Quick Links
- Introduction
- Major Repositories
- Archive Networks
- Universities
- Websites
- Recommended Literature
- About the Compiler
Introduction
Materials and text gathered by Pauline Jarvis
This guidance is intended to serve as a resource for those researching the Scottish ancestry of enslaved individuals or enslavers in North America. It provides information about available Scottish sources, examples of records that are available, and practical tips that can help researchers find information efficiently. With this guidance, researchers can navigate the available resources with confidence and uncover new and valuable information about personal connections to enslavement.
The key resource covered, the Scotland’s People website, is indispensable for those who are researching Scottish genealogy. The church records available on the website are likely to be the most important for researching ancestors of enslaved people or enslavers.
In cases where church records are lacking, or when digging deeper, family and estate papers at the National Records of Scotland, National Library of Scotland, and regional archives can be the next point of reference.
Other primary sources at the national and regional levels are also discussed. For example, the collections available at regional archives and Scotland’s renowned universities can provide more unusual primary records, as well as historical context.
Finally, Scottish organizations and institutions have increasingly become aware of the need for education, and openness around the legacy of the trans-Atlantic slave trade. This has led to the creation of reports, collections, and documentation that are particularly useful in tracking and identifying individuals who were beneficiaries of enslavement.
An Important Note
It is important to keep in mind the evolving language we use to describe historic crimes against humanity. This report attempts to avoid words that define people by a status imposed on them, using ‘enslaved people’ rather than ‘slaves.’ ‘Slavery’ is the institution under which these injustices were perpetrated, and ‘enslavement,’ the active process by which individuals claimed to reduce others to property. These individuals are referred to as ‘enslavers.’
Getting Started
Once you’ve discovered a Scottish connection, glean as much detail as you can about that person and their family members. This will help in the next stages of your research. For example:
- Do you know the name, including possible variations? Sometimes people changed their surname when they emigrated or anglicized a Gaelic name.
- Do you know the town or parish where they lived? If not mentioned in any documentation, a clue might be in the name they gave to their home. Scottish enslavers named many plantations and enslaved people in ways to remind themselves of Scotland.
- Gather as much information as possible about dates of births, marriages, and deaths.
- Did they travel with other family members or neighbors?
- Did they join other family members when they arrived?
- What was their religion?
Location
It’s also useful to understand a little of the geography of Scotland. This will help to narrow down your search parameters and make finding relevant records easier. Useful resources are:
- Guidance on Counties, Cities, and Burghs at Scotland’s People
- The Boundaries Viewer at the website of the National Library of Scotland
- Interactive County Map of Scotland at GENUKI
Major Repositories
Scotland’s People
The best place to start research on Scottish ancestry is at Scotland’s People, the official government resource for family history research. The records here are essential to anyone tracing ancestry in Scotland. The Scotland’s People website is the only site with images of Scotland’s church and vital records; all other sites such as FamilySearch, Ancestry, or Find My Past, only have indexes to these records. You will need to register (for free) or login to the website to see search results and there is a charge if you want to view or download copies of records.
The Scotland’s People website has detailed guidance on how to use the records available, and the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society has an excellent handout from a webinar presented by Tessa Spencer, Head of Outreach and Learning, National Records of Scotland, which provides examples of available documents.
Records at Scotland’s People include:
Statutory registers of births, deaths, and marriages (from 1855)
Civil registration of births, deaths, and marriages in Scotland began on 1 January 1855, while slavery was abolished in the British Empire just over 20 years earlier on 1 August 1834. The US abolition of slavery was just 10 years later, on 31 January 1865. These timelines may seem to suggest it is unlikely that descendants of enslaved people will find Scottish ancestors in the civil records. However, these records are important for tracing ancestors who remained in Scotland and Scottish-born enslavers who returned from North America to Scotland. Some of those who returned brought children that they had with enslaved people or with “free Black people,” and there were also cases of enslaved people being brought back to Scotland. From 1855, if they married, had children, or died in Scotland, then information will be available in the statutory records.
