RootsChat.Com

If you can prove the person you are looking for is deceased (by providing the record office with a death certificate for example) then the Data Protection Act won't apply, in general.  However, the record office should advise you on their policies for viewing the records.

I'm not sure why the FOI officer would be involved in this case as it is an archives query which the archives staff should be able to answer.

I would like to clarify the situation regarding Aberdeenshire and Aberdeen City Archives, as it seems there may be some confusion over who has what!

Since local government reorganisation in 1996, the historic documents of Aberdeenshire Council along with some for the Moray Council have been administered by Aberdeen City Archives. The records include those of the former counties of Aberdeen, Kincardine, Banff and Moray up to 1975 and Grampian Region from 1975 to 1996. From 1996 the holdings include records from the current counties of Aberdeenshire and Moray.

The records are held over two sites in Aberdeen.  Aberdeenshire records are held at the Old Aberdeen House office on Dunbar Street, near the University of Aberdeen.  This office also holds some records relating to Aberdeen City, namely school records, valuation rolls and electoral rolls.  The historical records for Aberdeen City itself are held at the Town House on Broad Street in the city centre.

To say that Aberdeen City Archives and Aberdeenshire's Archives are mutually exclusive is incorrect.  They are both run by the same staff, and though they relate to more than one local authority, they are intrinsically linked.  Many of Aberdeenshire's records have corresponding items in the City's collections given their locality and the way they used to be administered.  Also, the parish of Old Machar covered areas which are now both inside and outside the city's boundaries!

Information about Aberdeen City Archives, including what they hold for Aberdeenshire, can be found on their website at www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/archives or they can be emailed at archives[AT]aberdeencity.gov.uk

The vouchers are on sale at various libraries across Scotland.  The only thing is you need to set up a new Scotlands People account to use them, you can't use them on an existing account.  Some libraries may have different rules about how they're used, such as making you use them in the library rather than letting you go home with them, but information about them should be on your library's website.  Or you can phone your local branch to find out whether they sell them or not.  I don't think you have to even be a member of the library, but that might vary from library to library.

The 'u' with the mark above it is to show that it is a 'u'.  Many letters can be confused with each other and this mark was used to show that it is definitely a 'u'.  I'd agree with Hugh as the name.

Hmm, not sure what John's surname is - looks like Geres?  And Jone's looks like Reenes?