Author Topic: baffled by scotlandspeople  (Read 3389 times)

Offline lesleyhannah

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baffled by scotlandspeople
« on: Thursday 23 November 06 11:03 GMT (UK) »
Have just bought some credits from scotlandspeople. I thought this was going to be SO easy. I have the birthdate of a relative born Greenock 1923. I want to know his parents, so I thought I'd buy his birth certificate from scotlandspeople only to find they don't include certificates after about 1905.

So what do I do? Am I looking in the wrong place?

Would be grateful for any advice - I'm sure there must be a way of searching for relatives online - I just don't know what it is!

Thanks for any help.
Lesley

Offline JustJean

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Re: baffled by scotlandspeople
« Reply #1 on: Thursday 23 November 06 11:17 GMT (UK) »
Hello Lesley

The ScotlandsPeople website is bound by closure guidelines for the current records thus limiting online access to births only in records more than 100 years old.  Every year in January one more year's records are added to the online databases.  That is not the only option for obtaining a record though!!  If you live in or near Edinburgh you can visit New Register House in person and perform research right up to nearly present day.  Similar results can be obtained from Park Circus in Glasgow.  If you're a far distance from there and you do know the exact birthdate and name of the individual you seek then contact GROS direct and order an extract from them.  Here is a link to the GROS leaflet that further defines the search process they will provide and the fees for the same:  http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/famrec/hlpsrch/leaflet2.html

Hope this is helpful!

Best wishes
Jean

Offline Clare Fowler

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Re: baffled by scotlandspeople
« Reply #2 on: Thursday 23 November 06 11:19 GMT (UK) »
Hi Lesley,

Just to follow up on Jean'd post, due to disclosure rules, you cannot look at birth certificates that are less than 100 years old online so 1905 is the limit on the site.  Similarly, you can only look for marriage certificates older than 75 years and death certificates older than 50 years.  So once you know his parents, their marriage certificate will most likely be old enough to be searched online.

Good luck with finding your relative

Cheers,
Clare
ELLIOT, CROZIER, HAY, AITCHISON, COWAN - Roxburghshire
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CHAMBERS, BRUFF, WESTMACOTT - Glasgow
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Offline lesleyhannah

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Re: baffled by scotlandspeople
« Reply #3 on: Thursday 23 November 06 11:25 GMT (UK) »
Thanks Jean. I'm even more baffled now - why on earth should Scotland be bound by these laws that are not applicable to the rest of the UK? I can't follow the logic of it at all.

I had hoped to find all this individuals family once I had his parents' names, but obviously that won't happen now.

Although I have used scotlandspeople before (my mother was a Macdougall) all the records I needed were from the nineteenth century, before the family emigrated. It must make family history a real problem for researchers whose families are all in Scotland.

However, I am very grateful for the information you've given me, and will keep my fingers crossed that the birthdate I've been given is accurate!

Thanks again Jean.
Lesley


Offline lesleyhannah

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Re: baffled by scotlandspeople
« Reply #4 on: Thursday 23 November 06 11:27 GMT (UK) »
Thanks Clare

It's making more sense now - I'd forgotten that scotlandspeople puts all its certs online, whereas in England you send away for them. However, I'd have thought an index wouldn't have broken any rules - but maybe I'm missing something else.

Thanks, again. I'm going to try Jean's advice now.

Lesley

Offline Clare Fowler

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Re: baffled by scotlandspeople
« Reply #5 on: Thursday 23 November 06 11:30 GMT (UK) »
Hi Lesley,

In some respects, it is unforunate that our laws are different from the rest of the UK.  I don't know why they don't put the indexes on and leave the images to order  ???

Cheers,
Clare
ELLIOT, CROZIER, HAY, AITCHISON, COWAN - Roxburghshire
BETT - Kinross-shire, Fife and Glasgow
CHAMBERS, BRUFF, WESTMACOTT - Glasgow
And many, many more...

Online RJ_Paton

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Re: baffled by scotlandspeople
« Reply #6 on: Thursday 23 November 06 14:37 GMT (UK) »
Scotlands people as I understand has been investigating the possibility of having a modern index but fears/concerns over privacy have hindered any progress.

Offline lesleyhannah

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Re: baffled by scotlandspeople
« Reply #7 on: Thursday 23 November 06 16:08 GMT (UK) »
Well, I'm now convinced that Scottish genealogists have a hard time.  :(  Looking up the website I find that the cost of a certificate, ordered by post is £13, as opposed to £7 in England.

I had hoped that buying this particular birth certificate would give me the opportunity to find the parents and siblings (and their spouses), but I've decided to forget about this branch of my tree - if I had to pay £13 for every 'possible' ancestor after 1905 (with no index to even give me a clue), I'd soon be bankrupt.

Thanks again for all your replies - I've certainly learnt something new today!

Lesley


Offline xrchris

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Re: baffled by scotlandspeople
« Reply #8 on: Thursday 23 November 06 16:49 GMT (UK) »
Have to say i am beginning to agree with you.

I have only recently started on my Scottish side and i am finding it much harder and also far more costly. Feel like giving up on it myself for the moment.
<b>England</b><br />Hants - Beagley<br />Devon - Ley And Earl<br />Middx - Griffiths, Champion and Earl <br />Essex - Harris and Champion<br />London - Busby, Fowler & MacDonald<br />Berks/Oxfordshire - Brown & Somers
<b>Scotland</b><br />Inverness - MacDonald & McIntosh


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