Scotland’s People registers are indexed by personal name, but the website lacks some flexibility when searching for names. It will not return results with name variations automatically in the way that some genealogy websites do. Also, as mentioned earlier, some families altered their names after emigrating from Scotland, and families from the Highlands may have anglicized their Gaelic surname. Researchers should try name variations or wildcards if initial searches are unsuccessful.
Census returns (1841–1921)
As with Scottish civil records, the available census records may be useful to find enslavers who returned to their native country, to identify extended family, or to find enslaved people who were brought to Scotland.
An official census of Scotland’s population has been taken every ten years since 1801 (except in 1941 during World War II), but little information about individuals survives from the censuses from 1801 through 1831. Scotland’s People provides access to the census records from 1841 to 1921. Incomplete transcripts from 1841–1901 are also available on Ancestry, Find My Past, and My Heritage.
Note that some original 1841 Census records have not survived—mostly for parishes in the county of Fife. Check the website’s help pages for a full list of the missing parishes.
Church Registers (pre–1855)
Scotland’s People holds surviving registers of births and baptisms, banns and marriages, deaths and burials, kept by churches in Scotland from the 16th century onwards. These registers are indexed and digitized on the Scotland’s People website. They will be a key source for descendants of enslaved people in North America who are searching for Scottish ancestors.
The registers are searchable for the Church of Scotland (also called the Established Church or the Kirk), the Catholic Church, and other Presbyterian Churches.
As well as being useful for tracing Scottish ancestors who were enslavers, the church registers may also have records of enslaved people who were brought to Scotland from American and the British colonies.
In most colonies, enslaved people were not allowed to attend church. Enslavers feared that baptism might prompt enslaved individuals to claim their right to freedom as Christians. However, some enslaved people who were brought to Scotland were allowed to be baptized, and evidence of this will be found in the Old Parish Registers. When baptized, enslaved or former enslaved individuals often took the surnames of their enslavers, and that should be kept in mind when searching baptismal registers. Released enslaved people were also allowed to marry and you may find an entry for their marriage in the old parish registers of marriages.
The Church of Scotland records
The Church of Scotland registers are known as the Old Parish Registers (OPR).They were kept by individual parishes before the introduction of civil registration in 1855.
Unfortunately, no standard format was used, and registration was not mandatory. The quality and extent of record keeping varies between parishes and sometimes by year.
Some records have not survived. If a quick search in Church of Scotland registers does not produce any results for an ancestor, check the lists provided on the National Records of Scotland (NRS) website in case the parish records are missing.
Catholic Church Registers
The earliest Scottish Catholic parish registers date from 1703, although only four pre-date 1780. As with the OPR, there was no standard format, so the quality and content is variable.
Bear in mind that the parish structure in the Catholic church differed from that in the Church of Scotland, so care needs to be taken when searching by location. A list of parishes is available on the Scotland’s People website. A useful publication listing Scottish Catholics is David Dobson’s, “Scottish Catholics at Home and Abroad.”
Other Presbyterian Churches
Besides the Church of Scotland, other Presbyterian church records are available at Scotland’s People. These date from 1733 to 1855:
- The Reformed Presbyterian Church
- The Original Secession (or First Secession) Church
- The Associate Synods
- The Relief Church
- The United Secession Church
- The United Presbyterian Church
- The Free Church
Church records not at Scotland’s People
Note that the Scotland’s People website does not have records of the Society of Friends (Quakers) or Jewish records.
Society of Friends – The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) has had a presence in Scotland since the 17th century. Although Quakers were the first religious group in Britain to condemn slavery, a search by religion in the database at The Centre for the Study of the Legacies of British Slavery, reveals several Quakers who owned slaves.
A typescript index of births, deaths, and marriages of Quakers in Scotland, c. 1622-c. 1890, prepared by A. Strath Maxwell, is available in the National Records of Scotland Historical Search Room (ref ECC 183.010), and David Dobson’s book, Scottish Quakers and Early America 1650 – 1700 can be searched online at Ancestry.
Jewish Records – The Jewish population in Scotland has always been relatively small and the majority arrived in Scotland in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, so it may be unlikely that records of Jewish people in Scotland are of use to those researching enslaved people. However, The Scottish Jewish Archives Centre based in Glasgow, holds copies of records from the 17 Jewish cemeteries in Scotland and can give access to the Family Tree of Scottish Jewry database, with information on over 100,000 Scottish Jews.
