There has recently been an increasing interest in researching family history and frequent in the course of doing so people will discover material that suggests that their grandfather or earlier ancestors were Freemasons.

The Grand Lodge of Scotland is always willing to assist people who wish to establish if members of their family were Freemasons. However, the records were not designed with that purpose in mind but for internal administrative use. The records are not computerised and the names of members are recorded Lodge by Lodge.

This means that a certain amount of information is required before a search of the records can be made. Basic, but essential, information such as dates of birth and death will help to narrow down the period to be examined. If a place of residence is known this can help in deciding which Lodge's records are the most likely ones to contain relevant details. Information about a  person's occupation can also be helpful as this can decide if the right person has been identified when there are other members of the Lodge with the same or similar name.

It is almost impossible for individiuals to be identified if the only information is a name and a town or city where they lived. It is not possible for staff to read through list after list of names in the hope of finding the individual concerned. Matters are made even more difficult if the individual has a common Scottish name. Often the same name is repeated multiple times especially in areas associated with a particular clan.

Therefore, although we shall do what we can to find information please be aware that it is often simply not possible to find the person concerned. The more information that can be provided when making an enquiry the more chance there is for a successful outcome.