ScotlandsPeople website will be unavailable for 3 days

From ScotlandsPeople (www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk):

Please note, due to essential maintenance, the ScotlandsPeople website will be unavailable from 16:30 GMT Friday 17th January, and will be operational again on Tuesday 21st January. We apologise for any inconvenience that this may cause.

NB: I understand from a conversation with the Burns Monument Centre in Kilmarnock yesterday that this will also affect all family history centres offering access to the ScotlandsPeople system.

(With thanks to @ScotlandsPeople on Twitter)

Chris

Order Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) at https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Irish-Family-History-on-the-Internet-Paperback/p/16483. and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records at https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Scottish-Ancestry-through-Church-and-State-Records-Paperback/p/16848. Further news published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

ScotlandsPeople updates birth, marriage and death record images

From ScotlandsPeople (www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk):

129,445 new online images have been released on the ScotlandsPeople website consisting of just over 207,000 birth, death and marriage register entries. You can search for, view and save images of these entries on ScotlandsPeople.

The update sees additions of images for historic records of births from 1919, marriages from 1944, and deaths from 1969. An article looking in particular at examples of the marriage records additions can be found at www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/article/our-records-double-wedding-celebrations.

* For further information for the background to Scottish civil registration and the records generated, consult my new book Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records, available via https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Scottish-Ancestry-through-Church-and-State-Records-Paperback/p/16848.

Have fun hunting through the new records!

Chris

Order Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) at https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Irish-Family-History-on-the-Internet-Paperback/p/16483. and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records at https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Scottish-Ancestry-through-Church-and-State-Records-Paperback/p/16848. Further news published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Inadequate computer speeds at Glasgow Registrar's Service

Many folk who use the Glasgow Registrar's Service (www.glasgowfamilyhistory.org.uk/DiscoverLearn/GettingStarted/Pages/Registrars.aspx) for genealogical research, via the ScotlandsPeople service, know that for much of the last year the service's computer speeds have at times been absolutely appalling. On Tuesday of this week I visited the centre to carry out some research for a client, and once again fell victim to the problem - one name search took me ten minutes, and it became such a problem that I ended up swapping computers. As a consequence, I made a formal complaint, and have now received the following response:

Dear Mr Paton,

Front Line Stage One Complaint re: Glasgow Registrars/Scotland's people

I refer to your complaint regarding Computer Speed.

Your complaint has been considered and I can respond as follows:

I refer to your complaint regarding the computer speed within the Registrar’s Service at the Mitchell Library. 

Thank you for bringing this matter to my attention and I have contacted our IT supplier to make them as aware of your complaint. There is a planned schedule for upgrading our IT estate and while they cannot give a definitive date for the Mitchell’s public PC this process has started and will hopefully resolve the issues you experienced. I understand your frustrations and please be assured I am lobbying for the Mitchell’s PC estate to be prioritised.

Glasgow Life welcomes customer feedback and all complaints are regarded as important for improving our services. If you are unhappy with this response and wish to escalate your complaint to an Investigation of our complaints procedure, a member of the Senior Management Team will investigate matters further. Please call 0141 287 8977 and quote the reference at the top of this letter or write to us at Business Support, Admin Hub One, 38 Albion Street, Glasgow, G1 1LH or e-mail info@glasgowlife.org.uk Please raise your concerns to us within 20 working days of the date of this letter.

Yours sincerely.

Dawn Vallance
Principal Librarian
The Mitchell Library

I should add that the staff at the Mitchell, and in the Registrar's Service, have all been exceptionally professional, and have tried to assist in every way possible. The problem is not ScotlandsPeople, and it is certainly not the staff, it is the IT set-up that Glasgow City Council is employing for the purpose of providing the service. If you too have been suffering from the issues, the Council's complaints procedure is accessible via https://www.glasgow.gov.uk/complaints.

In the meantime, if your research is not Glasgow specific (i.e. you do not need the archive or other resources at the Mitchell), be advised that several other centres across the country also offer the ScotlandsPeople service (Edinburgh, Hawick, Alloa, Kilmarnock, Inverness) - details of these are available at https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/research/visit-us/scotlandspeople-centre and https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/research/local-family-history-centres.

Chris

Order Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) at https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Irish-Family-History-on-the-Internet-Paperback/p/16483. My next Scottish Research Online course starts 2 September 2019 - see https://www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=102. Further news published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

ScotlandsPeople adds more dissenter Presbyterian baptism records

From ScotlandsPeople (www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk):

More than 3,000 baptism records covering the period 1752-1855 have recently been added to ScotlandsPeople. These new additions cover Presbyterian congregations in Ayrshire, Fife, Dundee Renfrewshire, Aberdeenshire and Midlothian and may be helpful for anyone searching for a person who was born before the introduction of statutory registration in 1855.

The baptismal entries occur within the records of Presbyterian churches which were outside the Church of Scotland in the 18th and 19th centuries but had united with the Church of Scotland by 1929. The Church of Scotland compiled what are known as Old Parish Registers (OPRs) of baptisms, marriages and burials prior to 1855 but OPRs do not always record baptisms carried out by other churches, which kept their registers of baptisms, marriages and burials. NRS has been indexing these ‘Other Church Registers’ and adding them to the ScotlandsPeople site since 2016. More baptism entries from other congregations are in preparation.

