by Malcolm Lockerbie*, Nottingham, UK
Where do you start? The first point is to ask yourself is
‘how much do I know already?’ This will probably take the form of-
- Family documents such as birth, marriage and death
certificates, letters, photos and even perhaps a family bible.
- Family recollections passed down by older relatives,
folklore and even rumoured scandals!
- A family member may already have some form of genealogical
chart or tree.
Studying these should give clues of what next to follow up.
Knowing grandparent’s names and basic details are possibly the main
starting point. They are probably present on available census
returns and from these your journey back in time can begin.
US Census Records
US census returns were taken every 10 years from 1790 in
one form or another. Details and images are available from 1790-1930
with the unfortunate major exception of 1890 as almost all documents
were destroyed in a fire at Washington in 1921. For privacy reasons
1930 is the most recent census available to the public. The format
and amount of information included on each census varies
considerably with the later ones being more inclusive and detailed.
These are available online at:
http://www.ancestry.com.
This is a
subscription site which contains many other useful genealogical
records. It also contains some specialised census records for states
or cities which may contain further information.
UK Census Records
Full UK census returns were taken every 10 years from 1841 and again
for privacy reasons (100 year rule) are only available up to 1901.
In fact the England and Wales records for 1911 have already been
released a year early, but sadly not the Scottish ones! Transcripts
of the Scottish census records 1841-1901 are also available on
www.ancestry.com with the right subscription package. Full images
are only available on:
http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk.
This is a ‘pay as you go ‘
subscription site and also the only one providing birth, marriage
and death certificate index and images.
Births, Marriages and Deaths (BMDs)
Records for these started over 500 years ago and were generally made
by the Church. Scotland was split up into just over 30 counties
which in turn contained a total of over 900 parishes. Each parish
had a Church of Scotland minister who was responsible for the parish
church. Broadly defined, a parish was the moral, educational and
religious centre of Scottish daily life, and was usually focused
around this church.
The minister had an administrator known as the session clerk, who
amongst his duties, was responsible for maintaining BMD records.
Information was often given verbally by the minister perhaps
following his visits around the parish. The accuracy and
completeness of the entries into these Old Parochial or Parish
Registers (OPRs), as they are now known, varied enormously across
locations and with time. There are even cases of disputes between
the minister and the clerk which resulted in the latter destroying
records as a protest!!
Where They Do Still Exist, What Do These
Records Contain?
Birth entries tend to a record of baptism with the date, child’s
first name. father’s name and place of residence. Often the mother’s
full maiden name is included or just her first name or on older
records no mention of her at all!! Actual birth date is often
included.
Marriage entries are usually a record of the Banns being read with
only the couple’s names and parish of residence.
Death records are very sparse and could be just a record of renting
a ‘mortcloth’ or pall which covers the coffin or the body itself.
Many parishes did not keep any death records.
Non conformist churches may have made their own records.
Catholic Parish Registers (CPR) for births/baptisms from 1703 t0
1955 are available in index and image form on Scotland's People.
They do however make the following statement, "Do not expect too
much from CPR birth & baptism records. The amount of information
recorded can be variable and in many cases will contain little
information over and above that contained in the index entry."
More details of OPRs can be found on:
http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/content/help/index.aspx?r=554&613.
An index and images of available records can be found on the same
site, but, as stated above, the amount of information gained can be both negligible
and disappointing.
LDS Records
Brief transcripts of many OPR births/baptisms and marriages are
available on the ‘Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ (LDS)
free family history web site:
http://www.familysearch.org/eng/Search/frameset_search.asp.
Use
the ‘International Genealogical Index’ (IGI) option.
Not all records are necessarily on this website and additional
records for parishes may be available on microfilm/fiche at their
local ‘Family History Centers’ around the world.
The local family history center for Naples, FL is:
4935 23rd Ct SW
Naples, Collier, Florida, United States
Phone: 239-348-2229
Hours: T-W 10am-4pm; Thu 7-8:30pm; Sat 10am-1pm. Evenings by appt
Closed: major holidays
Attention: June-Aug. By Appt. Only
BMDs for Scotland
As a result of the inconsistencies of the OPR system statutory
registration of BMDs was introduced in Scotland from the 1 January
1855. This was based on the existing county/parish structure with a
government employed registrar located in each parish. Failure to
register within a time limit is a legal offence. The same system was
introduced in England and Wales in late 1837 based around defined
registration districts rather than parishes.
The delay in Scotland is not helpful to researchers, but the
resultant certificates provide far better information than those
south of the border!
The Scotlands People website is unique in offering a comprehensive
index of post 1855 BMDs up to 2006 as well as the option to download
actual certificates within certain date constraints:-
- Births 1855-1909 (100 year privacy rule)
- Marriages 1855-1934 (75 year privacy rule)
- Deaths 1855- 1959 (50 year privacy rule)
Certificates after these dates can be seen , but not printed at
the ScotlandsPeople Centre in Edinburgh. Scottish friends and
relatives or commercial researchers could do searches there for you.
http://www.scotlandspeoplehub.gov.uk/.
As mentioned previously this is a ‘pay as you go’ site and details
of what is included on statutory certificates can be found on
http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/content/help/index.aspx?r=554&612.
Differences Between England and Wales
Certificates
- Births- plus date and place of parent’s marriage
- Marriage- plus full details of both sets of parents not just groom/brides’s
father.
- Death-plus details of spouse(s), parent’s names and
relationship/address of informant
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1855 certificates are unique as they contained additional family
information, withdrawn from 1856 presumably because of complexity?
Basic transcripts for births and marriages 1855-75 can be found on
the LDS site as with the OPRs. IGI section of:
http://www.familysearch.org/eng/Search/frameset_search.asp.
*About the Author, Malcolm Lockerbie
Malcolm is an amateur but expert genealogy researcher. He has many
years of experience and specializes in tracking Scottish and British
ancestors. He is also highly knowledgeable about US records.
