Chris Paton explains how to trace your Scottish ancestors’ births using civil registration records
The civil registration of births, marriages and deaths began in Scotland on 1 January 1855. Local registration districts were established across the country that conformed to the previous parishes of the Church of Scotland, each with a local registrar tasked with creating two sets of registers for the records.
Historic birth records are available on ScotlandsPeople (scotlandspeople.gov.uk), with searches free, and images costing six credits to view (currently £1.50). Indexes to the present day can be viewed, but there is an online closure period for access to historic images less than 100 years old, although these can be viewed at the ScotlandsPeople Centre in Edinburgh (scotlandspeople. gov.uk/visit-us), and at satellite Local Family History Centres across Scotland (nrscotland. gov.uk/research/local-family-history-centres).
Details On Record
Generally, the records note the name of the child, its sex, the date and place of birth, the names of both parents (including the mother’s maiden name, abbreviated as “m.s.”, and any previous married surnames), and information about the informant and the registrar.
Unlike their English, Welsh and Irish equivalents, Scottish birth records also include the time of birth for every child (ie not just for twins or triplets), and – if the parents were married – the date and place of marriage. For 1855 only, further details are available: the parents’ ages and birthplaces, the number of children they already had, and how many were still alive. From 1856 to 1860, the details of the parents’ marriage were not recorded. Some overseas birth events are included among the ‘Minor Records’.
Report Or Be Fined
Under the registration system, information on new births had to be reported to the registrar within three weeks, on pain of a 20s fine. The informant had to be at least 14, and preferably a parent or legal guardian, the occupier of the house where the birth occurred, an authorised person from an institution, or a nurse who had been in attendance.
A copy of the birth certificate had to be issued within two days. If the birth was not registered in the required period, the parents would be prompted, but after three months it was illegal to register a birth without a warrant from the local sheriff’s office, and a £5 fine.
Before 1934, if the b
