I'm pretty new to Scottish Ancestry and so far I've seen quite a fair few differences between searching Scotland Ancestry and England Ancestry so I'm hoping some people can help here.
First of all, forget about Ancestry if you want to do basic research in Scotland.
See
http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=714261.0I'm looking up a woman by the name of Isabella Heron born 1924 in New Cumnock. I don't know what her parents are called so I have no idea how to take a generation back from this and as I'm sure you all know the Birth Registrations on the Scottish gro don't list Mothers Maiden names which... actually surprised me.
Why does that surprise you? Mothers' maiden surnames have only just been made available in the official England and Wales birth indexes before 1911.
The reason for this is that until 1929 the original printed indexes of births in Scotland didn't have this information. Scotland's People are gradually adding this information to the indexes, but it means going back to the original registers, and progress is very slow.
I looked up a male Heron marrying before 1924 and 2 have caught my eye. One in Old Cumnock and one in New Cumnock. I don't know anything about Scottish Geography so I don't know where places in Scotland are without using a map.
Old Cumnock and New Cumnock are both in Ayrshire. See
http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/sct/AYRI was wondering if people knew any pretty good websites to help me or at least their input on this matter.
Scotland's People is the
only source of the information you want. It is an excellent web site, but as with all web sites, you need to be aware of its limitations. Once you have got used to it, you will find that the information available from statutory civil birth, marriage and death certificates is far better than what is available for England and Wales. As
pharmaT has already said, Scottish certificates give you far more information than English ones.
You won't be able to look at that 1924 birth certificate online, because it is less than 100 years ago. (You can't view marriages less than 75 years ago, or deaths less that 50 years ago, online either).
You can either order a copy, or you can ask if someone who is planning a visit to a Scotland's People Centre would be willing to look it up and transcribe it for you. The former method is quicker and more reliable, but the latter method is cheaper.
You use credits to view the full certificate online, so to get all the information recorded on a certificate will cost you only £1.50. Much better value than buying an English one for £9.25, and you don't have to wait for it to be posted to you!
Did Isabella marry or die in Scotland? If so her marriage and death certificates will tell you the full names of both her parents, including her mother's maiden surname.
BTW the Scottish indexes usually include full middle names. I find it surprising (and very inconvenient) that after 1911 until about 1975 you only get initials in the English indexes.
I noticed that Isabella Heron had a middle name McAught... so I took a look for a marriage between a Heron and a McAught... Lo and behold, William Heron married Isabella McAughtrie in New Cumnock in 1911. There are five other Heron births in New Cumnock with middle name McAughtrie
Thomas, 1912 (died 1988, New Cumnock)
Robert 1914 (died 1982, New Cumnock)
Mary H 1918
Sarah 1920 (died 1920, new Cumnock)
Sarah C 1925
And three births of Herons without middle names
Margaret 1916
Janet 1919
Alexander 1927
I
speculate that Isabella McAughtrie Heron was a sister of the other Herons who had the middle name McAughtrie, and therefore that her parents were William Heron and Sarah McAughtrie.
Did any of Isabella's children have the middle name McAughtrie?
Noting that William and Sarah's marriage reference number is 30, i.e. theirs was the 30th marriage registered in New Cumnock in 1911, and that there were 31 marriage registered in 1911 in New Cumnock, William and Sarah must have been married towards the end of the year, so there is no point in looking for them as a couple in the 1911 census.
Unlike in England, the deaths of married women are indexed by both their maiden and their married name. (The English records don't record mothers' names on either marriage or death certificates, and English death certificates don't even name the father of the deceased. I find this surprising).
Sarah McAughtrie or Heron, aged 72, died in Dumfries in 1965. As this is more than 50 years ago, you can view her death certificate online for 6 credits (£1.50)
So
IF you think that your Isabella was the daughter of William Heron and Sarah McAughtrie, you can very easily work back a generation or two from her parents without needing Isabella's birth certificate. On the other hand, you might prefer to get Isabella's birth certificate, just to be sure that she was their daughter.