Aberdeenshire, located in the northeast of Scotland, is a region with a history stretching back thousands of years. Its landscape is marked by prehistoric remains such as stone circles, burial cairns, and Pictish symbol stones, reminders that it was home to some of Scotland’s earliest peoples. In the early medieval period, the area was dominated by the Picts before gradually being absorbed into the expanding Kingdom of Scotland. From the twelfth century onward, Norman families were granted lands, castles began to rise, and feudal society took root, intertwining with the older Gaelic traditions.
By the late Middle Ages, Aberdeenshire had become the stronghold of several powerful clans and noble houses, whose influence would shape the region for centuries. Among the most prominent were the Gordons, who became the Earls and later Marquesses of Huntly, the Forbes family of the Garioch and Deeside, the Keiths, hereditary Great Marischals of Scotland, and other influential families such as the Frasers, Irvines, Burnetts, and Leslies. Their rivalries, particularly between the Gordons and the Forbes, often erupted into armed conflict, exacerbated by differences in religion and loyalty during times of national crisis. The Reformation in the sixteenth century divided communities, and in the seventeenth century the Covenanting and Civil Wars drew Aberdeenshire into wider struggles, with the Gordons and many local nobles often backing the monarchy while Presbyterian Covenanters opposed them.
The eighteenth century brought further upheaval. Aberdeenshire produced strong support for the Jacobite risings of 1715 and 1745, as many families remained loyal to the exiled Stuart line. After the defeat at Culloden in 1746, the clan system weakened and social structures shifted. Agricultural reform began to reshape the countryside, with enclosures, improved farming methods, and new settlements. Alongside farming, granite quarrying became a major industry, with Aberdeen gaining the nickname “the Granite City.” However, economic hardship, especially during periods of famine and downturn, prompted large numbers of Aberdonians to emigrate. From the late eighteenth century through the nineteenth century, many left for new lives in Canada, the United States, Australia, and New Zealand. These emigrants often maintained ties with their home parishes, and records of their journeys remain important sources for genealogical research today.
The Victorian period brought a new dimension to Aberdeenshire’s identity through its royal connection. In 1852 Queen Victoria and Prince Albert purchased Balmoral Castle, transforming the region into a royal retreat and elevating its reputation throughout Britain and beyond. Romanticized notions of Highland life, combined with the beauty of Deeside and the surrounding countryside, attracted tourism and investment. Meanwhile, the local economy adapted, balancing traditional rural life with expanding industries.
In the twentieth century Aberdeenshire retained its agricultural base but modernized steadily. The discovery and exploitation of North Sea oil in the 1970s transformed the region, especially in and around Aberdeen, which became a hub of international business and prosperity. Despite these changes, Aberdeenshire has remained proud of its historic roots, with its castles, kirkyards, and clan traditions still shaping its cultural identity.
For genealogists, Aberdeenshire offers unusually rich resources. Church of Scotland parish registers, many dating back to the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, record baptisms, marriages, and burials across the county. Civil registration, introduced in 1855, provides detailed birth, marriage, and death certificates that often include parents’ names and occupations. Census records, taken every ten years from 1841 to 1911, allow researchers to trace families across generations in their home parishes. In addition, land records such as sasines and deeds, wills and testaments preserved in the Aberdeen Commissary Court, and monumental inscriptions from churchyards all provide vital details about family connections. Many of these records are accessible through local repositories such as Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire Archives, or nationally through the National Records of Scotland and the online portal ScotlandsPeople.
Family history in Aberdeenshire is often intertwined with clan heritage. Descendants of emigrants may find ancestral ties to the Gordons, Forbes, Frasers, Keiths, or other families deeply rooted in the northeast of Scotland. Today, clan societies and local family history groups help preserve this legacy, offering genealogical resources and fostering connections among descendants worldwide.
