By the late seventeenth century there were hundreds of baronies in Scotland; however, in the aftermath of the Jacobite rising of 1745-1746, the British government enacted the Heritable Jurisdiction Act of 1747, which reduced the powers of barons and the nobility in general.

For this work, Mr. Dobson has traced the origin and line of descent of nearly 1,000 Scottish baronies and baronetcies, including some whose progeny eventually moved to the Americas. In assembling this unprecedented collection, Mr. Dobson consulted numerous primary and secondary sources. His principal source was the Register of the Great Seal of Scotland from about the year 1320. This required him to examine over 20,000 documents written in Latin. Typical of these descriptions is the following one for Hector McLean, Baron of Duart:

MCLEAN OF DUART IN ARGYLL. On 9 January 1540, King James V granted several properties in Inverness-shire incorporated into the Barony of Duart to Hector McLean, son and heir apparent of Hector McLean of Duart; on 12 November 1542 King James V granted Hector McLean, son and heir apparent of Hector McLean of Duart, the lands and Barony of Duart; on 4 February 1549, Queen Mary granted Hector McLean of Duart the lands and Barony of Ardgour in Inverness-shire; John McLean, alias Makaleer, a merchant in Gothenborg, Sweden, was enobled there in 1649, and later was created a Baronet by King Charles II during his exile, McLean died in Gothenborg when his son Sir John McLean succeeded to the title. Sir Hector McLean, son of Sir John McLean, a Jacobite who fought at the Battles of Killiecrankie and at Sheriffmuir. [An Anglicisation of the Gaelic Mac Gille Eoin meaning ‘son of the servant of John’, examples date from the thirteenth century.] [John McLean, a rebel, was transported to Jamaica in 1685, while Donald McLean, a merchant, died in St Augustine in 1778.] [The Jacobite Peerage, Edinburgh, 1904].

The work includes a list of principal sources and an appendix consisting of Scots-Irish baronetcies established in Ireland and in the New World.

The post Scottish Baronial Families, 1250-1750 appeared first on Genealogical.com.

Figuring out how to incorporate DNA testing into your Native American genealogy research can be difficult and daunting. What types of DNA tests are available, and which vendors offer them? What other tools are available? How is Native American DNA determined or recognized in your DNA? What information about your Native American ancestors can DNA testing uncover? This book addresses those questions and much more.

Included are step-by-step instructions, with illustrations, on how to use DNA testing at the four major DNA testing companies to further your genealogy and confirm or identify your Native American ancestors. Among the many other topics covered are the following:

• Tribes in the United States and First Nations in Canada
• Ethnicity
• Chromosome painting
• Population Genetics and how ethnicity is assigned
• Genetic groups and communities
• Y DNA paternal direct line male testing for you and your family members
• Mitochondrial DNA maternal direct line testing for you and your family members
• Autosomal DNA matching and ethnicity comparisons
• Creating a DNA pedigree chart
• Native American haplogroups, by region and tribe
• Ancient and contemporary Native American DNA

Special features include numerous charts and maps; a roadmap and checklist giving you clear instructions on how to proceed; and a glossary to help you decipher the technical language associated with DNA testing.

About the Author

Roberta Estes, author of the popular blog www.DNA-eXplained.com is a scientist, National Geographic Genographic affiliate researcher, Million Mito team member, and founding pioneer in the genetic genealogy field. An avid genealogist for the past 40 years, Roberta has written over 1,500 articles about genetic genealogy, many for the Native Heritage Project at www.nativeheritageproject.com. Roberta took her first DNA test in 1999 and hasn’t stopped.

The post DNA for Native American Genealogy appeared first on Genealogical.com.

In 1776, on the outbreak of the American Revolution, former soldiers who had received land grants were recalled for duty by the British Government. For example, former Scottish soldiers who had been settled on the Mohawk Valley joined the King’s Royal Regiment of New York. After the war large numbers of soldiers from former Loyalist units and from regular British Army regiments, including many Scots, were settled in what has become Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Ontario, and Quebec.

The War of 1812 revealed the military weakness along the borders of British North America with the United States. After the contemporaneous Napoleonic Wars, 1793 -1815, the British government strategically settled thousands of former British soldiers along the Canadian border.  Among the units involved was the Canadian Fencibles, a Highland militia raised in 1803 on the promise of settlement in Canada after the war–a promise that did not fully materialize.

This book, which identifies upwards of 2,000 Scottish combatants, their units, and places served in the Americas,  is based on primary and published source material located in Scotland, London, Canada, the United States, and the West Indies, and likely marks the final installment in this series.

The post Scottish Soldiers in Colonial America. Part Six appeared first on Genealogical.com.