Kirk Session records
The Presbyterian churches are structured as hierarchies to run church affairs. The Kirk Session is at the lowest level and oversees the local parish. It is made up of elders presided over by a minister.
The records produced by Kirk Sessions are an extremely valuable source for family historians and can give a picture of daily life in a parish. They may record moral and social offences, baptisms, marriages, burials, relief provided to the poor, lists of parishioners, people who joined or left the parish, donations, and much other parish business.
The Kirk Session records are digitized and free to view on the Scotland’s People website under Virtual Volumes, but they are not indexed, so researchers will need to know the relevant parish and time period, then browse for family names.
Valuation rolls
These records start late in the context of the history of trans-Atlantic and North American slavery. However, they are useful to identify absentee enslavers, or for descendants of enslaved people to identify Scottish ancestry who returned to Scotland, and extended family who remained in Scotland.
Valuation rolls were local tax records compiled annually. They listed properties, their owners, and tenants (usually the head of household) from 1855 to 1996. They can be used to trace people, businesses, places, buildings, and communities.
Valuation rolls can be found on the Scotland’s People website for every five years from 1855. The annual returns are available in person at the National Records of Scotland. For valuation rolls and tax records before 1855, go to the Scotland’s Places website (see below).
Wills and testaments (1513–1925)
The Scotland’s People website provides an excellent guide to Wills and testaments. It is well worth understanding how these records were structured before searching. The site has over 611,000 index entries to Scottish wills and testaments dating from 1513 to 1925.
Wills and testaments may reveal the names of the deceased’s family members, friends, or neighbors. Wills might also reveal any enslaved people lived in the household, whether they were bequeathed to others, or if they received bequests.
National Records of Scotland
The National Records of Scotland (NRS) holds a vast range of records, from the 12th century onwards, touching on every aspect of Scottish life. NRS keeps records created by the Scottish government, as well as private records created by businesses, landed estates, families, courts, churches, and other corporate bodies. Their Research Guide A-Z lists the major categories.
The main genealogical sources under the umbrella of the NRS, have been covered in the section above on Scotland’s People, which is a partnership between the National Records of Scotland and the Court of the Lord Lyon. When digging deeper, NRS itself is a good next step.
For those researching ancestors of enslaved people, NRS has a guide titled, “Slavery and Enslaved People.” The most relevant and useful collections are:
Estate records and private papers
If the name of an enslaver or plantation is known, a search can be made in the NRS online catalogue for estate records or private papers. These are important sources in Scottish genealogy, particularly pre–1855 when church records are lacking. They are part of the Gifts and Deposits series at NRS (reference GD). They may include:
- Letters
- Diaries
- Inventories
- Estate plans
- Indentures
- Legal documents
- Business and household accounts
- Images
- Wills
Sometimes estate records identify individual enslaved people or include lists of enslaved people. These records allow researchers to understand daily life on plantations, living conditions, and attitudes toward slavery.
Court records
The Court of Session in Scotland dealt with some cases involving enslaved people. These are searchable in the NRS catalogue under reference CS.
Court cases may also have evidence of slavery voyages, for example, cases involving the owners of ships either at the Court of Session or the Admiralty Court. They may contain witness statements and financial records giving information about how the trade was conducted. These can be found in the NRS online catalogue under references CS and AC, but it may be necessary to know the names of the parties involved in the case.
Business records
The involvement of Scottish business in slavery in North America was significant. If you know the name of the company or an individual dealing in enslavement, you may find related business records in a search of the NRS catalogue. These could include accounts and correspondence. Note that there is no specific catalogue reference for business records. The collection they are found in depends on who created the record.
Business correspondence may describe required characteristics of enslaved people, and accounts may include the names of purchasers and amounts paid. Business records also evidence slavery voyages, markets, and auctions. However, where an enslaved person’s name is mentioned in business records, it is usually only their first name.
