Major changes on Scotlands People: Launch of new site

[Forfarian]

I'm disappointed that when they redesigned the search facility, they haven't put in options for father and mother's names whilst searching for siblings. Or have I missed something?

Yes. You've missed the fact that the original indexes don't include parents' names, until about 1928 when the mother's surname only was added. To go back and add all the parents' names from the start would take ages, because they would have to go right back to the certificates and extract the information from there. I'd rather have the index as it is than wait years to get it with all the possible bells and whistles.

[kirkmichael]

The upgraded search engine allows the index pages in the register books to be viewed.

After 31st December each year, the registrar added an index to the end of the register before one of the duplicate copies was sent to Edinburgh.

One would think that this index was likely to be highly accurate.

It was previously unclear if these index pages had been digitised.  It turns out to be the case that the were, and that the upgraded search engine allows them to be viewed for not too many credits.

Anyone interested in details, PM me with your email and I'll send you the full details, - they are a bit wordy to post here.

kirkmichael

[kirkmichael]

I'm disappointed that when they redesigned the search facility, they haven't put in options for father and mother's names whilst searching for siblings. Or have I missed something?

Yes. You've missed the fact that the original indexes don't include parents' names, until about 1928 when the mother's surname only was added. To go back and add all the parents' names from the start would take ages, because they would have to go right back to the certificates and extract the information from there. I'd rather have the index as it is than wait years to get it with all the possible bells and whistles.

It was 1929 for all registration districts, and 1928 for just a few RDs.

The 1855 birth indexes also contain this info.  GROS are adding the information to other years' indexes, but progress is v-e-r-y slow.  As off a few months ago the progress was as follows, -

1860
Entered and verified – RD 1/1 to 425 inclusive

1862
Entered and verified – RD 1/1 to 561 inclusive
                                 -  RD 898 to 901inclusive
                                 
1865
Entered and verified – RD 301 to 489 inclusive

1866
Entered and verified - RD1/1 to 377  inclusive
                                 - RD 600 to 644/1 inclusive
                                 - RD 812 to 901 inclusive
                                 -  (812 to 848 still to be verified)

And that 'progress' has taken a few years ! <sad g>

As well as these, there is a very small number of other pre 1928/29 birth records where the info has been added, when the original index entry has had to be altered/corrected for whatever reason(s).


The upgraded search engine at the new ScotlandsPeople Research Centre in Edinburgh allows a post 1928/29 siblings search based on the mother's maiden surname.  This is obviously a very powerful search tool for finding siblings after 1928/29, particularly important when living cousins are being sought.

Various local authority research centres around Scotland that link into the Edinburgh system also allow such a cross check search based on the married surname and the mother's maiden surname.

There's no reason why such a search shouldn't be added to www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk as long as security concerns are met.

This was originally the case with the death indexes cross-check search introduced a few years ago, and was handled by making the situation such that relevant matches don't show the deceased's mother's maiden name unless it was entered as part of the search.

In other words there was no way that the deceased's mother's maiden surname could be generated otherwise.

I can't see any reason why a similar security provision shouldn't allow the addition of a birth index mother's maiden surname search to be added to www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk, i.e. if the mother's maiden surname isn't input as part of the search, it won't show up on any hits.


I understand that there's a ScotlandsPeople User Group meeting in a couple of weeks and hope that this subject will be raised.

kirkmichael