Chris Paton

Originally from Northern Ireland, but with both Scottish and Irish roots, I hold a Postgraduate Diploma in Genealogical Studies from the University of Strathclyde, and today work as a professional genealogist, running my research service from the Scottish coastal town of Largs, North Ayrshire. As well as teaching Scottish based courses for Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd (www.pharostutors.com) I have also tutored for the University of Strathclyde's Genealogical Studies Postgraduate Programme (www.strath.ac.uk/genealogy/). In addition I am a published author of several genealogy book titles and guides (see https://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html) and am a regular contributor to several genealogy magazines in the UK and Ireland, such as Your Family History (previously Your Family Tree), Who do You Think You Are, Discover Your Ancestors, Family Tree, History Scotland and Irish Roots. Since October 2012 I have been a regular attendee of the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (www.proni.gov.uk) stakeholder forum, and from May 2013-May 2017 I was a director of the Scottish Archive Network Ltd trust (www.scan.org.uk). I previously worked as a researcher, producer and director for 12 years in factual television for both the BBC (Bristol and Glasgow) and STV, on various documentary series, including Coast, Meet the Ancestors, Secret History, War Walks and Time Flyers.

Services

As a genealogist I specialise in family tree research and problem solving for ancestral brick walls. I am able to access most archives and genealogy centres on the Scottish mainland, particularly within the Central Belt, including the National Records of Scotland and the National Library of Scotland in Edinburgh, Glasgow City Archives at the Mitchell Library, and many other county based archives across the country, such as the magnificent Burns Monument Centre at Kilmarnock. Beyond the basic vital records and censuses, useful resources I can consult include land records (sasines and estate papers), inheritance records (testaments, Services of Heirs, ultimus haeres records), nonconformist church records, newspapers, directories, court papers, and considerably more. I am equally able to carry out Irish or English research on your behalf. For Northern Irish research I regularly travel to Belfast from the west of Scotland, to visit PRONI, Northern Ireland's national archive, and the General Register Office for Northern Ireland, for the same costs as a trip to Edinburgh. The methodology for English research is very different to that for Scottish research, requiring the ordering of various certificates by post, and will hence take much longer to research, but can also be done. Please contact me to discuss your requirements.

Geographic Specialties

British Isles, England, Ireland, Scotland