundee Family History Centre or Angus Registrars who will be able to verify details and help you continue with your research. A fee may be payable for preliminary research.
7. Focus
It’s very easy to be sidetracked when researching a family tree so decide whether you’re going to concentrate on your father’s line or your mother’s line.
8. Be organised
As you move backwards though the generations, keep any notes in a folder, along with copies of certificates and documentation and, in case you need to backtrack or doublecheck, a record of the archive or website where you found any information.
9. Ask for help
Although there’s a wealth of online genealogical information available for Scottish families, if your research comes to a dead end, ask for specialist help and advice by visiting or contacting the relevant registry office, the Angus Archives or Dundee Family History Centre.
Family history societies can also be very helpful – Tay Valley Family History Society covers families in the Angus and Dundee area.
10. Visit
Whether your family moved away from Angus or Dundee several generations ago or has never left the area, there’s something special about exploring the place where your ancestors lived.
Seeing the farm cottage where they lived, the harbour their fishing boat sailed from, the jute mill where they toiled, the church where they worshipped, or the grave where they lie is a powerful reminder of the part your ancestors played in your family’s story.
Family History Resources in Angus & Dundee
Angus Archives
Restenneth Priory, by Forfar DD8 2SZ
T: 01307 468644
E: angusarchives@angusalive.scot
www.angusalive.scot/local-family-history
www.facebook.com/AngusArchives
Tucked away in the historic grounds of Restenneth Priory, burial site of one of King Robert The Bruce’s sons, the Angus Archives holds 800 years of documents and records relating to the families, land, buildings, organisations, businesses, churches and councils of the county now known as Angus and previously known as Forfarshire.
Angus Libraries
Arbroath Library, Hill Terrace, Arbroath DD11 1AH
T: 01241 435605
E: arbroath.library@angus.gov.uk
Brechin Library, St Ninian’s Square, Brechin DD9 7AD
T: 01356 622687
E: brechin.library@angus.gov.uk
Carnoustie Library, High Street, Carnoustie DD7 6AN
T: 01241 859620
E: carnoustie.library@angus.gov.uk
Forfar Library, West High Street, Forfar DD8 1BA
T: 01307 476476
E: forfar.library@angus.gov.uk
Kirriemuir Library, Town Hall, Reform Street, Kirriemuir DD8 4BS
T: 01575 577109
E: kirriemuir.library@angus.gov.uk
Monifieth Library, High Street, Monifieth DD5 4AE
T: 01382 533819
E: monifieth.library@angus.gov.uk
Montrose Library, High Street, Montrose DD10 8PH
T: 01674 673256
E: montrose.library@angus.gov.uk
The libraries in the towns of Angus are an invaluable source of information, providing access to family and local history resources.
Dundee City Archives & Record Centre
City Square, Dundee DD1 3BY
T: 01382 434494
E: archives@dundeecity.gov.uk
The Dundee City Archives hold records right back to medieval times, including burial, poor relief and property valuation, the official records of Dundee City Council in its various guises, shipping registers and Ordnance Survey maps from 1871 and 1901.
Dundee Family History Centre
Central Library, The Wellgate Dundee DD1 1DB
T: 01382 431516
E: registrars@dundeecity.gov.uk
www.dundeecity.gov.uk/service-area/council-wide/local-and-family-history
Dundee Family History Centre is a one stop-shop for anyone looking to trace their family tree in Scotland. It brings together staff from Dundee City Council’s Registrars, Graves Administration and Local History sections and has close links with the City Archivist.
Local Registrars
Arbroath Registrar, Bruce House, Wellgate, Arbroath, DD11 3TP
T: 03452 777 778
E: regarbroath@angus.gov.uk
Forfar Registrar, County Buildings, Forfar, DD8 3WE
T: 03452 777 778
E: regforfar@angus.gov.uk
Montrose Registrar, The Town House, High Street, Montrose, DD10 8QW
T: 03452 777 778
E: regmontrose@angus.gov.uk
Dundee City Registrar, 20 City Square, Dundee, DD1 3BD
T: 01382 435222
E: registrars@dundeecity.gov.uk
The Registrars at the Angus Registration Offices and the City of Dundee Registrar Office can be very helpful when tracing a family tree.
Tay Valley Family History Society
179-181 Princes Street Dundee DD4 6DQ
T: 01382 461845
E: tvfhs@tayvalleyfhs.org.uk
www.tayvalleyfhs.org.uk
Tay Valley Family History Society has a worldwide membership and provides valuable assistance to anyone involved in researching families with ancestral links to Angus, Dundee, Fife, Kinross-shire and Perthshire.
University of Dundee Archive Services
Tower Building University of Dundee Dundee DD1 4HN
T: 01382 385543
E: archives@dundee.ac.uk
www.dundee.ac.uk/archives
The University of Dundee’s archives hold a range of historical documents which can assist genealogists with their research. As well as records relating to the University of Dundee and its predecessors, these archives provide safekeeping to collections of ecclesiastical records, records from the textile industry and from NHS Tayside’s archives, which includes asylum and hospital records.