Following the format of the other publications in our “At a Glance” series, this guide—in only four, laminated pages—gives you all the information you will need to begin tracing these Ontario, Canada, ancestors. Topics covered include immigration and settlement history; ships’ passenger lists; naturalization records; Loyalists; and census, vital, church, and land records. Throughout the guide are informative tips and numerous online and print resources that will help further your research.

In short, Genealogy at a Glance: Ontario, Canada, Genealogy Research highlights all the basic elements of Ontario family history research in an easy-to-use format, allowing you to grasp the fundamentals of Ontario genealogy “at a glance.”

The post Genealogy at a Glance: Ontario, Canada, Genealogy Research appeared first on Genealogical.com.

Details covered in each volume are listed in the descriptions for the individual volumes and can be seen by selecting the volume from the panel below.

The post Erin’s Sons: Irish Arrivals in Atlantic Canada. Four Volume Series appeared first on Genealogical.com.

Following is a partial list of the main families covered by Mr. Stark: Amory, Apthorp, Auchmuty, Barnes, Bernard, Boutineau, Bowes, Brattle, Brinley, Browne, Byles, Caner, Chandler, Chipman, Clark, Clarke, Coffin, Copley, Cunningham, Curwen, Cutler, Deblois, Draper, Erving, Faneuil, Flucker, Frankland, Gardiner, Gay, Geyer, Goldthwaite, Gore, Gray, Hallowell, Harrison, Hatch, Hingham, Hooper, Howe, Hutchinson, Jeffries, Johonnot, Joy, King, Lechmere, Leonard, Lewis, Lillie, Loring, Lyde, Lynde, Malcomb, Marston, Murray, Octherlony, Oliver, Paddock, Pagan, Paine, Paxton, Pepperrell, Phips, Pote, Putnam, Quincy, Richardson, Robie, Royall, Ruggles, Russell, Saltonstall, Sayward, Sewall, Sheaffe,Thompson, Vassall, Walter, Winslow, Winthrop, Wiswell, and Wyer.

The post The Loyalists of Massachusetts appeared first on Genealogical.com.

The post The Loyalists of Massachusetts appeared first on Genealogical.com.

In keeping with the “Genealogy at a Glance” theme, the four specially laminated pages of this work are designed to give you as much useful information in the space allotted as you’ll ever need.

Focusing on key record sources and materials for further reference, Larson first provides history and context, then deals with the unique aspects of French-Canadian research such as Acadia and Quebec before moving on to traditional record sources, finishing with a summing up of record repositories and online sources. In less than a handful of pages she provides all the basic instruction you need in order to begin and to proceed successfully with your research.

The post Genealogy at a Glance: French-Canadian Genealogy Research appeared first on Genealogical.com.

Next it provides a province-by-province survey of genealogical sources–in effect, a step-by-step guide to the records and record repositories in each of the ten provinces and the Yukon and Northwest territories. This core section gives a detailed breakdown–by province and territory–of vital records, wills, land records, censuses, church records, newspapers, and books, then lists libraries, societies, and archives and their major holdings and ongoing projects.

For both beginners and experienced researchers alike, the new 3rd edition of In Search of Your Canadian Roots gives common-sense tips on where to begin your research, how to work backward in time from the known to the unknown, how to test your facts and avoid common mistakes, and, ultimately, how to create a family tree. Whether your family has been in Canada for centuries or only several generations, this superb book will show you how to trace your Canadian roots and have fun doing it.

Reviews of the prior editions:

“Solid, comprehensive and informative–touching on every conceivable subject.”–Southam News Service

“Excellent standard work on Canadian and other areas. Basic guide book.”–P. William Filby, American & British Genealogy & Heraldry

“. . . this is the best reference book available for anyone approaching family history work in the Canadian provinces.”–Forum

“As so many Americans have Canadian ancestors or relatives, U.S. libraries should find this useful to have on hand.”–New York Genealogical and Biographical Record

“Recommended for genealogists and genealogical collections with an interest in Canada.”–American Reference Books Annual

“This book is an excellent source of information for the researcher delving into Canadian ancestral roots. . . . even experienced researchers will find this compendium of data useful.”–Western New York Genealogical Society Journal

“Anyone with relatives in Canada . . . will find assistance in these fact-filled pages.”–Virginia Genealogist

The post In Search of Your Canadian Roots appeared first on Genealogical.com.

Part l of this volume names about 10,000 immigrants–mostly Irish, Scottish, and English–and provides a mix of data which includes some or all of the following: name, place of origin, name of spouse and parents, date and place of arrival, and source citation. Part 2 names an additional 1,500 immigrants. Both sections are arranged in alphabetical order and encapsulate brief, paragraph-style abstracts.

The post Nova Scotia Immigrants to 1867, Volume II appeared first on Genealogical.com.