If you are unable to find an ancestor within the OPRs, consult the ‘Roman Catholic Church records’ and within ‘other churches’ for pre-1855 events, especially for the period 1843-54, when a third of the Church of Scotland members left to set up the Free Church.

Search the church baptism registers or read more about them in our church registers guide.

List of volumes released in August 2019

Beith – Head St Relief (CH3/1054/10) 1802-1820
Dundee – Tay Square United Secession (CH3/94/15) 1831-1848
Dunfermline – Gillespie Relief (CH3/1689/5/1) 1752-1782
East Calder Associate (CH3/349/2) 1777-1802
Greenock – Trinity Associate, Nicholson Street United Presbyterian (CH3/659/9) 1836-1850
Irvine Relief, Irvine United Presbyterian (CH3/409/1) 1778-1831
Kintore Free (CH3/195/3) 1843-1855

Fiurther information is available at https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/article/news-article-release-additional-presbyterian-church-records

Chris

Order Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) at https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Irish-Family-History-on-the-Internet-Paperback/p/16483. My next Scottish Research Online course starts 2 September 2019 - see https://www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=102. Further news published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Scottish vaccination records

From 1864-1948, it was compulsory in Scotland to have a child vaccinated within six months of its birth, but only rarely may you come across a record of this vaccination on ScotlandsPeople (www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk).

For more on Scottish vaccination, the records generated, and how you may find them, read the post on the subject at my other wee blog at https://scotlandsgreateststory.wordpress.com/2019/05/06/vaccination-records.

 
Chris

My next Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the OPRs course starts May 13th 2019 - see https://www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=302. Details of my genealogical research service are available at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. For my Scottish and Irish themed books, visit https://britishgenes.blogspot.com/p/my-books.html. Further news published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

ScotlandsPeople access in Alloa, Clackmannanshire

On Friday I carried out some family history research in Alloa, Clackmannanshire, using the registrar's service for access to ScotlandsPeople, as well as some local resources. As with other local centres, Alloa offers unlimited access to the ScotlandsPeople records from 9am-4.30pm for a flat out fee of £15.

It was my first visit to the Family History Centre in the Registration office at the Speirs Centre, Primrose Place, Alloa, and I have to say that I was extremely impressed with the facility. It was not very busy, the ScotlandsPeople system worked perfectly (having experienced yet more disruption in Glasgow on this last Wednesday, this mattered!), and there was free wifi available.

The team were helpful with their local knowledge. I had one issue about boundaries, concerning a family who lived in Menstrie, Clackmannanshire, who workshipped in Logie, Perthshire, which they helped to resolve, as well as useful advice on poor law records for the area. 

All in all, a great service, and heartily recommended. To book a seat, visit https://www.clacks.gov.uk/culture/genealogy/.

For ScotlandsPeople access in Glasgow, Kilmarnock, Hawick, Inverness and Edinburgh visit https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/research/local-family-history-centres and https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/research/visit-us/scotlandspeople-centre.

A few pics from the day!

Chris

My next Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the OPRs course starts May 13th 2019 - see https://www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=302. Details of my genealogical research service are available at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. For my Scottish and Irish themed books, visit https://britishgenes.blogspot.com/p/my-books.html. Further news published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Computer problems at Glasgow Genealogy Centre

Glasgow Genealogy Centre has the following message online at https://www.glasgow.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=17698 for the registrars's service, which offers access to ScotlandsPeople:

Please note we are currently experiencing temporary technical difficulties in the Genealogy Centre.

As a result of this, we are currently not able to take bookings and the centre is currently unavailable, but services will resume as soon as possible .

If you have already booked an appointment, we will be in touch with you soon.

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause and will aim to be back up and running as soon as we can.

I have just called the centre and have been advised that there is a slight update on this. Last week, the centre was closed to bookings entirely. However, this week they are taking six bookings a day only, with only one slot left for this coming Thursday 21st, to see how things play out.

I blogged about the problems I personally experienced in Glasgow recently (see https://britishgenes.blogspot.com/2019/02/scotlandspeople-computer-issue-at.html), which have been ongoing for several weeks. Here's hoping that things will be mended soon.

In the meantime, if you are seeking to visit Glasgow to do research, call 0141 287 8365 or email genealogy@glasgow.gov.uk prior to a visit, to make sure the service is available.

Chris

My next Scottish Research Online course starts March 11th 2019 - see www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=102. Details of my genealogical research service are available at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. For my Scottish and Irish themed books, visit https://britishgenes.blogspot.com/p/my-books.html. Further news published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Scottish HIES emigration records added to ScotlandsPeople

ScotlandsPeople (www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk) has added emigration records from the Highlands and Islands Emigration Society from 1852-1857. Here's the announcement from its website:

The departure of many Scottish families from the Highlands and Islands in the 1850s can be traced in fascinating records released on ScotlandsPeople in February 2019.

Almost 5,000 people who left Scotland to make a new life in Australia between 1852 and 1857 are recorded in the archive of the Highland and Island Emigration Society in National Records of Scotland.

The Society assisted would-be emigrants in taking passage on ships sailing to Australia from British ports. Their journeys to a better life were often dangerous and sometimes fatal. Among the thousands who left Scotland were the McKinnon family from Snizort on Skye and the McQueen family from St Kilda.

