Scottish History With a Side of Detective Work

Some opportunities come from inside Clan MacNeil USA. Others find us.

Andrew Simpson, a doctoral candidate in Modern History at the University of St Andrews, reached out to CMAA looking for volunteers to help with two Scottish-history databases he is building. One focuses on people connected with the Jacobite risings from 1689 to 1746. The other tracks schools and schoolmasters across Scotland.

If you enjoy checking details, comparing records, or spotting the place where something does not quite line up, this may be exactly your kind of project.

What Would You Actually Do?

Andrew sends volunteers a batch of database entries along with images of the printed source pages those entries came from. Your job is to compare the two and confirm that the information has been recorded correctly. If the source is genuinely ambiguous, you flag it rather than guess.

This is not archive work, and it does not require travel, appointments, or special training. The source material is supplied to you, and the books are printed rather than handwritten manuscripts.

Most importantly, this does not have to become a giant commitment. You can do one batch and stop, or take another batch if you enjoy the work. Andrew is very explicit that either is welcome.

Why These Databases Matter

The Jacobite database is being built from sources such as published muster and prisoner rolls, with details about who served, where they came from, what regiment they were connected with, and what happened to them. The parish schools database draws from sources including the Old and New Statistical Accounts and is intended to make information about schools and schoolmasters easier to compare across places and time.

Andrew’s goal is to make both databases freely accessible to the public. He also credits volunteers in the acknowledgements unless they prefer not to be listed.

Prefer to open the flyer separately? View the PDF.

Interested?

If this sounds like your kind of detail-oriented rabbit hole, Andrew is happy to send you a sample batch so you can see what the work looks like before deciding whether you want to continue.

Email Andrew Simpson at afs5@st-andrews.ac.uk and ask for a sample batch.