All of the book titles that are included in this DVD are listed as follows:
A century of Aberdeenshire agriculture - I. M. Bruce (1908)
A concise bibliography of the history, topography, and institutions of the shires of Aberdeen, Banff, and Kincardine - J. Johnstone (1914)
A Directory for the City of Aberdeen (1836 - 1837)
A Directory for the City of Aberdeen (1837 - 1838)
A Directory for the City of Aberdeen (1838 - 1839)
A Directory for the City of Aberdeen (1839 - 1840)
A Directory for the City of Aberdeen (1855 - 1856)
A forgotten Aberdeenshire monastery - W. D. Simpson (1922)
A general view of the agriculture of Aberdeenshire (1811)
A History of Aberdeen and Banff - W. Watt (1900)
A history of the molluscous animals of the counties of Aberdeen, Kincardine and Banff - W. MacGillivray (1843)
A New History of Aberdeenshire - A. Smith (1875)
A pictorial and descriptive guide to Aberdeen, Deeside, Donside, Strathspey, Cruden Bay, Huntly, Banff, Elgin, etc. (1914)
Aberdeen awa' sketches of its men, manners, and customs - J. Walker (1897)
Aberdeen Fifty Years Ago - R. Wilson (1868)
Aberdeen Friars Red, Black, White, Grey preliminary documents - P. J. Anderson (1909)
Aberdeen journal notes and queries Vol. 1 (1908)
Aberdeen journal notes and queries Vol. 2 (1909)
Aberdeen journal notes and queries Vol. 3 (1910)
Aberdeen journal notes and queries Vol. 4 (1911)
Aberdeen journal notes and queries Vol. 5 (1912)
Aberdeen journal notes and queries Vol. 6 (1913)
Aberdeen journal notes and queries Vol. 7 (1914)
Aberdeen three hundred years ago - J. Bulloch (1884)
Aberdeen topographical, antiquarian, and historical papers on the city of Aberdeen - J. Milne (1911)
Aberdeenshire - A. Mackie (1911)
Aberdeenshire epitaphs and inscriptions - J. Henderson (1907)
Abredoniae Vtrivsque Descriptio - A Description of Both Touns of Aberdeen - J. Gordon (1842)
An account of Peterhead its mineral well, air, and neighbourhood - W. Laing (1793)
An historical account and delineation of Aberdeen; embellished with beautiful engravings of the principal bridges, public buildings, and sacred edifices in and about the city - R. Wilson (1822)
An Historical Account of Peterhead - J. Arbuthnot (1815)
Annals of Aberdeen Vol. 1 - W. Kennedy (1818)
Annals of Aberdeen Vol. 2 - W. Kennedy (1818)
Annals of Banff Vol. 1 - W. Cramond (1893)
Annals of Banff Vol. 2 - W. Cramond (1893)
Annals of lower Deeside; being a topographical, proprietary, ecclesiastical, and antiquarian history of Durris, Drumoak, and Culter - J. Henderson (1892)
Antiquarian gleanings from Aberdeenshire records - G. Turreff (1859)
Banffshire - W. Barclay (1922)
Banffshire year book and county directory for 1898 (1898)
Black's Morayshire directory, including the upper district of Banffshire (1863)
Botanical rambles in Braemar in 1844 - W. Gardiner (1845)
Braemar - J. Crombie (1861)
Braemar - J. G. Micie (1898)
Braemar Highlands - Their Tales, Traditions and History - E. Taylor (1869)
Callirhoe; commonly called the Well of Spa, or the Nymph of Aberdene - J. F. Younger (1799)
Celtic place-names in Aberdeenshire - J. Milne (1912)
Charters and other writs illustrating the history of the royal burgh of Aberdeen, MCLXXI-MDCCCIV (1890)
Churches of Aberdeen, Historical and Descriptive - A. Gammie (1909)
Collections for a history of the Shires of Aberdeen and Banff (1843)
Collections towards a bibliography of the universities of Aberdeen - P. Anderson (1907)
Cornwall's New Aberdeen directory Vol. 1853 – 1854
Epitaphs and inscriptions from burial grounds and old buildings in the North East of Scotland; with historical, biographical, genealogical, and antiquarian notes Vol. 1 - A. Jervise (1879)
Epitaphs and inscriptions from burial grounds and old buildings in the North East of Scotland; with historical, biographical, genealogical, and antiquarian notes Vol. 2 - A. Jervise (1879)