National Library of Scotland
The National Library of Scotland (NLS) is Scotland's largest library and one of the major research libraries in Europe. It has important resources for those digging deeper into family history in Scotland, or into Scotland’s links to slavery.
The main library is in Edinburgh, with a new facility in Glasgow. There are also a vast number of online digitized items, catalogues, and databases.
The following collections and guides are a helpful place to start:
Other key resources at NLS are:
Histories of Scottish Families
These are excellent sources of genealogical information. They include memoirs, and many have pedigree charts. Since these histories are more likely to cover wealthy families, they are a useful source for researching enslavers.
Gazetteers of Scotland
20 volumes of the most popular descriptive gazetteers of Scotland. These provide descriptions of towns and villages in the 19th century, and often mention the names of prominent local families. Since the most prominent families were wealthy, this may be a good resource when searching for records of enslavers.
Estate papers
Estate collections of Scottish landowning families. These are especially useful in tracking and identifying individuals who were beneficiaries from slaving activities.
Scots in North America
Published accounts of visits to North America by Scots, starting from the late 17th century.
Biographical dictionary of eminent Scotsmen
Three digitized volumes contain biographies and some engraved portraits of Scotsmen and some women, mostly from the 16th to the 19th centuries.
Newspapers
Announcements of birth, marriage, and death of Scots living abroad were commonly published in newspapers in Scotland. Researchers can also find advertisements for the sale of enslaved people, advertisements for the return of those who escaped enslavement, and letters to newspapers from abolitionists and pro-slavery writers.
Digitized newspapers are accessible on the NLS website to those living in Scotland. Researchers outside of Scotland will need to contact the library to request information.
Manuscripts and Rare Books
The manuscript and rare book collections at the National Library include material on prominent Scottish politicians' engagement with slavery and enslavers, such as that of Henry Dundas (1742–1811). Another example in the manuscripts collection is the papers of the Spottiswoode family (including genealogies).
Secondary Sources
The vast catalogue at NLS is searchable on their website. An example of a useful publication is the Scottish History Society’s, “A Scottish firm in Virginia 1767–1777: W. Cuninghame and Co.” This book has lists of named enslaved people. It has been digitized and is available to read online.
Scotland’s Places
The Scotland’s Places website draws from three national resources – Historic Environment Scotland, National Records of Scotland, and the National Library of Scotland. Researchers can explore these collections simply by searching for a place name, clicking on a map, or typing in a postcode. Records include:
- Maps, Surveys, and Plans
- Photographs
- Archaeological Records
- Drawings
- Tax Rolls
- Ordnance Survey Name Books
- Publications
The tax records are digitized. They date mostly from the late 18th century and can be particularly useful to find landowners, tenants, and occasionally servants, plus descriptions of where they lived. For example, the home of an enslaver in Virginia named Joseph Brand was called, “Findowrie.” From the name of his house in Virginia, it was possible to find a farm of the same name in an Ordnance Survey Name Book. The farm was the home of Joseph Brand’s parents. It was then possible to trace the property changing hands through addresses given on horse tax rolls.
National Museums Scotland
National Museums Scotland (NMS) has a specially commissioned piece of work by Lisa Williams, Director of the Edinburgh Caribbean Association, titled “Scotland and the Caribbean,” exploring what its collections reveal about Scotland’s role in the Transatlantic slave system.
The Mitchell Library
While not officially a national library, the Mitchell Library is one of Europe’s largest public libraries. It manages and provides access to the documentary heritage of Glasgow (Scotland’s biggest city) and other parts of the West of Scotland.
Useful guides are available on the website:
- Online research guide for family historians.
- Special Collections.
Glasgow became an international commercial hub through its dominance of the tobacco trade from the American colonies to Europe in the 18th century. The following collections at the Mitchell Library are connected to slavery in the tobacco-producing areas of America such as Virginia, and to the slave-owning sugar plantations in Jamaica and the Caribbean.
The Stirling of Keir archive is one of Scotland’s major collections for the study of Caribbean slavery. A selection of documents has been digitized from one series of records (TSK 22 2) under a collection called Scotland’s Slavery Past. This includes letters, account books, invoices, and lists of enslaved people.