The HIES offered to emigrants the opportunity of a new life in Australia. This new resource offers people across the world who are interested in the Scottish diaspora the opportunity to search the enhanced database of the emigrants and to see images of the original documents. The all-new database supersedes the transcript that has been available through the Scottish Archive Network (SCAN) website. The entries and images are all free to search and view.

(Source: https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/article/news-article-highland-and-island-emigration-society-records-released)


NB: The last paragraph is interesting. The SCAN website (www.scan.org.uk) is a project that is well and truly out of date on the cataloguing front, and it had been the intention of the SCAN board and partners (including the NRS) to try to replace it with a new catalogue project called Scotland Online - leaving the question of what to do with the data resources available. I stood down as a director from SCAN a couple of years ago, so am not up to date on where this project now lies, but the fact that this collection (albeit a new presentation) is being hosted on ScotlandsPeople may indicate there is finally some progress on this. Here's hoping we will see more material soon - note the name of the category on ScotlandsPeople into which the material has been deposited: Poor relief and migration records.

The emigration records can be accessed directly at https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/advanced-search#{%22category%22:%22poor-relief%22} - the results returns include free to access digitised copies of the original records.

Chris

My next Scottish Research Online course starts March 11th 2019 - see www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=102. Details of my genealogical research service are available at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. For my Scottish and Irish themed books, visit https://britishgenes.blogspot.com/p/my-books.html. Further news published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

ScotlandsPeople computer issue at Glasgow genealogy centre

I have just returned from a day's research in Glasgow at the genealogy centre in the Mitchell Library (https://www.glasgowfamilyhistory.org.uk/DiscoverLearn/GettingStarted/Pages/Registrars.aspx), and whilst I was successful in my research objectives, it was again despite some serious issues with the current ScotlandsPeople computer system access at the facility.

On a previous visit last week I was deeply frustrated by the centre's computers constantly playing up, they being very glitchy, slow, and at times returning returning search results displaying no images available. The staff were very helpful, but apart from a brief respite in the afternoon, it was a tortuous affair. I bumped into a genealogist friend at the centre today who advised me that this problem has in fact been ongoing since December.

Having also visted the ScotlandsPeople Centre in Edinburgh last week, I experienced no problems at all with the same system there. My understanding is that the problem in Glasgow may be something to do with a new IT contract at the Mitchell Library, but whatever the reason is, it seriously needs to be addressed. I was invited to leave feedback last week about the problems, but assuming it may have been an issue on that day alone, I elected not to - I had no such reservations today, and have asked for feedback as to why this situation is happening. As soon as I receive a response I will post it here.

In the meantime, if you are planning to carry out research using the ScotlandsPeople system in Glasgow, I can advise that it is workable, but you will need to constantly refresh the pages as you are searching. I will be heading back later in the week, but do note that there are several other centres offering access to the same system, in Edinburgh (https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/research/visit-us/scotlandspeople-centre) and in Kilmarnock, Hawick, Inverness, Alloa (see https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/research/local-family-history-centres).

Here's hoping for a quick resolution.

Chris

My next Scottish Research Online course starts March 11th 2019 - see www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=102. Details of my genealogical research service are available at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. For my Scottish and Irish themed books, visit https://britishgenes.blogspot.com/p/my-books.html. Further news published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

ScotlandsPeople releases annual update of historic civil registration records

ScotlandsPeople (www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk) has released its annual update of civil registration records, with historic records now available online for births in 1918, marriages in 1943 and deaths in 1968.

The additions comprise of 98,554 Scottish births, 38,271 marriages, and 63,311 deaths.

An article discussing the new release is available at www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/article/our-records-muriel-spark-and-scottish-births-1918.

Chris

For my genealogy guide books, visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html, whilst details of my research service are at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. Further content is also published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page at www.facebook.com/BritishGENES.

National Records of Scotland now wifi enabled

I have been reliably informed that the National Records of Scotland (www.nrscotland.gov.uk) now has wifi on site. Not a lot more to add really.

WIFI....!!!!!!!!

Archivists do move in mysterious ways.

I suspect this isn't a flag pole in the picture above, but a large antenna...! :)

(With thanks to Lorna Kinnaird)

Chris

For my genealogy guide books, visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html, whilst details of my research service are at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. Further content is also published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page at www.facebook.com/BritishGENES.

ScotlandsPeople adds new maps and plans collection

From ScotlandsPeople (www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk):

More than 2,400 historic maps, plans and drawings from National Records of Scotland (NRS) collections have been made available on the ScotlandsPeople website. Many of the maps show the changing Scottish landscape over time. They also record where people lived or worked, so they can throw light on ancestors’ lives and even suggest new avenues for research. The maps and plans cover certain areas of Scotland, but not the wholeof the country. They include both country estates and plans of towns and cities, including for example Glasgow. Most of the maps and plans originate in the records of court cases, Scottish government departments, Heritors’ records, as well as in private collections gifted to or purchased by NRS.

If you would like to find out more, read our maps and plans guide, or search the maps and plans.

The maps and plans collection is amongst the finest in the UK and contains the largest number of Scottish manuscript maps and plans held by any single institution. Spanning four centuries, the collections cover both manuscript and printed topographical maps and plans. They are particularly strong in estate and railway plans; architectural drawings; and engineering drawings, particularly of ships, railway engines and rolling stock. More maps and plans will be added to the ScotlandsPeople website.

