Using Valuation Rolls To Unlock Your Family's Story

Many people are aware of valuation rolls but are not sure what they are or what information they hold that can be helpful for family historians. 

The Valuation Rolls were compiled every year from 1855 until 1987. Valuation rolls for the inter-census years 

1855-1856, 1865-1866, 1875-1876

1885-1886,1895-1896,  1905-1906, 

1916-1916, 1925-1926, 1935-1936

1945-1946, 1955-1956

have been indexed along with the years    

NRS, Edinburgh

1920-21, 1930-1931, 1940-1941, 1950-1951. 

At the moment, you can search the 

1885, 1895, 1905, 1915 and 1920 rolls 

on the Scotland's People website and all the indexed Rolls from 1855-1955 can be searched in the National Records for Scotland (NRS) Historical Search Room in Edinburgh. For more information, check on the NRS website.

So why might you want to use the valuation roles?

• They can help to track down ancestors.  This can be especially useful if an ancestor is known to be alive but has not been found on the census.
• It's useful for information on your ancestors for recent years where the census is yet to be released.
• It is also a way of finding out about the history of a house. It can be especially interesting if it is your house! 
• Finding out who were the owners of the property can reveal a lot about your family's history.  Did they own a property or were they tenants? 
• It can reveal if your ancestors were tenants of a house attached to a work place for example.  That can often explain why they might move locally if they go to work for a new employer. 
• If your ancestors owned a property or more than one property, it can give more of an idea of their financial position. 
• It's a way of finding out about the wider community in which your ancestor lived - shops, businesses, churches, schools, hospitals to name but a few.  The social history of the area can be great to build up a picture of your relatives.

For more information on valuation rolls, please contact us for a no obligation chat.

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Thinking Of Going To A Family History Event?

Visiting a family history event may feel a bit daunting if you have never been before but please take the plunge and go along!  Whether you are simply curious, have done some work or you are a veteran of family research, there will be someone worth talking to.

Family history societies are often the driving force behind these events and work hard to bring together all sorts of experts from local to national so do not feel that you need to have a connection to a particular geographic area to benefit from an event.  Along with stalls, there are usually talks and the chance to try out some websites.  You will often find that it's a good chance to see products for real that you may have thought about buying online.  

It's important to support these events if you can and especially when they are run by family history societies. These societies are usually run on a shoestring and the members put in many hours of voluntary work to make records accessible to us all so they deserve our support.

At the other end of the scale, for the first time, the "Who Do You Think You Are?" live show is coming to Scotland and will be at Glasgow's SECC from 29th-31st August.  Tickets are not on sale yet but when they do go on sale, they are expected to sell out fast so if you are planning to go, don't wait to buy your tickets. 

What this show can do which is beyond the financial means of smaller shows, is to bring together great numbers of national and international exhibitors under one roof, whilst still having a place for local family historians and societies.  It will be packed with genealogy experts, free workshops, a celebrity theatre and specialist exhibitors.

The event is being held in Scotland as it is Scotland's Year of Homecoming and Ancestry is one of the themes.  However, hopefully if it is a success it will come back again.

Andy Healy, Show Director of Who Do You Think You Are? Live, commented:

“I am extremely excited that our first show outside of London will be held in Scotland, and will form part of this special year of Homecoming celebrations. Who Do You Think You Are? Livehelps gnealogists, from beginners to experts, to further unravel their family history stories and I am delighted that we will be able to bring our interactive, informative and entertaining live event to a brand new audience later in the year.”

Tourism Minister Fergus Ewing said:

"There is tremendous curiosity to uncover family roots, especially in the USA, a country that boasts an estimated 9.4 million Scottish descendants.  The Year of Homecoming 2014 will provide a unique opportunity to encourage more and more visitors, both international and domestic to come and enjoy Scotland and will position Scotland on the international stage as a dynamic and creative nation. This family history event, Who Do You Think You Are? Live, will help tourism business across Scotland tap into the ancestral tourism market.”