The Smiths of Jordanhill collection covers four centuries of family papers relating to their business and private lives. Some include names, physical details, and valuations of enslaved people. Researchers should contact the archive for further information.
Other significant collections of family papers at the Mitchell include the Cunninghams of Craigend, the Glassfords of Dougalston, and the Speirs of Elderslie. All of these families were heavily involved in the tobacco industries in North America.
Material from an exhibition at the Mitchell entitled ‘Slavery and Glasgow’ is available online at the Scottish Archive Network (SCAN) website.
For information on accessing the collections, contact the Mitchell Library via their website or email address info@glasgowlife.org.uk.
Scottish Catholic Archives
The Scottish Catholic Archives (SCA) are the archives of the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland. Its collections date from 1829.
Of particular interest to those researching enslaved ancestors may be a journal written by Richard Carr McClement, a surgeon who worked with the Royal Navy’s West African patrol. His writing provides a vivid account of the suffering and inhumanity onboard a slave ship.
As of March 2024, the Catholic archive is in the process of moving and is not taking enquiries.
Archive Networks
National Register of Archives for Scotland
The National Register of Archives for Scotland (NRAS) online register contains surveys of private papers in Scotland, including the records of landed estates, private individuals, businesses, law firms, and societies. It can be searched for records relating to slavery based on keywords or known archive references. If you identify a record that you would like to view, access can be arranged by application to the National Records of Scotland. Details are on the website. However, note that some private individuals and organizations do not allow enquiries related to genealogical research.
A prominent example of records that can be found via NRAS is The Fergusson of Kilkerran collection, the main archive on which Alex Renton’s book, “Blood Legacy,” is based.
Scottish Archive Network
The Scottish Archive Network (SCAN) is an online catalogue of over 20,000 collections in 52 Scottish archives. Like NRAS, it can be searched for records relating to slavery based on keywords or known archive references. There is also the option to browse holdings of individual archives. It is extremely useful for searching for family papers and estate records at local and regional archives. However, although the database is still available, the project has now ended. It may be worth contacting local archives directly to check for more recent acquisitions.
Regional Archives
Many regional archives in Scotland hold materials valuable to genealogists and family historians. Not all will have distinct collections relating to enslaved people, but they may have relevant materials scattered throughout their archives. Note that where distinct collections exist, they tend to focus on enslavement in Caribbean colonies. It is much easier to identify Scottish enslavers in the Caribbean as many appear on records of the Slave Compensation Commission, which was set up when slavery was abolished in the British Empire.
As with the larger national level archives, local archives will hold items such as family papers, business records, legal records, court cases, images, journals, newspapers, poor relief lists, and local histories. Many have local registers of births, baptisms, marriages, burials, obituaries, or local population lists.
Much of the material held at regional archives is catalogued on SCAN (see above), but it is always worth checking directly with the archive itself or using the archive’s catalogue. They may have more recent accessions to their collections than shown on SCAN, and checking directly makes use of expert local knowledge.
The following is a list of prominent regional archives:
Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire Archives
Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire Archives has a wealth of resources useful for family history. A catalogue is available on their website.
Am Baile is a digital archive of the history and culture of the Scottish Highlands and Islands. It has tens of thousands of digitized items from archives, libraries, museums, and private collections.
The Angus Archives are a treasure trove of 800 years of the history of the county of Angus and its people. A summary of holdings is provided on the website and includes a large collection of family histories.
Particularly relevant to those tracing the ancestors of enslaved people are the papers of the Langlands family of Bogardo and their coffee plantation at Roseberry, Jamaica, 1746–1831. These include a schedule of 351 enslaved people which has personal information including their names, ages, and degrees of skin color/tone.
Argyll and Bute Archives provides accommodation for records created by private individuals, estates, solicitors, businesses, and clubs located within the region.
Collections are located at various repositories across Ayrshire.
Scottish Borders Archive and Local History Service
The Heritage Hub in Hawick is the home of the Scottish Borders Archive and Local History Service. It cares for a wide range of archive documents and local history publications from the four historic counties of Berwickshire, Peeblesshire, Roxburghshire, and Selkirkshire. A catalogue is available on the website.