Plan of the Carron River from Carron works to Grangemouth, 1797

National Records of Scotland, RHP242/2

For more information, and several examples of maps that have been added, please visit https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/article/news-article-maps-and-plans-release.

Chris

For my genealogy guide books, visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html, whilst details of my research service are at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. Further content is also published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page at www.facebook.com/BritishGENES.

ScotlandsPeople Centre increases charges for digital copies

It has been a while since I used the ScotlandsPeople (www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk) computer system at the ScotlandsPeople Centre in Edinburgh (https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/research/visit-us/scotlandspeople-centre), but I have been alerted to a recent change of terms and conditions with regards to saving digital copies of the records when there. From the ScotlandsPeople charges page at https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/content/our-charges:

To book a search room seat at the ScotlandsPeople Centre in Edinburgh costs £15 per day. You can view as many records as you like for no additional charge. Printing copies of historical records costs 1 credit (£0.25) per page and the same pay-per-view charges apply if you wish to save an historical record to your account. Credits are available for purchase in batches of 8 (£2.00) in the Centre.

I have highlighted the change in bold. It used to be the case that you could save a digital copy of the image to a USB drive at the ScotlandsPeople Centre for 30p at a time, but this facility was disabled some time ago. It now looks like you can save digital copies to your ScotlandsPeople website account - but at the same costs as would be involved if using the website from home, i.e. 6 credits which amounts to £1.50.

Quite why the ScotlandsPeople Centre has ramped up the charges for digital copies at its main records centre is for it to explain to their customers. In the meantime, you may wish to obtain paper print-outs when on a visit, at a cost of just 25p each...

(With thanks to Christine Woodcock)

Chris

For my genealogy guide books, visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html, whilst details of my research service are at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. Further content is also published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page at www.facebook.com/BritishGENES.

Service improvements at ScotlandsPeople

The ScotlandsPeople Centre posted an update last month (which I have only just seen) on some recent improvements with the online site and the hub facility in Edinburgh:

• Online seat booking - customers online can now book and pay for a seat in the ScotlandsPeople Centre.
• More than one hundred forename abbreviations were added to the name variant database in December 2017, improving the chances of success if you use name variants search option in the forename field when searching. Abbreviated forenames occur commonly in certain records, such as church registers, early census returns and early valuation rolls and less commonly in others, such as statutory registers and legal records. If you come across a variant of a forename in the records that is not being included in the search results, please tell us and give us an example of a record which contains it.
• The 1935 valuation rolls were released on 10 October 2017 with 2.7 million indexed names and addresses for owners, tenants and occupiers of properties throughout Scotland.
• More than 30,000 Other Church Registers of baptisms, marriages and burials were added to the site on 26 June 2017.
• For earlier improvements and issues resolved see below under other work completed.

For more information, including news of forthcoming improvement work and projects, visit the full post at https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/content/what-we-are-working-on.

Chris

For my genealogy guide books, visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html, whilst details of my research service are at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. Further content is also published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page at www.facebook.com/BritishGENES.

ScotlandsPeople civil registration records update

The ScotlandsPeople website (www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk) has updated its website to now include a further 106,469 statutory birth records from 1917, 47,514 marriage records from 1942, and 59,729 death records from 1967.

The website hosts a short article previewing the new additional records at https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/article/news-article-statutory-record-release.

Chris

For my genealogy guide books, visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html, whilst details of my research service are at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. Further content is also published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page at www.facebook.com/BritishGENES.

Scottish WW1 Pensions Appeal records update

Some welcome news concerning a potentially major resource in Edinburgh for those researching First World War military ancestors from Scotland and their dependants.

I've been contacted by reader Tunji Lees, to provide an update on a discovery he made over 5 years ago at the National Records of Scotland, and for which he wrote a great guest post for this blog. As noted on 2 JAN 2012, Tunji had found that the NRS held Scottish WW1 Pension Appeals Tribunal records, as catalogued under PT6. The key points were as follows:

The records are catalogued under the reference PT6 and contain the pension application records of 1000s of Scottish soldiers - and next of kin of soldiers (usually widows) - who suffered from injuries sustained in the war, or died after the war due to injuries. These appear to be the Scottish equivalent of the PIN26 series for England and Wales (which, unlike the Scottish PT6 series, is indexed). Whereas the PT26 series appears to only be a selection of the disability pensions awarded to English and Welsh soldiers after the First World War, the Scottish PT6 series appears to be complete...

The applications are organised in boxes alphabetically by month, from November 1919 (reference PT6/1), to December 1932 (reference PT6/288). That's about 29 meters (or 95 feet) of pension records! There are also records from the same series covering post-WW2 disability pension applications, however seeing as they are closed for 75 years, the first set (those from 1945) will only be available in 2021.

It doesn't appear as if any genealogists are aware of the existence of these records, as they aren’t mentioned in the NAS publication Tracing your Scottish Ancestors, or in any guides to tracing WW1 ancestry that I've read, although they're a fantastic source of information on Scottish army ancestors.

Tunji's full account of these records, including the potential detail available in each file, is available at http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/guest-post-scottish-ww1-pensions-appeal.html.

Tunji has now contacted me with the news that the charitable foundation Wellcome Trust has apparently approved a Research Resource Grant for work to index the records. The grant is believed to fund work for 24 months, which potentially means the job will have been completed by the end of December 2019. Tunji has also stated that as it is a grant, indexed records will be made available free of charge, posisble through the ScotlandsPeople website. It is unclear as yet whether this will just be the index, or digital images of the records themselves. Tunji's final point is that the records, referenced under PT6, have disappeared from the catalogue, perhaps because they have been removed for indexing.

