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Scotland (Counties as in 1851-1901) => Scotland => Topic started by: davidgodalming on Sunday 18 August 13 09:00 BST (UK)
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Could someone who knows about Scottish parish records help me please? On findmypast there are excellent records for English & Welsh parish records but very little for Scottish parishes. Please please excuse my ignorance but did Scotland have parishes or am I just using findmypast wrongly?
Does anyone know anything about the surname Jonathan in Scotland?
Any comments gratefully received. I'm particularly interested in pre 1800.
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Hi,
I think this site might be useful to you:
http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/
Nanny Jan
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Hi
As Nanny Jan says, the Scotland's People site is the best for Scottish records.
I think this site might be useful to you:
http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/
However, for free searches there is Family Search which contains many of the Scottish Parish records up to 1875-ish.
https://familysearch.org/search/collection/list#page=1®ion=UNITED_KINGDOM_IRELAND
Use this site before Scotland's People.
Gadget
Added - only 10 Jonathan/variation surnames listed on FS Scottish baptisms and no marriages - have you got any more details?
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Scottish birth, marriage and death records since official registration in 1855 are only available on ScotlandsPeople, which is the official Scottish government site. It has the census on there as well, plus surviving parish registers and some valuation rolls. It's pay to view, but it's a lot cheaper downloading a certificate from there than it is sending off for an English one.
For OPR births and marriages it is, as Gadget says, worth checking FamilySearch first, but I have found some OPR records on ScotlandsPeople that are not on FamilySearch.
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Slightly wrong there, JM. about the 1855+ records.
I think most of the birth/marriage records from 1855-1875 are shown as indexed transcriptions on Family Search - see for eg:
http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=24468.msg1429486#msg1429486
and the rest of that thread.
I think FreeReg also has some records now.
Also, transcription of census records are available via Freecen (partial), FindMyPast, Ancestry, etc., often not very well transcribed but cheaper than the 1 + 5 credits on SP. Use these indexes first and then go to SP.
Gadget
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I'm puzzled by the Jonathan surname in Scotland. I've always regarded it as mainly a Welsh surname and, given the paucity of records among the Family Search Scottish records, I'm wondering about it. Have you got particulary names/dates in mind circa 1800?
Gadget
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Yes, transcriptions of census are available on several sites, though as you say often poorly transcribed, but the actual census pages are only available on ScotlandsPeople.
But as the original post was about Parish records, I didn't want to overburden my reply with detail. For Scottish parish records FamilySearch is a good starting place, but needs to be followed up by ScotlandsPeople. They certainly aren't available at all on FindMyPast.
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think the OP may be looking for this family from another thread
http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=657486.0
More likely that Llansawel baptisms aren't online yet.
;)
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Thanks, osprey :)
Nothing showing on the Scottish sites. I note:
1851 he is born c 1786 Llansawel also.
Gadget
Added - there are som Llansawel records up but no Jonathans before 1830 that I can see.
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Gadget and all of you -- thanks for the quick response. I have no evidence at all of a Scottish connection. My research on the surname Jonathan is centred around the village of Llansawel in Carmarthenshire . The reason I ask about Scotland is a recently discovered cousin mentioned the possibility of a Scottish connection but I have no evidence of that and not having previously had any need to undertake research into Scottish records for the simple reason that to the best of my knowledge I had no Scottish ancestry and therefore had no need to investigate Scottish records.
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If you want to find about about parishes in Scotland, you might find this useful
http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/sct/
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Thank you Forfarian. Good of you to let me have this. I'm not in any way sure there is a Scottish element to my search but I'll know where to start looking if there is.
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Pre 1855, 1 death.
Post 1855, SP has 8 births, 4 female marriages, 1 male marriage, 3 deaths.
Regards
Malky
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Hi Malky
The OP was particularly interested in pre 1800s - I think, from the link that osprey posted, it would be circa 1786
I'm particularly interested in pre 1800.
Gadget
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and it's possibly sorted as I've found plausible records with the names recorded as patronymics in deepest, darkest Carmarthenshire.
;)
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Thanks Flattybasher. I'll have a look on findmypast re the Scottish info you mention.
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Findmypast is absolutely useless if you are researching Scottish Records. It is basically a site built for England and Wales. I did ask them several years ago about Scottish Records and got a lame reply that they were looking at adding Scottish Records. If you wish any records regarding Scotland, the best site is Scotland's People. I wouldn't touch Findmypast with a bargepole, sorry but it's a case of not spending money for no results!
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Hi
You can't really blame Findmypast (or Ancestry for that matter) for the lack of images of Scottish records as the Scottish Government only allows them on their own website, http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/ (http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/).
Andy
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Hi
You can't really blame Findmypast (or Ancestry for that matter) for the lack of images of Scottish records as the Scottish Government only allows them on their own website, http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/ (http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/).
Andy
That's true.
For less than £10 per month I think FindMyPast is value for money for the newspapers and the censuses 1841-1901.
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I don't know whether my problem is with FindMyPast or with general record-keeping in England and Wales, but I find it as much use as a chocolate teapot, when compared to Scotlandspeople.
My records show that my grandmother had a cousin John. I have a very rough date of death for him, and am aware that the moved to London, married and had a family. Six credits on SP will gave me his name, date and place of birth, names of parents and date of their marriage.
Using FindMyPast offers about a tenth of that information for the same price; no birthplace or parent's names, so no means of verifying whether I have located the right person at all. I also find its search function can be remarkably poor.
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I don't know whether my problem is with FindMyPast or with general record-keeping in England and Wales, but I find it as much use as a chocolate teapot, when compared to Scotlandspeople.
My records show that my grandmother had a cousin John. I have a very rough date of death for him, and am aware that the moved to London, married and had a family. Six credits on SP will gave me his name, date and place of birth, names of parents and date of their marriage.
Using FindMyPast offers about a tenth of that information for the same price; no birthplace or parent's names, so no means of verifying whether I have located the right person at all. I also find its search function can be remarkably poor.
Other than the GRO indexes and Census and Westminster parish registers, FindMyPast don't have a lot on London. The majority of non-Westminster, namely the majority of London (apart from what is now metropolitan London but was originally Essex), are on ancestry but they have gaps in them. I agree FindMyPast's search engine for parish records isn't good, its better than it was since you can add parents names in the keyword box for baptisms but it doesn't work as well as perhaps it should. Ancestry's is better.
Also, there are restrictions on parish records available after certain dates in the 20th century, for this info you would have to buy the marriage/death certificates but they marriage will only contain father's name and the death doesn't contain parent's names, and no birth certificates won't contain the parent's marriage details. Unfortunately that is the case for all GRO certs from 1837. At least from half way through 1911 they started adding the spouse's names to the marriage index entries.
I agree that the information is more limited on E&W certificates than in Scotland (I've one line from Fife), but then I find the SP index for post 1855 frustrating because, unlike with baptism records, you can't include the parent's names in the search index. Its then more similar to the GRO index for birth certificates here. :-\