The Borders had connections to plantation owners in the Caribbean through families such as Chisholme.
Clackmannanshire Archives contains the records of the former County of Clackmannan, Clackmannan District, the old Alloa, Alva, Dollar, and Tillicoultry burghs, and the Alloa and Hillfoots district councils.
The archive contains material from local organizations, families, individuals, and businesses. A list is available on the website.
Although useful as a general resource for tracing Clackmannanshire family history, the Clackmannanshire Council website states that there is no evidence linking local landowners to trans-Atlantic slavery.
Dumfries & Galloway Archives has a vast range of collections including records of individuals, estates, and businesses. A catalogue is available on the website.
An example relevant to those researching the ancestry of enslaved people may be an account book of the Granton Estate, Jamaica, including the names of 67 enslaved people.
Dundee City Archives have records of businesses, societies, and families relating to the City of Dundee. As of March 2024, there is no online catalogue, but a subject index is available on the website providing a brief overview of the collections.
East Dunbartonshire Record Office
East Dunbartonshire Archives covers the towns of Kirkintilloch, Lenzie, Bishopbriggs, Bearsden, Milngavie, Westerton, Lennoxtown, Milton of Campsie, Torrance, Baldernock and Twechar. As well as council records, it holds private records of local families and organizations. A catalogue is available on the website.
East Lothian Archives (John Gray Centre)
The John Gray Centre in East Lothian has a wealth of family history information and a few objects relating to slavery and enslaved people. Of particular interest may be a conveyancing document by Peter Aitken for the sale of a boy and a girl (Daniel and Princess) who were enslaved in Jamaica.
The records of Edinburgh City Archives start from the 12th century, covering clubs, societies, individuals, businesses, organizations, council employees, and committees. The collections can be searched on the Scottish Archive Network (SCAN) under reference GB236.
Records at Fife Archives date from the 16th century and cover a vast range of topics. A catalogue is available on the website. The website also has a feature entitled, “Looking at Fife, Scotland and Slavery,” which points to useful resources.
Amongst the archive’s holdings is an illustrated manuscript containing a written account of a thirteen-year-old slave brought from the Caribbean to Fife in 1768, (tribal name, Manasela Embeka, slave name ‘Black Tom’, baptized David Spence or Spens).
Glasgow City Archives
See Mitchell Library above.
The collections at Highland Archive Centre date from the 14th century to the present day covering the counties of Inverness, Nairn, Ross and Cromarty, and Sutherland, and the burghs of Cromarty, Dingwall, Dornoch, Fortrose, Grantown on Spey, Invergordon, Inverness, Kingussie, Narin and Tain.
The archive holds records of individuals, families, businesses, and local organizations, as well as church, legal, tax, and land records. A catalogue is available on the website which also covers the smaller archives of Caithness, Skye and Lochalsh, and Fochaber.
The Highland Archive team has done a great deal of work to identify Scottish links to slavery and a reference guide is available on request.
A few of the valuable items for researchers of enslaved people include:
- The Fraser-Tytler Papers (GB232/D766) include a list of 115 slaves at Airy Castle Estate, Jamaica in 1819. They are listed by name with age, condition, occupation, and valuation.
- Many documents relating to Soirle Macdonald who emigrated in 1771 from Skye to North Carolina. These include genealogical data.
- Letters between Simon Fraser of Boblainy and Thomas Fraser, St Vincent (1771- 1802). They contain a great deal of information about plantation life and Thomas Fraser’s experiences in North America.
- The Highland Archive Centre’s family historian has created a comprehensive set of family trees to illustrate the network that existed between Highland families involved in slavery in the Caribbean. These can be viewed on request.
Moray Local Heritage Centre and Archives
LIBINDX is the Moray Heritage Centre’s online index to sources of information about people, places, and subjects related to the region. Sources date from the 13th century and include family histories. Among them is a biography of Alexander Milne, sourced from newspapers. Milne was the founder of Milne’s High School, and enslaver and merchant from Fochabers who lived in New Orleans.
North Lanarkshire Council’s website recognizes that the area had strong connections with slavery. Families from the region, like Dunlop and Buchanan, owned tobacco and sugar plantations in Virginia which operated through the labor of enslaved people.
