Each parish will have its own unique story for why records are missing.
For Killin parish, there was a dotard of a minister not doing his job, ensuring proper record keeping.
He was reprimanded, but the damage was done.
For Fortingall parish, records were stolen in the Strathtay Rebellion and thrown into wet bushes - but partially recovered! Only to have missing and damaged pages.
For Kenmore parish - the minister or clerk wrote in the parish records themselves a brief summary of why there were so few births being recorded - to avoid providing a record, so that they could further avoid scrutiny by the government.
For both Fortingall and Kenmore, the vast majority of missing records fall after 1797 (although for Fortingall, there is also everything 1700-1750 missing as well).
While the Strathtay Rebellion was occurring in 1797, the riots were not limited to and were wide spread across Scotland as all was due to the Scottish Militia Act - some details here:
https://kennysheerin.blogspot.com/2007/03/1797-and-tranent-by-donnie-fraser.htmlAlso - the late clearances were in full swing, so highland families were on the move at times, making their own record keeping spotty.
To overcome the missing records, you need to identify all of the children, and use their naming pattern to identify the parents' parent's. But you will have to live with not having a marriage record.
Can you list James Dow and his wife Jean's children in birth order with dates?
