Interested in local history and genealogy. Our Local Studies Centre can be found in Oldmeldrum and is open for research. Get in touch with our informative staff who can arrange an appointment for you to come and consult the many resources about the local area, past and present. Email local.studies@aberdeenshire.gov.uk
You can book an appointment to research into local interest and family history. This means that we will have resources ready for your arrival Book to Research
We also work closely with Aberdeenshire Registrars who can help you trace your family history. Get some great advice and tips on beginning your research by visiting the Aberdeenshire Registrars webpage.
- Books, newspapers, photographs, postcards, maps, census records, Old Parish Registers, Parish folders, valuation rolls, register of electors, Strichen Estate papers.
The Old Parish Registers (OPRs) are records of births/baptisms, banns/marriages, and deaths/burials kept by individual parishes of the Church of Scotland between the 17th century and 1854. They are the most important source for tracing your Scottish ancestors before the introduction of civil registration in 1855.
Census Records are available from 1841 - 1901 on microfilm in selected libraries. Before you start try and find out the name of your ancestor, birth year and address at time of the census.
You can find out which Old Parish Registers and Census Records are available in our libraries here:
Each month we release a new podcast with fascinating tales of Aberdeenshire - history, folklore, authors and more
Influential and innovative novelist and poet George MacDonald was born in Huntly, Aberdeenshire.
A substantial and important collection of his writings, the majority in manuscript and many showing significant differences from the published version, was gifted to the Huntly Library. The original manuscript items from the collection are located at Aberdeenshire Museums, Mintlaw, where they may be consulted by appointment.
The North East of Scotland has a rich ballad and folk song tradition and many of these songs mention specific areas, rivers, towns, villages and farms. Hundreds of these songs were gathered and transcribed by Gavin Greig and the Reverend James Bruce Duncan in the early years of the 20th century creating what is now known as the Greig-Duncan Folk Song Collection.
Ancestry Library Edition offers genealogical resources including censuses, vital records, immigration records, family histories, military records, court and legal documents. You can access Ancestry Library Edition only in our libraries.
Access high-resolution zoomable images of over 200000 maps of Scotland, England, Wales and beyond.