Extracts from the Council register of the burgh of Aberdeen 1625 – 1642
Extracts from the Council register of the burgh of Aberdeen Vol. 1 - J. Stuart (1871-72)
Extracts from the Council register of the burgh of Aberdeen Vol. 2 - J. Stuart (1871-72)
Extracts from the Presbytery book of Strathbogie - J. Stuart (1843)
Fasti Aberdonenses. Selections from the records of the University and King's College of Aberdeen, 1494-1854 (1854)
Fasti Academiae Mariscallanae Aberdonensis - selections from the records of the Marischal College and University Vol. 1 (1889 - 1898)
Fasti Academiae Mariscallanae Aberdonensis - selections from the records of the Marischal College and University Vol. 2 (1889 - 1898)
Fasti Academiae Mariscallanae Aberdonensis - selections from the records of the Marischal College and University Vol. 3 (1889 - 1898)
Genealogical collections concerning the sir-name of Baird, and the families of Auchmedden, Newbyth, and Sauchton Hall in particular - W. Baird (1870)
Genealogies of an Aberdeen family, 1540-1913 - J. Smith (1913)
Handbook and guide to Aberdeen (1914)
Historic earls and earldoms of Scotland - J. Mackintosh (1898)
Historical Aberdeen, the Castle and the Castle-Hill, The Snow Church, the Woolmanhill and Neighbourhood, the Guestrow - G. M. Fraser (1905)
Historical Aberdeen, the Green and Its Story - G. M. Fraser (1904)
History of Banff and familiar account of its inhabitants and belongings - J. Imlach (1868)
History of Logie-Coldstone and Braes of Cromar - J. Michie (1896)
History of polled Aberdeen or Angus cattle giving an account of the origin, improvement, and characteristics of the breed - J. Macdonald (1882)
History of the parish of Banchory-Devenick - J. A. Henderson (1890)
History of the Society of Advocates in Aberdeen - J. Henderson (1912)
History of the valley of the Dee, from the earliest times to the present day - J. Mackintosh (1895)
Howes o' Buchan being notes, local, historical, and antiquarian - W. Anderson (1873)
Illustrations of the topography and antiquities of the shires of Aberdeen and Banff Vol. 1 - J. Robertson (1842)
Illustrations of the topography and antiquities of the shires of Aberdeen and Banff Vol. 2 - J. Robertson (1842)
Illustrations of the topography and antiquities of the shires of Aberdeen and Banff Vol. 3 - J. Robertson (1842)
Illustrations of the topography and antiquities of the shires of Aberdeen and Banff Vol. 4 - J. Robertson (1842)
Interamna borealis; being memories and portraits from an old university town between the Don and the Dee - W. Leask (1917)
Inventories of Records Ilustrating the History of the Burgh of Aberdeen - P. Anderson (1890)
Inverurie and the earldom of the Garioch - J. Davidson (1878)
Lacunar basilicae Sancti Macarii, aberdonensis the heraldic ceiling of the cathedral church of St. Machar, old Aberdeen - W. Geddes (1888)
List of pollable persons within the shire of Aberdeen 1696 (1844)
Lists of Officers, University and King's College, Aberdeen, 1495-1860 (1893)
Lives of eminent men of Aberdeen - J. Bruce (1841)
Logie O'Buchan - An Aberdeenshire Pastoral of Last Century - G. Greig (1899)
Materials for a history of the church and priory of Monymusk - M. MacPherson (1895)
Memorials of the family of Gordon of Craig - D. Wimberley (1904)
Memorials of the family of Skene of Skene, from the family papers, with other illustrative documents - W. F. Skene (1887)
Memories of the Arbuthnots of Kincardineshire and Aberdeenshire - A. Arbuthnot (1920)
Memories of two cities, Edinburgh and Aberdeen - D. Masson (1911)
Merchant and craft guilds, a history of the Aberdeen incorporated trades - E. Bain (1887)
Monuments and monumental inscriptions in Scotland Vol. 1 - C. Rogers (1871)
Monuments and monumental inscriptions in Scotland Vol. 2 - C. Rogers (1871)