Once again a huge thank you to Tunji for such a fascinating update on a collection with a great deal of potential for ancestral research!

Chris

For my genealogy guide books, visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html, whilst details of my research service are at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. Further content is also published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page at www.facebook.com/BritishGENES.

ScotlandsPeople releases 1935 Valuation Rolls online

The ScotlandsPeople website (www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk) has released the 1935 Valuation Rolls for the Scotland, which includes more than 2.7 million names. The full news release is available at https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/article/news-valuation-rolls-1935-go-online.

With this release the available rolls on the site cover the years 1855, 1865, 1875, 1885, 1895, 1905, 1915, 1920, 1925, 1930 and 1935 - though please note that the rolls are in fact annual from 1855-1989, with many others available for consultation at the National Records of Scotland, and local archives across the country.

A guide detailing how they can be used is available at https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/research/guides/valuation-rolls.

(NB: The database at the ScotlandsPeople Centre and at other family history centres hosting the same system also has the 1935 rolls up and running - I was using them earlier today at the Burns Monument Centre in Kilmarnock!)

Chris

My next 5 week long Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the OPRs course commences Nov 6th 2017 - details at https://www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=302. For my genealogy guide books, visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html, whilst details of my research service are at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. Further content is also published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page at www.facebook.com/BritishGENES.

Details of new Presbyterian records on ScotlandsPeople

The National Records of Scotland (www.nrscotland.gov.uk) has updated its press release on the additional records for dissenting Presbyterian congregations added to ScotlandsPeople (www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk) in June 2017 (see the original release announcement on The GENES Blog at http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/2017/06/more-presbyterian-kirk-records-join.html).

The following are the additions (CH3 numbers in brackets refer to a volume's original accession number at the NRS):

Births and baptisms

• Abernethy Associate (Antiburgher) Congregation, United Presbyterian, United Free South (CH3/687/1–3), 1744–1855
• Banff, Free Church, High United Free (CH3/1303/29), 1844–1850
• Bellshill Relief Church, United Presbyterian, West United Free, St. Andrew's Church of Scotland (CH3/1037/9), 1764–1833
• Brightons Parish Church, Polmont Free Church (CH3/1196/1), 1843–1855
• Chirnside Reformed Presbyterian Congregation, later Free and West United Free Church (CH3/336/1), 1839–1855
• Comrie Associate Congregation (United Presbyterian, United Free Comrie East) (CH3/608/1), 1791–1826
• Edinburgh, Martyrs' Reformed Presbyterian Church, Free Church, United Free, united with St John's as Martyrs' and St John's, 1909 (CH3/1198/1), 1805–1855
• Glasgow, John Street Relief Church, United Presbyterian, United Free, Church of Scotland (CH3/806/12), 1822–1855
• Hamilton, Brandon Street, Second Relief Church, United Presbyterian, and United Free (CH3/996/6), 1831–1842
• Howgate, Antiburgher, Associate Session, United Presbyterian and United Free Church (CH3/1363/11), 1750–1759, 1800–1826
• Irvine, East Church, Trinity, United Presbyterian, United Free (CH3/1288/13), 1820–1854
• Kincardine (Burgher), United Presbyterian, United Free, Church of Scotland (CH3/1018/23), 1853–1855
• Kirkcaldy, Pathhead Antiburgher Church, Associate Session (Linktoun), United Presbyterian (CH3/1144/6–8), 1760–1855
• Kirkcowan, United Secession Church, United Presbyterian, United Free and Church of Scotland, Danson Memorial (CH3/871/5), 1838–1842
• Kirriemuir, Associate, United Original Secession Church (CH3/1398/2), 1824–1843
• Leith, Relief Church, United Presbyterian Junction Road, United Free, Church of Scotland (CH3/728/32), 1825–1855
• Macduff Free/United Free/MacDuff Gardner Church of Scotland (CH3/1416/1), 1843–1855
• Newton Stewart Relief Church, United Presbyterian, United Free York Road (CH3/1371/1), 1791–1845
• Nigg (Antiburgher) Associate, United Secession, United Presbyterian, later Chapelhill United Free and Church of Scotland (CH3/1433/12), 1767–1855
• Paisley, Reformed Presbyterian, Oakshaw Free Church, Oakshaw West United Free, and Church of Scotland (CH3/751/21), 1809–1853
• St Andrews Hope Park Church (CH3/1584/28), 1829–1838
• West Linton Associate Congregation, later United Presbyterian, West Linton and Newlands United Free Church and Trinity Church of Scotland (CH3/307/1), 1748–1795

