All Things Celtic

How accurate was the movie Braveheart? Learn more about William Wallace himself.

Get some background on Scotland by reading histories and personal accounts.

Who Were the Celts? The German­French­Swiss­Italian ­Scottish­Welsh­English­Irish­American Connection: Everything you ever wanted to know about the Celts from 1000 BC to the present by Kevin Duffy. This concise 3,000-year history of the Celts is packed with facts never before assembled together in a single volume.

The History of Galloway, from the Earliest Period to the Present Time (1841) by William Mackenzie. The author covers the history before the arrival of the Romans and the Saxons, then discusses the effects of the presence of these two groups on the local people, the rise of Robert Bruce and other rulers, as well as agriculture, customs, religion, political machinations, and military actions (including William Wallace and his battles with the English King Edward III).

Historical and Traditional Sketches of Highland Families and of The Highlands by John Maclean. The recollections of John Maclean (c. 1747-1852) paint a picture of a Scotland in the 1600s and 1700s in which might and ruthlessness abounded.

The Adventures of Peter Williamson by Frances McDonnell. This is a true story of a sad period in the history of Aberdeen, Scotland, when, between the years of 1740-1744, a number of merchants, magistrates and shipmasters organized the abduction of local children in order to sell them as slaves in the American Plantations. Peter Williamson was one who suffered such a fate when he was ten years old.

Tours in Scotland: 1747, 1750, 1760 by Richard Pococke; edited by Daniel William Kemp. Richard Pococke, an Englishman, toured Scotland three times. He is a keen observer and recorder of what he sees and experiences on his trip, and provides a unique view of the country situated to the north of his own homeland.

Can you wear the tartan? Check out your surname and the tartan pattern name that goes with it in the most complete tartan resource available: Tartan For Me by Philip D. Smith.

If you are of Scottish descent, you may also have a crest associated with your family name. For a collection of 250 beautifully drawn Scottish and Scottish-American clan crests, both ancient and modern, look at The Book of Crests of Scottish-American Clans by Mike McLaren.

If you don’t know now whether or not your family is connected to Scotland, you can begin your search with a concise but easy-to-use guide to family history research. In Search of Hamish McBagpipes: A Concise Guide to Scottish Genealogy by Douglas Bruce Goldie.