Some of the pointers on the Data Sources page will be useful, in particular the link to Kirkcaldy Central Library.

Beyond that, most of the advice which relates to researching family history in Scotland applies equally well to Burntisland. The usual way to research a family is via birth and death certificates, and census returns. It's recommended that you first of all gather together as much information as you can from your own family members. After that, there's a fair amount of information available on the Internet. The following web sites are recommended:

Genuki - comprehensive information on researching your family history in the U.K and Ireland, with Scotland getting appropriate individual attention.

Family Search - one of the international favourites, again with excellent Scottish resources. The International Genealogical Index contains compehensive data on births and marriages (but not deaths) in Burntisland up to the latter part of the nineteenth century.

Scotland's People - The official births, deaths, marriages and censuses website for Scotland; also has indexes to Scottish wills. For reasons of confidentiality, there are cut-off dates for the records which can be accessed online, but later records can be accessed by personal visit to the General Register Office for Scotland (or by a researcher acting on your behalf).

Scots Origins - birth, death, marriage and census transcriptions; International Genealogical Index searches by parish; place name searches.

Fife Family History Society - a wide selection of useful information.

The Fife Post - Tommy Manson's impressive contribution to Fife online genealogy.

Fife Council Genealogy Service - a genealogy service based in Fife Council's local office in St Andrews.

Deaths - The Scotland's People web site (see above) has comprehensive information from 1855. The Fife Council Burial Office has records of burials in Burntisland's three cemeteries in Church Street (finally closed in 1936), East Leven Street, and KInghorn Road (opened about 1885). Around 1970, John and Sheila Mitchell transcribed the inscriptions relating to deaths up to 1854 from headstones in the Church Street and East Leven Street cemeteries, and details of the publications containing these can be seen on the Genuki Fife page (scroll down to 'Cemeteries'). The Fife Family History Society has published a Deaths Index on CD (select 'Publications' from their main menu) - this indexes many Burntisland deaths up to 1854, including those from the Mitchell transcriptions.

Mormon Church Family History Centres - It's also quite likely you'll have a Mormon Church (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) Family History Centre within travelling distance, where you would be able to access many records on microfilm. These centres are open to everyone, and the volunteer staff are usually very helpful. The local Family History Centre is in Winifred Crescent, Kirkcaldy.

Finding relatives in the Burntisland area - If your main aim is to find relatives in the area, you could look for people with the same surname via the BT Phone Book service. Enter the surname only, plus KY3 (for the Burntisland area) in the postcode box. There's a better directory service (because it includes information from electoral registers) at 192.com - although using this involves paying, getting sponsored, or completing survey forms. You might consider a 'Letter to the Editor' of the Fife Free Press. The FFP accepts letters by e-mail. Use the e-mail address in the 'Reporters' column on my FFP page. Try to make your letter interesting and relevant, but not too long; and remember to include your e-mail address. I also do an occasional "Exiles' Corner" for the Burntisland Burgh Buzz, and would be happy to consider an article for inclusion in that. It might be some months before it appears though!

IAIN SOMMERVILLE
E-mail: iars@fife40.freeserve.co.uk