The North Lanarkshire archives hold documents detailing lists of enslaved people bought by David Buchanan of Drumpellier from James Dunlop in 1801. There is also evidence of the sale of enslaved people in the Hamilton of Dalzell papers. A full list of collections can be found on the website.
A guide to the records held by Orkney Archive can be downloaded from their website. These include many personal, family, and business papers.
The Orkney Archive has identified links to enslavers. The archive holds court records from David Erskine v James Maxwell, regarding an alleged breach of contract by an enslaved man in Kirkwall, Orkney.
With sources dating back to the 12th century, Perth and Kinross Archive has records of local people, families, estates, businesses, and organizations. A catalogue is available on the website.
An example from the archive relevant to those researching enslaved ancestors is a collection of letters dated 1840-1860, from David Grimond, a sugar cane planter in the Caribbean, describing his abuse of enslaved people.
The Shetland Archive has public, personal, and business records relating to the local area. Excellent guidance and a catalogue are available on the website, which also includes a profile of Lawrence Irvine, a Shetlander with ties to slavery.
The Stirling Archive has records deposited by individuals, families, and businesses from the Stirling area. A catalogue is available via the website.
Universities
Archives and Special Collections at Scotland’s universities have records of many individuals, organizations, and families. These cover far more than the records of individuals who attended or taught at the universities. There are vast collections of historically and culturally important items collected or donated for posterity.
The University of Aberdeen’s collections are a rich source of documentary evidence of Scottish links to slavery and the abolitionist movement. The geographical range of the holdings covers the southern states of America and former British colonies in the Caribbean. Records span the early 1700s to the post-abolition era.
Papers of some local families that included enslavers are in the care of the University, such as the Gordons of Buthlaw and Cairness, and the Leslie family of Berryden.
Collection and item-level descriptions may be viewed in the Archives Collection Catalogue on the website. However, note that as of March 2024, not all catalogues are available online, and some are only available for consultation in the Reading Room.
Fact Sheets are also provided on the website. The following are key:
- Family history resources QG HCOL005
- Family & estate Papers QG HCOL018
- Personal papers QG HCOL030
- Slavery trade resources QG HCOL034
Dundee University Archive has Collections of manuscripts, diaries, correspondence, business records, maps and plans, books, and digital material relating to the people and organizations of Dundee and Tayside. There is no specific collection related to the institution of slavery or enslaved people, but a search of family names and keywords in the online catalogue is recommended.
The University of Edinburgh holds important archives and manuscript collections covering both personal and institutional records. The catalogue is searchable online, although access to many records is restricted and researchers may have to contact archive staff.
There are no specific collections covering family history or the institution of slavery, but it is well worth searching the catalogue with family names and keywords. For example, searching only with the keyword, “slave,” and then selecting primary sources produces many items which include lists of enslaved people and even records of births for some enslaved people.
The University of Glasgow has extensive archives, plus several initiatives to redress the university’s past links with slavery. The website offers a search facility to explore the collections.
See also Beniba Centre for Slavery Studies.
The University of St. Andrews collections offer rich research opportunities. The website has an easily searchable catalogue.
Of particular interest may be the papers of the Hay family of Leys, including a list of slaves owned by a Dr Olyphant. Born in Scotland, Olyphant lived in South Carolina and owned estates in Jamaica.
The University of Stirling archive includes personal, business, family, and estate papers. The website offers an online search facility.
The University of Strathclyde's Archives and Special Collections includes the official records of the university, other organizations, individuals, and families, plus rare or significant printed material and books.The collection is searchable online. There is no specific collection related to slavery.
Websites
The Runaways website was created by a team from the University of Glasgow. It has a database of people who were classified as, “Runaway Slaves in Britain,” collated from more than 800 newspaper advertisements, a rich source of information about the enslaved and slavery in eighteenth-century Britain. Many of those named were brought from North America and the Caribbean.
“It Wisnae Us,” (“It Wisnae Us,”)
“It Wisnae Us,” looks at the role of Glasgow’s people and organizations, as both perpetrators and opponents of slavery. It is a useful resource for identifying the leading families in the sugar and tobacco industries.