Banns and marriages

• Aberdeen (St Andrew's Street), St Paul's Relief Church, United Presbyterian, United Free and Church of Scotland (CH3/927/10), 1807–1855
• Aberfeldy Free Church, later United Free and Church of Scotland, Breadalbane (CH3/453/2), 1851–1855
• Airdrie, South Bridge Street, Second United Associate Congregation, (Graham St) Relief, United Presbyterian, later United Free and Church of Scotland (CH3/793/9), 1833–1843
• Alness Free Church, United Free (CH3/750/2), 1843–1855
• Alyth Associate Session (Antiburgher) United Presbyterian, United Free South (CH3/15/3), 1820–1855
• Arbroath First United Associate Congregation, (Antiburgher) North Grimsby Church, later Princes Street United Presbyterian, United Free, Church of Scotland (CH3/964/21), 1823–1855
• Ardeonaig Free Church, United Free, Church of Scotland (CH3/1243/3), 1847–1855
• Auchencairn, Free Church, United Free, St John's Church of Scotland (CH3/1199/4), 1844–1855
• Ayr Cathcart Church (CH3/753/7), 1832–1855
• Barr Free Church, United Free, Angus Memorial, Church of Scotland (CH3/757/1), 1843–1855
• Biggar Associate (Burgher) Church, North, Moat Park, United Presbyterian, United Free (CH3/1248/1), 1761–1810
• Biggar Relief congregation, later South United Presbyterian, Gillespie, United Presbyterian and United Free, Church of Scotland (CH3/1249/6), 1837–1852
• Brechin Relief Session, later High Street and Bank Street United Presbyterian Churches and Bank Street United Free (CH3/439/15), 1832–1855
• Bridge of Teith Associate Congregation, United Presbyterian, United Free, Church of Scotland (CH3/48/21), 1758–1766
• Brightons Parish Church, Polmont Free Church (CH3/1196/1), 1843–1855
• Campsie West United Free Church Kirk Session (CH3/1041/3), 1845–1855
• Carluke, Kirkton United Presbyterian Church (CH3/459/1), 1832–1855
• Chirnside Reformed Presbyterian Congregation, later Free Church and West United Free Church (CH3/336/1), 1839–1855
• Coatbridge – Dunbeath Relief Church, later United Presbyterian and United Free (CH3/524/9), 1838–1855
• Cockburnspath and Oldhamstocks Free Church, United Free and Church of Scotland (CH3/58/14), 1846–1855
• Cromarty Free Church, later United Free and Church of Scotland (CH3/586/10), 1843–1847
• Dallas Free Church, United Free, Church of Scotland (CH3/1131/8–9), 1846–1855
• Dunblane Leighton, Associate Session, United Presbyterian, Leighton United Free (CH3/90/1, 10), 1758–1790, 1836–1855
• Dundee – Hilltown Free (CH3/341/29), 1851–1855
• Dunfermline, Associate (Burgher) Church, Queen Anne Street, United Presbyterian, United Free, Church of Scotland Erskine (CH3/568/16–17), 1740–1754, 1799
• Dunfermline, St Margaret's United Free Church Kirk Session (CH3/1232/33), 1825–1850
• Durness Free Church, United Free, Church of Scotland (CH3/852/2), 1843–1855
• East Kilbride, Relief Session, United Presbyterian, West United Free, and Church of Scotland (CH3/1001/1), 1792–1855
• Edinburgh – Cowgate, United Associate Congregation, Infirmary Street United Presbyterian, Mayfield Secession Church, United Presbyterian, Fountainhall Road United Free and Church of Scotland (CH3/1014/10), 1844–1855
• Edinburgh – Lady Glenorchy's Free Church, United Free, North Church of Scotland (CH3/723/18), 1843–1855
• Edinburgh – Martyrs' Reformed Presbyterian Church Kirk Session, FC, United Free, united with St John's as Martyrs' and St John's, 1909 (CH3/1198/1), 1805–1855
• Edinburgh – Corstorphine Free Church, United Free and St Ninian's Church of Scotland (CH3/514/10), 1846–1855
• Edzell Free Church, later United Free and Church of Scotland (CH3/543/4–5), 1837–1855
• Enzie Free Church (CH3/314/9), 1844–1855
• Eyemouth United Secession Church Kirk Session, United Presbyterian, East United Free (CH3/1235/1), 1841–1855
• Falkirk, West, Relief Church Kirk Session, United Presbyterian, United Free, Church of Scotland (CH3/1459/16), 1843–1855
• Glasgow – Caledonia Road UP Church (CH3/399/8), 1844–1855
• Glasgow – Regent Place United Associate (CH3/354/26), 1836–1840
• Glasgow – Eglinton Street United Free Church (CH3/769/20), 1842–1855
• Glasgow – St Stephen’s West Kirk Session (CH3/162/18), 1838–1850
• Greenock Associate Session Church Kirk Session, Crawfordsdyke (Cartsdyke) (CH3/1378/1), 1779–1788
• Huntly Free Church (Strathbogie New Church, 1840–1843), Strathbogie United Free and Church of Scotland (CH3/620/14), 1840–1845
• Inch Free Church, later United Free, Castle Kennedy, united with Inch Church of Scotland in 1931 (CH3/557/1), 1843–1855
• Insch Free Church, later United Free and East Church of Scotland (CH3/175/5), 1843–1855
• Inverkeithing Associate Congregation, later United Presbyterian, United Free and St John's Church of Scotland (CH3/452/1), 1753–1775
