When people begin tracing their roots in Orkney, they often assume that because Orkney is part of Scotland that they must belong to a clan and have a tartan. Not many people know that Orkney was not always part of Scotland. Gaelic is not a native language of Orkney. In fact, many Orcadians do not consider themselves to be Scottish at all.

Orkney has a history and prehistory all its own dating back to the Neolithic period, with some of the oldest known surviving settlements for this period in the world.

A group of people the Romans called the "Picts", meaning "Painted People" are thought to been some of the ancient inhabitants of Orkney. In the 800's the Norse began colonizing Orkney. Orkney provided a good launching point for the Norse "invasions" of Ireland and Scotland. The language spoken prior to the Norse colonization is not known. An Orcadian variant of Norse called "Orkney Norn" was spoken for 1000 years.

In 1468 Christian I of Norway and Denmark pledged Orkney as security for the dowry of his daughter, Margaret, who married James III of Scotland. The pledge was never redeemed, and the Orkneys have remained the property of Scotland ever since.

There was Scottish rule prior to the pledging of Orkney to Scotland. A number of Scottish Earls ruled Orkney for the Norwegian Crown including the Sinclair Earls who were only less hated than the Stewart Earls who ruled in the late 16th -17th Centuries.

The absolute best place on the web to read about Orcadian history and learn more about your Orcadian heritage is Sigurd Towrie's site Orkneyjar .

I. Connect with other researchers.

Orkney Surname Query Board
The GenConnect Query Board for Orkney is a great place to begin your research. Many have posted questions or information about their ancestors. You may post your own question, search or browse the posts.

Orkney-L Email Discussion List
Another forum for your research, this is an email discussion list for genealogical queries and discussions. The list is archived at Rootsweb where it is searchable.

To subscribe: send a message to ORKNEY-L-request@rootsweb.com in the body of the message enter the word subscribe - and nothing else, it's that easy. When you subscribe complete instructions on using the list will be sent to you, it is important to keep that message for future reference. The list connects people around the world interested in research their Orcadian genealogy. When you send a message to the list it is sent to all of the subscribers and anyone who has information to share with you may reply.

Westray Query Board
In addition to the Orkney Query Board, if your ancestors came from Westray, visit a special forum for Westray genealogy.

View queries at the Orkney Islands GENUKI project
Queries are no longer being taken there, but there are over 150 posted.

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II. Files Available on The Internet

Family Search
From the Church of Latter-Day Saints. You may no longer need to go to your local LDS Family History center, now that the LDS has put their records on line. Through the site you can conduct ancestor searches of LDS Ancestral Files, the International Genealogical Index (British Isles, North America, and Finland regions), and web sites - for free!

Scots Origins
The Scottish General Records are available for online searching. For 6 pounds sterling, roughly $10.00 US dollars, you can purchase 24 hours of access to the databases, and may view up to 30 records, it costs another 6 pounds to view an additional 30 records. You may search the Old Parish Records and the registry. This will give you names and dates, you may then order abstracts of the records for 10 pounds. Having used this service I can tell you I found much of the same information at Walt Custer's site. Nevertheless the site is useful, you can order birth, marriage and death records, but if your are just researching try the free sites first.

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III. Orkney Genealogy Web Sites

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IV. Surname Sites and Personal Home Pages with Orcadian Genealogies

The Clouston Home Page
Maintained by James Douglas Clouston hosted at FamilyTreeMaker.com Includes his extensive family tree.

Cursiters of Orkney
In addition to providing files on many Orcadian surnames, Walt Custer has detailed histories on: "The Cursiters of Orkney and their Descendants Worldwide"; "The Wallaces of Sanday, Orkney, Scotland" and "The Turfus Families of Scotland and their Descendants Worldwide" - just scroll down to the bottom of the page.

Rendall dot Net
Dedicated to "everything Rendall". Includes some Rendall genealogical files, online trees, a photo album, and a query board devoted to Rendall family histories and research.

The Tait Family
By Charles Tait

Surname Resources at Rootsweb
There are 10's of thousands of surnames listed here, if your's isn't request it. For each surname listed there is a resource center that includes: Links to pages at Rootsweb, a Query Board, and boards where you can submit various data types: Bible Records, Biographies, Deeds, Obituaries, Pensions, Wills. Also included are: search forms, links to a mailing list for the surname, classifieds where you may list items for sale relating to the surname, a calendar where you can post events and a guestbook.

Ivan's Page
Many Orkney names, notably RITCH of Deerness and many descendants into many countries. Lots of other information and other downloads

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V. Offline Resources

For general information, send a self-addressed stamped envelope or international reply coupon to the Treasurer:

George Gray,
Treasurer,
Orkney Family History Society,
The Strynd Community Room,
The Strynd,
Kirkwall,
Orkney,
KW15 1HG
Scotland

You can send your query or ask for an application form by contacting George by email: george.gray@unisonfree.net

The Society publishes a quarterly newsletter called Sib Folk News which is sent to all members. Members may place queries in the magazine at no charge.

Membership:
£10.00 UK only - Ordinary Adult membership
£15.00 UK only - Family membership ( Spouse/Partner & children under 18 )
£ 7.00 UK only - Senior Citizen/Students - ( Single or couple )

£12.50 Overseas - ( Surface Mail ) - All categories.
£15.00 Overseas - ( Air Mail ) - All categories.

Overseas members, paying in their own currency, should check the exchange rate to ensure the correct amount is forwarded.

Please make cheques payable to: ORKNEY FAMILY HISTORY SOCIETY.