My father, an Aberdeenshire minister, 1812-1891 - W. R. Nicoll (1910)
Notes of a botanical excursion, to the mountains of Braemar, Glenisla, and Clova, and to Benlawers, in August 1847 (1848)
Notes on the Chapel, Crown, and Other Ancient Buildings of King's College, Aberdeen - N. MacPherson (1890)
Officers and graduates of University & King's College, Aberdeen, 1495-1860 - P. J. Anderson (1893)
Old Aberdeenshire ministers and their people - J. Davidson (1895)
On some antiquities in the neighbourhood of Dunecht house, Aberdeenshire - G. F. Browne (1921)
On some remains of the Stone Period in the Buchan District of Aberdeenshire - T. F. Jamieson (1867)
On the older metamorphic rocks and granite of Banffshire - T. F. Jamieson (1871)
Past and present of Aberdeenshire - W. Paul (1881)
Place names in Strathbogie, with notes historical, antiquarian, and descriptive - J. Macdonald (1891)
Post Office Aberdeen directory Vol. 1848 – 1849
Post Office Aberdeen directory Vol. 1856 – 1857
Post Office Aberdeen directory Vol. 1857 – 1858
Post Office Aberdeen directory Vol. 1862 – 1863
Post Office Aberdeen directory Vol. 1871 – 1872
Post Office Aberdeen directory Vol. 1884 – 1885
Post Office Aberdeen directory Vol. 1887 – 1888
Post Office Aberdeen directory Vol. 1891 – 1892
Post Office Aberdeen directory Vol. 1896 – 1897
Post Office Aberdeen directory Vol. 1897 – 1898
Post Office Aberdeen directory Vol. 1898 – 1899
Post Office Aberdeen directory Vol. 1899 – 1900
Post Office Aberdeen directory Vol. 1909 – 1910
Post Office Aberdeen directory Vol. 1911 – 1912
Post Office Aberdeen directory Vol. 1913 – 1914
Post Office Aberdeen directory Vol. 1914 – 1915
Post Office Aberdeen directory Vol. 1916 – 1917
Post Office Aberdeen directory Vol. 1918 – 1919
Post Office Aberdeen directory Vol. 1921 – 1922
Post Office Aberdeen directory Vol. 1922 – 1923
Records of old Aberdeen Vol. 1 (1899 - 1909)
Records of old Aberdeen Vol. 2 (1899 - 1909)
Records of the county of Banff, 1660-1760 - J. Grant (1922)
Records of the county of Banff, 1660-1760 (1922)
Records of the Sheriff court of Aberdeenshire Vol. 1 (1904 - 1907)
Records of the Sheriff court of Aberdeenshire Vol. 2 (1902)
Records of the Sheriff court of Aberdeenshire Vol. 3 (1904 - 1907)
Report on education in the parochial schools of the counties of Aberdeen, Banff and Moray - S. Laurie (1865)
Rinderpest in Aberdeenshire - the outbreak of 1865, and how it was stamped out - W. Alexander (1882)
Roll of alumni in arts of the University and King's college of Aberdeen, 1596-1860 (1900)
Roll of honour 1914-1919 for the town and quoad sacra parish of MacDuff with active service lists, lists of prisoners of war & of honours awarded - G. Dickson (1919)
Roll of honour of former pupils of Banff Academy who fell in the Great War 1914-18 (1920)
Roll of honour. A record of those belonging to Aberdeen and district who gave their lives for their country in the Great War, 1914-1919 (1922)
Roll of the graduates of the University of Aberdeen, 1860-1900 - W. Johnston (1906)
Scotland (Part 1) Edinburgh, Glasgow and the Highlands - as far north as Aberdeen, Inverness, Gairloch and Stornoway (1903)
Scottish folk-lore; or, Reminiscences of Aberdeenshire from pinafore to gown - D. Anderson (1895)
Selections from the records of the kirk session, presbytery, and synod of Aberdeen (1846)
Short account of the family of Irvine of Drum in the county of Aberdeen - D. Wimberley (1893)
Sketch of the territorial history of the burgh of Aberdeen - G. Cadenhead (1878)
Slater's ... Royal National Commercial Directory and Topography of Scotland, etc (1852)
Slater's ... Royal National Commercial Directory and Topography of Scotland, etc (1882)
Some notices of the surname of Shand, particularly of the County of Aberdeen - G. Shand (1877)
Studies in the history and development of the University of Aberdeen - P. J. Anderson (1906)
