SGS NEWS UPDATE

In this month's Your Family Tree magazine (Issue 66, July 2008), SGS genealogist Chris Paton examines how to get started with gravestone inscriptions, and also recalls the tale of his grandparents when caught up in the Belfast Blitz on Easter Tuesday 1941.

In addition, there is a review of the SGS CD "The Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage of Great Britain and Ireland 1853" - "an excellent resource for anyone wanting to find out about their ancestors in Britain in the mid-19th century". (See our shop page)

YFT is on sale at all wonderful newsagents! 

SCOTLAND'S    Greatest Story   www.scotlandsgreateststory.co.uk     PROFESSIONAL FAMILY HISTORY RESEARCH & Genealogical Problem Solving Service     For our regularly updated Scottish genealogy news blog please visit     Scottish Genealogy News and Events   "an excellent genealogical blog" Simon Fowler, Ancestors magazine, 2 Feb 2008

Scotland's Greatest Story is the foremost genealogy research service in Scotland, able to help with a variety of family history needs. Our service can research your basic Scottish ancestry for you, overcome those problematic brick walls with many resources not available online, suggest new sources and techniques that may be of use (private archives, DNA profiling etc), and much more. Some English and Irish family history research can also be undertaken (including visits to Belfast and some northern English archives).

Scotland's Greatest Story is your very own family history. Led by professional genealogist Chris Paton BA (Hons), HND, Pg.Dip. Genealogical Studies, our service can help to bring your ancestral story back to life in a variety of ways:     Basic family tree research - using many private records in Scotland not available online, expanding the detail to be found from the International Genealogical Index, and more.     Overcoming brick walls - including Scottish church records not available online (Roman Catholic and non-established churches); using DNA in genealogy, etc     Site visits to photograph ancestral homes and relevant gravestones     Heraldry - visits to the Court of the Lord Lyon in Edinburgh to identify Scottish coats of arms and heraldic devices used by your ancestors     Contextual research - tracing articles and publications written by or about  your ancestors, providing an understanding of the times in which they lived, etc.     Surname research - explaining the origins of your name     Relatives tracing - searching for historic descendants in Scotland or current relatives within Scotland and the rest of the UK.     Palaeography - transcribing 17th and 18th century documents of relevance to your family history written in the old form of Secretary Hand.           Recent Investigations   In the last year alone, our service has been responsible for making some extraordinary discoveries on behalf of many of our clients, including the following:     An American based client was shocked to discover that two of her cousins had been brutally murdered in 1911 by their father, for which he was subsequently hanged. A full account of this investigation was published in the Scotsman newspaper in June 2007, with shocking consequences involving one of Edinburgh's most influential  institutions, which resonate to this day (the article can be read online at Stolen Lives). An update to the story was also featured on the BBC's Reporting Scotland news programme in January 2008, as well as extensive coverage in the press. The BBC piece can be viewed at the following link: Plea for Return of Stolen Remains   *   A Largs based client was amazed to find out for the first time that her grandmother had been awarded the Order of the British Empire in 1919 for her help in sending parcels to military and civilian prisoners of war in Germany, during the First World War.   *   A Stirlingshire based client was delighted when we were able to confirm a long held family tale that her husband was related to the famous 18th century Scottish poet James Hogg, also known as the Ettrick Shepherd.     *   During research for BBC Radio Scotland's "Digging Up Your Roots" series, we made an emotional discovery for one of the programme's contributors, when he learned of the existence of an aunt that he had never heard of. The Poor Law records for Glasgow showed that she had spent her whole life institutionalised, and had sadly passed away in the 1940s.     *    An Egyptian based client was found to be found to have roots in the 15th Century pre-Reformation Cupar Abbey, with ancestors from both the distinguished Playfair and Rogers families.     *   An English based client had a mystery solved when we were able to prove that her grandfather was not her real grandfather, but in fact the brother of the supposed ancestor in question. We were able to build up a picture of the circumstances that led to the informal adoption, which included the story of her grandfather's death in the First World War and her real grandmother's disability, forcing her son to be adopted by the extended family.     *   A current life peer was discovered to have strong connections to several merchant families in 19th century Glasgow, though a bankruptcy by one of these firms would set his family on a course that would see him eventually reach the House of Lords.       Whatever your requirements, Scotland's Greatest Story can  uncover and preserve the unique stories of your Scottish ancestors for the generations to come