Created and maintained by the Scottish Archive Network, or SCAN, "Scottish
Documents: Scotland's Written Legacy" offers a unique glimpse of the past
through scanned copies of documents contained within the Scottish National
Archives. Included in selection posted by SCAN are more than 300,000
names of deceased Scots linking to more than two million scan images of
wills and death certificates. Covering a span of nearly four hundred
years (1500-1875), the Scottish Documents collection is a treasure trove
for genealogists and historians alike, rich in facts about how Scots
lived, where and what they did for a living. Registers are often so
detailed that they even disclose what people wore and how they furnished
their dwellings! Searchable alphabetically and in fifty year date ranges,
the database is highly accessible. Beyond the above, the Scottish
Documents site goes the extra mile, helping users to understand and
interpret the documents with which they come into contact. Thus, it offers
a handwriting guide and a lexicon of terms appearing in wills, such as
weights and measures, monetary units and occupations. A fun, informative
sidelight, the site also showcases some of Scotland's favorite sons with a
drop-down menu of famous names and the stories behind them.