This poor board hasn't had some action in a while. So, I'll liven it up by talking about dead people.
I've been actively tracing my family tree for about 13 years now. It's very difficult, given the fact that most of my ancestors were rarely educated and very poor. I've found nearly all of the information that is available in the US. Going back to the "homelands," though, is a tough task. Since the German side of my family emigrated from pre-unified Germany, I have to deal with the recordkeeping trends of many small, former Germanic states, which can vary wildly. At least some of their more helpful records and resources have been computerized. As for the Italian side of my family, I'm sure records were painstakingly kept by the Church. Good luck finding anything computerized, though. And the speed at which they respond to any inquiries is shameful.
Then, I had a nice, long talk with my fiancé's wee Scots Gran. (Awww, Gran!) She started telling me about her family and their history. I began taking notes. When I returned home, I sat down at the computer, and within a few hours, I had traced several lines of her family back to the 1700s. She's still in Fife, where the family has lived and worked for generations. I'm amazed at the thoroughness and quality of the recordkeeping here in the UK, particularly in Scotland.
Scotland has their civil records available online, including actual digital copies of the register pages, going back to 1855, when civil record-keeping was mandated by law. Prior to that, many Church records are still widely available. They seem to be well-organized and full of information.
Perhaps the best thing, though, is the standard of the records for all residents. With my own family, I noticed that many records are virtually non-existent, probably because of the fact that they were all poor, illiterate farmers and labourers, seemingly uncounted by society. Well, Gran's family were much of the same: ploughman, foresters, and labourers. However, I have had no difficulties finding anything that I have researched.
The abundance of clear, informative historical records in Scotland is a wonderful, welcomed change for this seasoned genealogist.