Territorial soldiering in the north-east of Scotland during 1759-1814 - J. Bulloch (1914)
The Aberdeen almanack, and northern register for 1827 (1827)
The Aberdeen printers Pt. 1 (1884)
The Aberdeen printers Pt. 2 (1884)
The Aberdeen printers Pt. 3 (1884)
The Aberdeen printers Pt. 4 (1884)
The Aberdeen worthies - W. Bannermann (1840)
The Aberdeenshire land agitation (1881)
The Aberdonians and other lowland Scots, their origin as illustrated in the history of Aberdeen - G. M. Fraser (1914)
The Annals of Cullen 961-1904 - W. Crammond (1904)
The armorial ensigns of the royal burgh of Aberdeen - J. Cruickshank (1888)
The Bairds of Auchmedden and Strichen, Aberdeenshire - J. Bulloch (1922)
The Book of Ellon - A. McConnochie (1901)
The Book of the Chronicles of Keith, Grange, Ruthven, Cairney, and Botriphbie - J. Gordon (1880)
The botanist's guide to the counties of Aberdeen, Banff, and Kincardine - G. Dickie (1860)
The churches of Buchan and notes by the way - being short sketches of the early history of Christianity in Scotland - N. K. Mcleod (1899)
The Common Good of the City of Aberdeen, 1319-1887 - A. M. Munro (1888)
The Earls of Aboyne - J. M. Bulloch (1908)
The flora of Banffshire - W. Craib (1912)
The highest village in Scotland - Tomintoul, Banffshire (1910)
The history and antiquities of new and old Aberdeen - A. Smith (1882)
The history of Aberdeen Vol. 1 - W. Thom (1811)
The History of the Aberdeen Volunteers - D. Sinclair (1907)
The history of the Province of Moray comprising the counties of Elgin and Nairn, the greater part of the County of Inverness and a portion of the County of Banff Vol. 1 - L. Shaw (1882)
The history of the Province of Moray comprising the counties of Elgin and Nairn, the greater part of the County of Inverness and a portion of the County of Banff Vol. 2 - L. Shaw (1882)
The history of the Province of Moray comprising the counties of Elgin and Nairn, the greater part of the County of Inverness and a portion of the County of Banff Vol. 3 - L. Shaw (1882)
The history of the Workhouse or Poor's Hospital of Aberdeen - A. Walker (1885)
The Irvines of Drum and collateral branches - J. Leslie (1909)
The lights of the North - illustrating the rise and progress of Christianity in north-eastern Scotland - J. Stark (1896)
The natural history of Dee Side and Braemar - W. MacGillivray (1855)
The new book of bon-accord, or Guide to the City of Aberdeen - W. Cadenhead (1886)
The Peterhead almanac (and Buchan) directory (1853)
The physical geology of the Dee Valley - A. Bremner (1912)
The place names of west Aberdeenshire - J. MacDonald (1899)
The Port of Aberdeen - a history of its trade and shipping from the 12th century to the present day - V. Clark (1921)
The pynours; historical notes on an ancient Aberdeen craft - J. Bulloch (1887)
The records of Aboyne, MCCXXX - MDCLXXXI (1894)
The records of Invercauld MDXLVII - MDCCCXXVIII (1901)
The Statistical account of Aberdeenshire (1843)
The Thanage of Fermartyn including the district commonly called Formartine - W. Temple (1894)
The Tyries of Drumkilbo, Perthshire Dunnideer, Aberdeenshire - A. Tyrie (1893)
The universities of Aberdeen, a history - R. S. Rait (1895)
Traditional ballad airs. Arranged and harmonized for the pianoforte and harmonium, from copies procured in the counties of Aberdeen, Banff, and Moray - W. Christie (1876)
Transactions of the Aberdeen Philosophical Society Vol. 3 (1900)
University of Aberdeen - Roll of service in the great war, 1914-1919 (1921)
Wanderings in the Highlands of Banff and Aberdeen Shires - J. Phillips (1881)
Water supply of the city of Aberdeen - J. Valentine (1869)
Worrall's directory of the North-Eastern counties of Scotland, comprising the counties of Forfar, Fife, Kinross, Aberdeen, Banff, and Kincardine (1877)