• Inverurie Free Church, later United Free, West Church of Scotland (CH3/556/2), 1844
• Kelso Reformed Presbyterian Congregation (CH3/667/1), 1824–1853
• Kilmarnock (Crookedholm) Reformed Presbyterian Church Kirk Session, Martyrs Free (from 1876), United Free, Church of Scotland (CH3/1318/1), 1803–1855
• Kilmaurs Associate (Antiburgher) Congregation, Smyton United Presbyterian, United Free and Glencairn Church of Scotland (CH3/193/1, 3, 21), 1740–1760, 1780–1855
• Kilmun Free Church, United Free, later Kilmun and Strone United Free and St Andrew's Church of Scotland (CH3/505/8), 1842–1855
• Kirkcaldy, Bethelfield (Burgher), United Associate Congregation, later United Presbyterian, United Free and Church of Scotland (CH3/846/2), 1834–1855
• Kirkcowan, United Secession Church, United Presbyterian, United Free and Church of Scotland (CH3/871/5), 1838–1855
• Kirkliston Free Church United Free, Church of Scotland (CH3/1008/4), 1843–1855
• Knockbain Free Church Kirk Session, Munlochy, United Free, North Church of Scotland (CH3/1200/1), 1843–1855
• Lanark, Broomgate/Bloomgate First Relief Church Kirk Session, United Presbyterian, United Free (CH3/1449/1), 1845–1855
• Leith, Mariners Free Church, St Ninian's United Free, Church of Scotland (CH3/448/2), 1842–1855
• Leith, Relief Church, United Presbyterian Junction Road, United Free, Church of Scotland (CH3/728/33), 1823–1855
• Letham United Associate Congregation, later United Presbyterian (CH3/213/1), 1839–1855
• Lybster Free Church, United Free, Church of Scotland (CH3/882/1), 1844–1855
• Macduff Free, United Free, Macduff Gardner Church of Scotland (CH3/1416/1), 1843–1855
• Marnoch, Free, United Free, later New Marnoch Church of Scotland (CH3/1492/28), 1843–1850
• Maybole Cargill Church Kirk Session (CH3/869/8), 1846–1853
• Methven Associate Session, later United Presbyterian and United Free (CH3/444/3), 1846–1855
• Montrose, First United Associate (Antiburgher) Church Kirk Session, Mill Street United Presbyterian, St Luke's United Presbyterian, United Free, Church of Scotland (CH3/1177/10), 1745–1840
• Montrose, St John's Free Church, United Free, and Church of Scotland (CH3/1178/19, 23), 1825–1849
• Monzie Free Church (CH3/567/2), 1843–1855
• Morebattle (Gateshaw) Associate Session, United Associate Session, United Presbyterian, United Free (CH3/520/1–2), 1775–1855
• Morebattle Free Church, United Free and St Aidan's Church of Scotland (CH3/526/10), 1847–1855
• Muthill Free Church (CH3/694/2), 1843–1855
• Newton Mearns Kirk Session (CH3/227/1), 1746–1760
• Newton Stewart Relief Church, United Presbyterian, United Free York Road (CH3/1371/1), 1807
• Nigg (Antiburgher) Associate, United Secession, United Presbyterian, later Chapelhill United Free (CH3/1433/12), 1767–1855
• North Ronaldsay Free Church, United Free, Church of Scotland (CH3/1101/4), 1848–1855
• Ordiquhill Free Church, United Free, Ordiquhill and Ordiquhill, Cornhill and Church of Scotland (CH3/1045/5), 1845–1855
• Paisley, Reformed Presbyterian, Oakshaw Free Church, Oakshaw West United Free, and Church of Scotland (CH3/751/20–22), 1809–1855
• Perth (North) Associate Session (Antiburgher), United Presbyterian United Free and Church of Scotland (CH3/507/1, 9), 1740–1855
• Perth, Free Middle Church, United Free, Church of Scotland (CH3/1283/13), 1845–1855
• Rathillet Kirk Session (Burgher), later United Presbyterian, United Free and Church of Scotland (CH3/1565/4), 1764–1855
• Rhynie Free Church (CH3/935/4), 1842–1846
• Rutherglen Stonelaw Kirk Session (CH3/1343/31), 1837–1855
• Stewarton, Original Secession Church, joined Church of Scotland, 1839–43, Free Church from 1843 (CH3/789/7), 1843–1855
• Stranraer Associate Session, Ivy Place Antiburgher, First United Secession, later United Presbyterian (CH3/549/11), 1811–1855
• Stronsay, United Associate (Antiburgher), United Presbyterian, St John's United Free (CH3/1116/1, 4), 1799–1825, 1836–1855
• Thurso Associate Congregation Church Kirk Session, Original Secession Church, joined the Free Church in 1852 (CH3/1399/1), 1841–1855
• Urr Antiburgher, United Associate, Church, United Presbyterian, United Free (CH3/1038/1), 1817–1855
• West Linton Associate Congregation, later United Presbyterian, West Linton and Newlands United Free and Trinity Church of Scotland (CH3/307/2–3), 1803–1852
• Westruther Free Church, later United Free Church (CH3/469/39), 1729–1779
• Wigtown United Associate Congregation, later United Presbyterian, West United Free Church and West Church of Scotland (CH3/310/4), 1849–1855
• Yetholm Burgher (New Licht) Church, later United Presbyterian, Borderview United Free church, Saint James's Church of Scotland (CH3/578/1), 1838–1852

