For those trying to trace their ancestry back
to Scotland prior to 1855 the main source of information are the Parish records
of the Established Church of Scotland. These consist of those baptisms,
marriages and burials which were recorded for Church of Scotland parishes all
over Scotland. Unfortunately these records are often incomplete (especially for
burials) and only cover members of the Established Church. Members of other
denominations (e.g. Roman Catholics, Free Church, Episcopalians etc.) are
usually not listed.
When Statutory Registration began in 1855, the
Old Parish Registers of the Established Church of Scotland were put in to the
care of the Registrar General's Office in Edinburgh. It is these OPRs that have
been microfilmed and indexed by the Church of the Latter Day Saints. The records
of churches of other denominations, such as the Roman Catholic Church, the Free
Church, Episcopal Church etc., have not been copied to a great extent. The
records of these churches (if they exist) can possibly be found in the Scottish
Record Office in Edinburgh.
Now, fortunately, baptisms and marriages in
the OPRs can be searched using a computerized index, either on a county basis or
searching over the whole country. The index gives the reference number for the
relevant microfilm roll together with the frame number (page), allowing you to
go straight to the record you are interested in.
The information contained in the OPRs can vary
immensely. For the birth of a child you will usually be given the names of both
parents (including maiden name of mother). A marriage will sometimes but not
always give the names of the fathers of the couple.
Microfilm copies of the OPRs can be ordered
through your nearest LDS Family History Center (LDS-FHC). You can also consult
the indexes to baptisms and marriages on microfiche and CD-ROM in the LDS-FHCs.
The indexes to OPRs are available at most LDS
Family History Center on a CD-ROM searchable database that includes 10 million
birth and marriage indexes. It should be part of the FamilySearch Program. They
contain indexes of birth, christening, and marriage on members of the Church of
Scotland between 1500 and 1890, though most records are between 1600-1855. Very
few records are before 1600 or after 1855. The birth/christening index usually
contain the individual's name, parent's name, the event, date of event, and
parish and county, as well as reference numbers. The marriage index usually
contains the husband and wife's name, date of marriage, and parish and county,
as well as reference numbers. From the reference number you can order the
microfilm which may or may not contain more information.
For more information click on one of the links
below:
[ Searching and Saving the Indexes ] [ Cleaning Up the Files ] [ Converting to Database ] [ Converting to Spreadsheet ] [Top of Page]
