Births
The most fundamental records you will research are often referred to as BMDs or Vital Records. Online access to birth records is restricted to 100 years.
Throughout history the data that was recorded on these documents varied due to requirements of the time, area, or country. Nominal information will contain the date and names of the registrants. A jackpot of data may reveal dates, place names, addresses, parents’ names, grandparents’ names, occupations and religious affiliations.
OPR
In Scotland prior to 1855 the recording of births, marriages and deaths was the responsibility of the parish of the Established Church of Scotland. These records are called Old Parish Registers (OPR) and are accessible online whereas other denominations may only viewed at General Register House in Edinburgh.
Records in registers dating back to 1553 may be sparse as many did not commence until much later. Some records have been lost or destroyed, and the condition of the surviving ones is variable due to poor storage and condition. No standard format was followed for recording details and accuracy is unreliable.
Some parishioners refused to register their births, because of differing religious beliefs, or because they were too poor to pay the three pence tax, levied after 1783. This was before the introduction of compulsory registration of births, marriages and deaths in 1855.
Search within the Old Parish Records when researching births between the years 1553 – 1854. To complicate matters, records do not identify actual birth dates. The date of the child’s baptism was recorded and often parents would have several children baptised at the same time (when the priest came to town.) The actual date of birth may be stated elsewhere within the record.
SRI
The introduction of compulsory registration of births, marriages and deaths began in 1855. Records from that year to the current year are found within the Statutory Register.
These records were often handwritten and legibility can be an issue. Records kept by other religious denominations did not follow a standard format and may be difficult to find.
Documents may show “His X mark” or “X Her Mark” This symbol was recorded on the document in the presence of a witness when the person supplying the information was unable to write, and is confirmation that the person was most likely uneducated.
Births and/or baptism indexes contain parents' names, where these were present in the original entry. In some OPRs, the mother's name is not recorded in certain years. Parish registers may record the birth, or the baptism or both.
At best, you may find the following:
DUPLICATE BIRTH RECORDS
If you find a duplicate birth record, this may be due to a birth recorded in the district where the child was born and then registered again in the mother’s usual residence. It was common practise for a mother to give birth to a first child within her mother’s home, hence the reason for duplicate registration. Illegitimacy was a less tasteful reason for a duplicated record.
RNE stands for Register of Neglected Entries. These registers were compiled in 1855 to record births, marriages and deaths proved to have occurred in Scotland between 1801 and 1854, but which had not been entered in the OPR's.
Minor records are comprised of birth marriages and deaths of Scottish people living outside the country.
Stillbirths were not registered until 1939
Note: Midwifery was practiced entirely by women.
Throughout history the data that was recorded on these documents varied due to requirements of the time, area, or country. Nominal information will contain the date and names of the registrants. A jackpot of data may reveal dates, place names, addresses, parents’ names, grandparents’ names, occupations and religious affiliations.
OPR
In Scotland prior to 1855 the recording of births, marriages and deaths was the responsibility of the parish of the Established Church of Scotland. These records are called Old Parish Registers (OPR) and are accessible online whereas other denominations may only viewed at General Register House in Edinburgh.
Records in registers dating back to 1553 may be sparse as many did not commence until much later. Some records have been lost or destroyed, and the condition of the surviving ones is variable due to poor storage and condition. No standard format was followed for recording details and accuracy is unreliable.
Some parishioners refused to register their births, because of differing religious beliefs, or because they were too poor to pay the three pence tax, levied after 1783. This was before the introduction of compulsory registration of births, marriages and deaths in 1855.
Search within the Old Parish Records when researching births between the years 1553 – 1854. To complicate matters, records do not identify actual birth dates. The date of the child’s baptism was recorded and often parents would have several children baptised at the same time (when the priest came to town.) The actual date of birth may be stated elsewhere within the record.
SRI
The introduction of compulsory registration of births, marriages and deaths began in 1855. Records from that year to the current year are found within the Statutory Register.
These records were often handwritten and legibility can be an issue. Records kept by other religious denominations did not follow a standard format and may be difficult to find.
Documents may show “His X mark” or “X Her Mark” This symbol was recorded on the document in the presence of a witness when the person supplying the information was unable to write, and is confirmation that the person was most likely uneducated.
Births and/or baptism indexes contain parents' names, where these were present in the original entry. In some OPRs, the mother's name is not recorded in certain years. Parish registers may record the birth, or the baptism or both.
At best, you may find the following:
- name of the child, whether legitimate or not,
- date of birth and/or date of baptism,
- father's name,
- mother's name and maiden surname,
- place or parish of residence,
- occupation of the father and names
DUPLICATE BIRTH RECORDS
If you find a duplicate birth record, this may be due to a birth recorded in the district where the child was born and then registered again in the mother’s usual residence. It was common practise for a mother to give birth to a first child within her mother’s home, hence the reason for duplicate registration. Illegitimacy was a less tasteful reason for a duplicated record.
RNE stands for Register of Neglected Entries. These registers were compiled in 1855 to record births, marriages and deaths proved to have occurred in Scotland between 1801 and 1854, but which had not been entered in the OPR's.
Minor records are comprised of birth marriages and deaths of Scottish people living outside the country.
Stillbirths were not registered until 1939
Note: Midwifery was practiced entirely by women.