The Glasgow Story is a valuable resource for anyone researching ancestry in Glasgow who wishes to understand something about the social and environmental circumstances. It draws together images and writing from the city’s libraries, museums, and universities to tell the story of Glasgow and its people. Although this website has no specific collection on slavery, Glasgow has extensive historical links to slavery, so many enslavers and relevant places are covered. It is worthwhile searching the website for names and keywords.
Recommended Literature
- Alston, David. (2021) Slaves and Highlanders: Silenced Histories of Scotland and the Caribbean. Edinburgh University Press: Scotland.
- Blake, R.P.J. (2023) Sugar Slaves and High Society, the Grants of Kilgraston. Buskin Books: Scotland.
- Bond, Emma, and Morris, Michael. (2022) Scotland’s Transnational Heritage: Legacies of Empire and Slavery. Edinburgh University Press: Edinburgh, Scotland.
- Devine, T.M. (1975) The Tobacco Lords: A Study of the Tobacco Merchants of Glasgow and Their Trading Activities c.1740-90. Donald: Edinburgh.
- Devine, T.M., ed. (2015) Recovering Scotland's Slavery Past: The Caribbean Connection. Edinburgh University Press: Scotland.
- Dobson, David. (1984) Scottish Settlers in North America 1628–1825. Vol.1-7. Genealogical Publishing Company: Baltimore, USA.
- Note that this book contains records for people of Scottish descent who travelled to the United States, Canada, or the Caribbean between 1625 and 1825 and is searchable on Ancestry.
- Dobson, David. (2005) Scots in the USA and Canada, 1825-1875. Genealogical Publishing Company: Baltimore, USA.
- This book provides details about Scottish immigrants to the U.S. and Canada during the mid-to-late 19th century and is searchable on Ancestry.
- Dobson, David. (2009) Directory of Scots in the Carolinas, 1680–1830. Genealogical Publishing Company: Baltimore, USA.
- Dobson provides a comprehensive list of Scottish settlers in the Carolinas from 1680 to 1830. The data is searchable on Ancestry.
- Dobson, David. (2009) Scots in the West Indies, 1707–1857. Genealogical Publishing Company: Baltimore, USA.
- This publication has details of Scottish immigrants to the West Indies during the first 150 years following Scotland’s union with England and is searchable on Ancestry.
- Insh, George P. (2007) Scottish Colonial Schemes. American History Press: USA.
- Karras, Alan. (1993) Sojourners in the Sun: Scottish Migrants in Jamaica and the Chesapeake, 1740–1800. Cornell University Press: USA.
- Landsman, Ned C. (2014) Scotland and Its First American Colony. Princeton University Press: USA.
- Mullen, Stephen. (2009) It Wisnae Us: The Truth About Glasgow and Slavery. Royal Incorporation of Architects: Scotland.
- Mullen, Stephen. (2022) Glasgow's Sugar Aristocracy in the British-Atlantic World, 1776–1838 (New Historical Perspectives). University of London Press: UK.
- Palmer, Geoff. (2007) The Enlightenment Abolished: Citizens of Britishness. Henry Publishing: Scotland:
- Parker, Matthew. (2012) The Sugar Barons: Family, Corruption, Empire and War. Hutchinson: London.
- Phillips, Kate. (2022) Bought and Sold: Slavery, Scotland and Jamaica. Luath Press Ltd: Edinburgh, Scotland.
- Renton, Alex. (2022) Blood Legacy: Reckoning with a Family’s Story of Slavery. Canongate: Edinburgh.
- Whyte, Ian. (2012) c. James Clark & Co.: Cambridge, UK.
About the Compiler
Pauline Jarvis is the owner of Rootle, a small, professional genealogy service located in Edinburgh, Scotland. She conducts research worldwide, with a particular focus on Scottish genealogy. With over 20 years of research experience, Pauline holds an MSc (with distinction) in Genealogical Studies from the University of Strathclyde. She is a member of both the Association of Professional Genealogists (APG) and the Register of Qualified Genealogists (RQG), and volunteers on the communications team at RQG.