Deaths and burials

• Bathgate Relief Session, later West United Presbyterian Church, St. John's United Free Church and St. John's Church of Scotland (CH3/416/13), 1832–1834
• Bellshill Relief Church, United Presbyterian, West United Free, St. Andrew's Church of Scotland (CH3/1037/9, 12), 1797–1855
• Campsie, Relief Church, United Presbyterian, United Free (CH3/1041/3), 1845–1855
• Carluke, Kirkton, United Presbyterian Church (CH3/459/1), 1835–1837
• Chirnside Reformed Presbyterian Congregation (CH3/336/1), 1843–1855
• Dennyloanhead Associate (Antiburgher) Congregation, United Presbyterian, United Free, Church of Scotland (CH3/704/25), 1836–1851
• Dunfermline, St Margaret's United Free Church (CH3/1232/33), 1825–1850
• Edinburgh – Martyrs' Reformed Presbyterian Church Kirk Session, Free Church, United Free, united with St John's as Martyrs' and St John's, 1909 (CH3/1198/1), 1805–1855
• Edzell Free Church, later United Free and Church of Scotland (CH3/543/4), 1837–1855
• Glasgow – Regent Place United Associate (CH3/354/26), 1836–1840
• Inch Free Church, later United Free, Castle Kennedy, united with Inch Church of Scotland in 1931 (CH3/557/1), 1845–1855
• Insch Free Church, later United Free and East Church of Scotland (CH3/175/5), 1843–1855
• Kirkcaldy, Pathhead Antiburgher Church, Associate Session (Linktoun), United Presbyterian (CH3/1144/8), 1839–1855
• Kirkcowan, United Secession Church, United Presbyterian, United Free and Church of Scotland Danson Memorial (CH3/871/5), 1838–1855
• Lethendy Associate Congregation (CH3/214/1), 1801
• Lybster Free Church, United Free, Church of Scotland (CH3/882/1), 1844–1855
• Monzie Free Church (CH3/567/2), 1843–1855
• Morebattle, Free Church, United Free, and St Aidan's Church of Scotland (CH3/526/10), 1848–1853
• Ordiquhill Free Church, United Free, Ordiquhill, Cornhill and Ordiquhill Church of Scotland (CH3/1045/53), 1845–1855
• Paisley, Oakshaw East Associate Congregation (Antiburgher), later United Free Church (CH3/550/4), 1836–1855
• Paisley, Reformed Presbyterian, Oakshaw Free Church, Oakshaw West United Free, and Church of Scotland (CH3/751/20), 1809–1821
• Paisley, Abbey Close Associate Session, later United Presbyterian, United Free and Church of Scotland (CH3/465/39–40), 1842–1855
• Rathillet Kirk Session (Burgher), later United Presbyterian, United Free and Church of Scotland (CH3/1565/4), 1783–1836
• Stronsay, United Associate (Antiburgher), United Presbyterian, St John's United Free (CH3/1116/1), 1800–1810
• West Linton Associate Congregation, later United Presbyterian, West Linton and Newlands United Free and Trinity Church of Scotland (CH3/307/2–3), 1812–1852

Note that these are additional records to a collection previously released. The complete list of available records for nonconformist Presbyterian denominations, and other denominations (including thre Roman catholic Church) are available at https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/guides/church-registers.

(With thanks to the NRS via https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/article/news-article-release-presbyterian-church-records)

Chris

My next 5 week Scottish Research Online course commences Sept 11th 2017 - details at https://www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=102.
For details on my Scottish & Irish genealogy guide books, please visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html.
For my genealogy research service, please visit http://www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk.

More Presbyterian kirk records join ScotlandsPeople

The ScotlandsPeople website (www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk) is adding more dissenting Presbyterian records to its site tomorrow (Monday 26th June), including 20,255 births and baptisms (1744-1855), 10,368 marriages and proclamations (1729-1855) and 5,422 death and burial records (1783-1855).

There is no information as yet as to which churches will be represented, other than Martyr's Reformed Presbyterian Church in Edinburgh (NRS: CH3/1198), from which an example has been drawn for the website's own news announcement at https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/article/news-article-release-presbyterian-church-records.

To understand how the various dissenting Presbyterian churches came to be, read the first chapter of my book Discover Scottish Church Records (2nd edition) for FREE at http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/kirk-history.html. For more on what to expect from the records, and how to maximise research within them, the book can be purchased worldwide (including from the UK) - details on how to obtain a copy are available at http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html.

Chris

My next 5 week Scottish Research Online course commences Sept 11th 2017 - details at https://www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=102.
For details on my Scottish & Irish genealogy guide books, please visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html.
For my genealogy research service, please visit http://www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk.

Recent ScotlandsPeople website updates

The ScotlandsPeople website at www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk, which hosts many Scottish vital records, censuses and other materials. and which was recently relaunched in a new form that was clearly not properly tested in advance, continues to have a vast amount of improvement work to get it back up to scratch. The most recent updates, announced on May 5th, are outlined at https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/content/what-we-are-working-on.

For future developments, the site has stated that work on the 1935 Valuation Roll is currently under way, and an additional batch of Other Church Registers of baptisms, marriages and burials will be added to the site soon. Future releases will also include records such as kirk session material and other legal records.

Chris

My next 5 week Scottish Research Online course commences Sept 11th 2017 - details at https://www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=102. For details on my genealogy guide books, including A Beginner's Guide to British and Irish Genealogy, A Decade of Irish Centenaries: Researching Ireland 1912-1923, Discover Scottish Church Records (2nd edition), Discover Irish Land Records and Down and Out in Scotland: Researching Ancestral Crisis, please visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html.