Before 1855 would it not have been necessary for parish registers to register deaths?
No.
Did they really just bury people with no record?
Yes.
I have read that the church wasn't really very interested in noting death details, because the deceased had gone on to a better place and it wasn't necessary to keep records, as everything necessary would be known in heaven. Or something along those lines.
Before the start of civil registration in 1855 you will rarely get any information about a person's parents in their marriage record, and you only get the father's name in a burial record if the person who died was a young child.
Sources for deaths before 1855 are
- Parish registers. However only a minority of parishes kept registers of deaths/burials.
- Burial records. There are a few surviving burial books which are not part of a parish register.
- Gravestones. But only a small proportion of people have a gravestone.
- Mortcloth records. Every parish had one or more mortcloths that were hired out to cover the coffin during the funeral services. The fees collected are often listed in the records of the Kirk Session, and usually include the name of the person whose funeral it was used for.
- Newspaper announcements. Again, only a very small minority of people's deaths were included
- Wills and testaments. As ever, a minority but not necessarily only the rich and/or illustrious left a will or an estate large enough to warrant confirmation (NB despite what assorted web sites would have you believe, there is
no such thing as probate in Scots Law. The corresponding legal process in Scotland is confirmation.)
- Sasines. These are the records of transfer of ownership of land, and will often state the date of death if the change of ownership is by inheritance rather than sale.
- Services of heirs. This is when an heir has gone through a legal process to establish their right to inherit, and sometimes gives a date of death of the person from whom they are inheriting. However these too are only a small proportion of the population.
- Other. I can't actually think of any other sources offhand, but I'm sure someone else will remember something I've forgotten.
