Edinburgh Old town of street Mound with New College, The University, Scotland panorama at sunset

Scottish & Rattray Heritage Resources

For help with your family research and to find interesting information about the Rattrays, please review the sources by clicking on the Ancestry Research Resources tab. You will discover an extensive list of websites, tips, podcasts, and more there. Additionally, you can enter “Rattray” in the search bars of these sources to see what comes up. If you need further assistance with your genealogical research or wish to be added to the Rattray Family Tree Database, contact our family genealogist, Dr. Charley Bird, at [email protected].

Want to find Rattrays you may be connected to?
You may be interested in joining the Rattray Surname DNA Project. The project is located on Family Tree DNA.

Ancestral Research

There are many, many more resources including newspapers and we will update the page every 6 months as needed:

Subscription Data Bases

AmericanAncestors – New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS). Has New England and New York resources.
Ancestry – Different levels of information and different payment levels. Some libraries have library versions
Find My Past – Focused on British records but has some US. You can also sin up for a free account.
Fold3 – Mostly military records but has birth records. If you live in Cuyahoga County in Ohio in the US you can use your library card for free access through the library.
Genealogy Bank – Historical newspapers, mostly obituaries. You can search for free but a membership is required to access full text.
My Heritage – Good for European research.
Newpapers.com – Digitized historical newspapers.

Free Sites Recommended by the National Genealogy Society (NGS): Membership Based

Access Genealogy – Links to genealogical data by state or topic.
Afrigeneas – African American genealogy.
Allen County Library (Indiana) – Extensive genealogy center. Native American, African, military resources, and Bibles.
Billion Graves – Searchable by person or cemetery.
Cyndi’s List – Comprehensive list of links.
Family Search – Supported by the Church of Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Very extensive.
Find a Grave – Photos and text added to graves.
Freedman’s Bureau – Federal agency of US Department of War to help slaves who were set free after the Civil War and poor whites with provisions, clothing and fuel.
GenealogyTrials – African American and Native American resources.
Geni – Basic membership is free. Can use to find and verify data.
Jewish Gen – Records and surname search facilities.
Legacy.com – Resource for obituaries.
Library of Congress – Online catalog.
National Archives – Ship Passenger Lists & Immigration Records
National Archives & Records Administration – Starting your genealogy research.
Society of American Archivists – Tips on using archives for research.
The New York Public Library – Extensive materials.
The USGenWeb Project ® – Select state, then country and it will route you to a local website with information that is searchable.
U.S. Census Bureau – 1950’s was released to the public.
WikiTree – Free membership. Collaborative family tree. Use to find and verify data.

Ship’s Manifests

Castle Garden – First immigration center in America.
German Roots – Ship manifests and immigration records and not just for German ancestry.
GG Archives – Military, immigration and ocean travel.
Immigrant Ship Transcribers Guild – 18,000+ passenger manifests.
Maine Genealogy – Ship records and other indexes.
Norway Heritage – Passenger lists from Norway.
Olive Tree Genealogy – American and Canadian ancestors.
Roots Ireland – Irish lists of immigrants from 1800’s.
SteveMores.org – Scans of manifests.
The Ships List – Lists of fleets, and passenger ships.
The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island – Create a free login and you are able to find ship’s manifests and some photos.

Historical Map Websites

Arcanum Maps – Historical maps of Europe.
Atlas of Historical County Boundaries in the US
David Rumsey Map Collection – Over 150,000 maps of the world from 1550 to current day.
Historic Map Works – 1.6 million historic maps and images.

Canadian and European Resources

Archion – German
Britroyals – All the Kings and Queens
CoraWeb – Australia, New Zealand, UK, India
Filae – French
Folger Shakespeare Library – Research library in Washington, D.C.
Foundation for Medieval Genealogy
FreeBMD – Birth Marriage and Death Certificates in UK
Free UK Genealogy
GENUKI – Virtual Reference Library UK
Library and Archives of Canada
ScotlandsPeople
The National Archives of the UK

Finding Photos

Ancestry (Scanned documents of Rattray)
Ancient Faces (free)
Civil War Photos
Classmates
Dead Fred
Digital Public Library of America (DPLA)
Flickr
HathiTrust
Internet Archive Library & Archives of Canada
Library of Congress
MyHeritage
National Archives
National Library of Scotland
New York Public Library Digital Gallery

Books & Magazines

An Ordinary of Scottish Arms by Sir James Balfour Paul
Scotland
Scottish Heraldry: An Invitation by M. D. Dennis – A wonderful Introduction to Scottish Heraldry
Scots Heraldry by Sir Thomas Innes of Learney
The Bible of Scottish Heraldry
Scottish Clan & Family Encyclopedia by George Way of Plean & Romily Squire (Harper Collins 1994)
Scottish Clans and Their Associated Families: A Researchers Guide by Bob Heston
So You’re Going to Wear the Kilt by J. Charles Thompson – An excellent little book on the What, Why & How to wear Scottish Attire. Required reading for those just starting out.
The Surnames of Scotland by George F. Black
Unicorn Unlimited, Inc. – One of the best sources of Scottish & Celtic Books http://www.scotpress.com/