At least, I was aware of my Gordon connection with Upper Deeside. Then there's the problem of thatched cottages, George goes on to explain. Despite their faults, parish registers remain the best source of information up to 1855, and civil registers after that date, but they don't really cater for people moving about. When they move, it causes us problems. You might suddenly find a new name appearing in a document, which is interesting, but it won't tell you where the person's from.
Researchers have other material to draw on, of course.
Records of crime and punishment make absorbing reading as well as providing valuable leads. There was a time, apparently, when people were a bit shocked about some of the things that their ancestors had got up to. Sometimes, however, researchers get hold of information that people may not want to hear. Or perhaps should not know. Once, when researching for an American family, he discovered that their ancestors left Scotland in the 1790's, having deliberately cheated their neighbours and defaulted on creditors to the extent of 20,000 pounds, a staggering sum for those days.