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Shetland
Shetland is the most northerly area of the British Isles, Lerwick, its
capital, being almost equidistant from Bergen (Norway) and Aberdeen. It
comprises 19 inhabited islands. Shetland has been heavily influenced by
Viking traditions largely because it was a Norse dependency from the 8th
Century until 1472. The island was largely dependent on crofting and
fishing with contributions from the womenfolk who knitted shawls and other
garments from local wool, often is the Fair Isle patterns.
Clan and Family Heartlands
You can get a feel for the lives your ancestors lived by visiting the area
they came from. These are areas where, for centuries, families lived
together in a tightly-knit community. In the Highlands they are linked to
clan heartlands, whereas, in the rest of Scotland the names are often those
of the local landed families. Although it is unlikely that family
historians can link their ancestry to clan chiefs or family dynasties, it
can still be a moving experience to tour the clan and family heartlands.
Here is a selection of the most common names in this area.
Hoseason
Magnusson
Sandison
Shetland Surnames
Although part of Scotland, Shetland traditionally has not been part of the
clan system. Shetland ancestry is mostly Norse. Consequently, many surnames
follow the 'patronymic' system of naming, thus usually ending in 'son', for
example Johnson or Anderson. Hoseason and Herculeson are rarer examples,
originally only found in the Isles. However, there are other patronymic
surnames not ending in 'son' - such as Christie or Cumming. Unique Shetland
names may have derived from the continent of Europe - such as Blance,
Youngclause, and the Scottish sounding Hawick.
The surname can give a clue as to which Shetland parish it has dervied
from. Parish records usually go back to around 1855, making tracing prior
to this more challenging.
Parishes
The Parish Church can unlock many secrets for ancestral researchers. Not
only was it the place where children were baptised, proclamations of
marriage announced and the dead buried, it was also the centre of most
social activity within the Parish. There is, however, no such thing as a
definitive list of parishes. Over the decades they have merged, divided,
been renamed and had changes made to their spelling. The following list is
based largely on the situation at the time of publication of the New
Statistical Account (1834-1845).
Bressay,
Burra,
Quarff,
Delting,
Dunrossness,
Fetlar and North Yell,
Lerwick,
Nesting,
Northmavine,
Sandsting and Aithsting,
Tingwall,
Whiteness,
Wiesdale Unst,
Walls,
Yell
* subsequently divided into seperate parishes, ( ) denotes alternative
name or spelling
Detailed information on life and work within each of these parishes can be
found in the Old (1791-99) and the New (1834-45) Statistical Account of
Scotland. These are freely accessible on http://edina.ed.ac.uk/statacc. Part of their charm
is the individual views of the minister, which can include some
fascinating accounts of a parish's history, topography, employment,
landowners, communications, agriculture and even the morality of the
parishioners
Local Studies Libraries
Almost every municipal authority in Scotland has a collection of local
history publications, maps and archives. Although most of these libraries
are prepared to undertake a limited amount of searching on your behalf, it
is far more fulfilling to visit them yourself. You could lose yourself for
hours, pouring over old newspapers and photographs.
The following is a list of the libraries in your chosen area:
Shetland Library
Lower Hillhead
Lerwick
Shetland
ZE1 0EL
Tel: +44 1595 693868
Fax: +44 1595 694430
E-mail:
info@shetland-library.gov.uk
www.shetland-library.gov.uk
Open: Mon, Wed & Fri, 10:00 - 19:00, Tue, Thu & Sat 10:00 - 17:00.
Newspapers include complete sets of Shetland Times (1872 to date) and
Shetland News (1885-1962).
Local Archives Centres
Almost every municipal authority in Scotland has a collection of local
history publications, maps and archives. Although most of these libraries
are prepared to undertake a limited amount of searching on your behalf, it
is far more fulfilling to visit them yourself. You could lose yourself for
hours, pouring over old newspapers and photographs.
The following is a list of the archive offices in your chosen area:
Shetland Archives
44 King Harald Street
Lerwick
Shetland
ZE1 0EQ
Tel: +44 1595 696247
Fax: +44 1595 696533
E-mail:
brian.smith@sic.shetland.gov.uk
www.shetland.gov.uk
Open: Mon-Thu 09:00 -13:00 & 14:00 - 17:00, Fri 09:00 - 13:00 &
14:00 -16:00.
Museums and Heritage Centres
Scotland is a country with a remarkable history. So it should come as no
surprise that Scotland is home to a remarkable collection of museums and
heritage centres. These range from the major, internationally renowned
collections in Edinburgh's Royal Museum of Scotland to hundreds of small
centres that specialise in the history of local communities. The
following museums are all in your chosen area. A visit to any one of
them may well shed new light on the lives led by your ancestors.
Shetland Museum
Lower Hillhead
Lerwick
Shetland
ZE1 0EL
Tel: +44 1595 695057
E-mail:
shetland.museum@zetnet.co.uk
www.shetland-museum.org.uk
Open: Mon, Wed and Fri 10:00-19:00; Tue, Thu and Sat 10:00-17:00
Covers all aspects of Shetlands history.
Family History Society
Local societies are run by volunteers who meet together periodically. Most
maintain an index of members' interests - and this could well lead to the
discovery of a long lost cousin or two. If there are any such societies in
your chosen area, they will be listed below.
Shetland Family History Society
Hon Secretary
Mrs Elizabeth Angus
6 Hillhead
Lerwick
Shetland
ZE1 0EJ
E-mail:
secretary@shetland-fhs.org.uk
www.shetland-fhs.org.uk
Burial Information
It may seem a little odd, but a visit to the burial ground of an ancestor can make you feel more closely connected to them. However, tracking down the specific plot, or lair as they were referred to in Scotland, depends on the period of time when the deaths occurred.
Up to the mid-19th century it was the normal practice for people to be interred in the Parish Kirk burial ground - although this was only rarely marked with anything as grand as a headstone. The Scottish Association of Family History Societies (SAFHS) is currently co-ordinating a major project to develop a National Burial Index, relating to pre-1855 records. This will eventually be available on CD ROM. Although this will help to confirm that burials took place in parish burial grounds, it will not, unfortunately, indicate the location of the lair.
If your ancestor was wealthy enough, their grave may have been marked by an inscribed headstone. Over the years, family history societies and other volunteer groups have painstakingly transcribed and indexed such inscriptions - and these are nearly always held in the relevant local history libraries or family history research centres.
By the mid-19th Century, many parish burial grounds had become seriously overcrowded, especially those in urban areas, and this led to the creation of both private and municipal cemeteries. If you know the place and date of death, you should be able to discover the location of a lair, although not all cemeteries and records have survived.
The concept of cremation started to gain popularity in the late 1940s and has increased ever since. Ashes may be taken away by the family, scattered in the garden of remembrance or buried either in the crematorium or in a family plot.
Burial Ground Management
Infrastructure Services
Grantfield
Lerwick
Shetland Isles
ZE1 0NT
Tel: 1595 744 871
Fax: +44 1595 695 887
Email: jim.grant@sic.shetland.gov.uk
www.shetland.gov.uk/performance/documents/BurialGroundsServicePlan05-06.pdf
All Shetland burial records are being computerised and centralised in Lerwick. There is no charge for the searching facility.
