Link: New Indexes online for the South of Scotland (chargeable)

[ScottishAncestry]

Hi,

We have been updating our website and have added some new indexes. One is a "Paternity Search". This database is based on the Sheriff Court Decrees which often contain records of mothers taking the fathers of their illegitimate children to court to make them pay for the upkeep (aliment) of the child. A genealogical gold mine!

http://maxwellancestry.co.uk/ancestry/resources/courtsearch.aspx

We have begun with Jedburgh Sheriff Court, in the south of Scotland but will be progressing to other courts as soon as possible. Also, as the Jedburgh Court books include people from outside Roxburghshire it will be useful to people researching right across the South of Scotland.

At the time of writing this we have 1837-1870 online but keep watching as it's being updated weekly.

You can search by name of the pursuer (usually the mother) or the defender (usually the father) so even if you don't know that your ancestor had another child it's worth searching to see what new information you can find. Why not just put a surname in?

I will be adding some help pages in a day or two to answer some questions and explain more about decrees and the Sheriff Court in general.

We have also updated our Prison Index, we have added records for Dumfries Prison. Again indexing is ongoing so keep looking for new updates.

Here is the link to the index search home page: http://maxwellancestry.co.uk/census/default.htm

Hope this helps some of you unravel a little mystery!

Emma

[ScottishAncestry]

Update:

Free Online Parish Register Search

We have now made available an online searchable database of all the parish registers we have indexed so far, plus some additional material not yet published in book form. The records we have indexed (taken from Kirk Session material of the Church of Scotland and other Presbyterian churches) are not part of the Church of Scotland Old Parish Registers (or OPRs) as found on the Scotland's People site, and therefore contain many records of births, marriages and deaths which are not to be found anywhere else. Click here to see current database coverage.

Births/Baptisms (5,613 entries).

Marriages/Banns (1,175 entries).

Deaths/Burials (2,583 entries).

Free Online Prison Record Search

We have now made available an online searchable database for all the prison registers we have indexed so far (Dumfries 1841-1845; Greenlaw 1840-1862; Jedburgh 1843-1869; Kelso 1844-1862; Peebles 1848-1862; and Selkirk 1828-1840, 1853-1878). This index does not contain all the information in our prison index books, such as the crime, but should enable you to identify someone in the records and get the relevant reference so that you can obtain more information.

Prison Register Database (13,780 entries).

NEW! - Free Online Paternity Case Search

We have now made available an online searchable database for paternity cases in Sheriff Courts in the south of Scotland. At present, the index covers the years 1832-1892 at Jedburgh, representing all surviving 19th century volumes of the Register of Decrees for that court and also some additional cases indexed from the original court papers (processes) from 1831-1848. We have also added cases from Dumfries for the years 1849-1854 and 1884-1897. Other years and Sheriff Courts will soon be added, please keep checking this page for updates. We gratefully acknowledge the assistance of Margaret Hamilton in preparing this index.

Paternity Case Database (1,318 entries).


http://maxwellancestry.co.uk/census/default.htm

[tidybooks]

Hi,

This is a great addition to the resources for South of Scotland but should like to point out that it is the Indexes that are free, i.e. searching is free, but to look at results costs a small amount of cash.

Tom

[ScottishAncestry]

Online Paternity Case Search update

In addition to what is already online we have added some additional cases indexed from the original court papers (processes) for Jedburgh from 1822-1852.

We have also added cases from Dumfries for the years 1830-1840, 1845-1859 and 1884-1897.

The total number of entries is now 1,759.

Tom is correct in that a number of our indexes are just indexes, but you do not have to go through us to see the resources. If you are able to go to Edinburgh you can view them for free as we give you the reference number. We also offer a service whereby you can order a transcription, which for many people is easier (and cheaper) than making the trip to Edinburgh. We have a sale on at the moment too: http://scottishgenealogyblog.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/sale-on-at-maxwell-ancestry.html

Emma

[ScottishAncestry]

Hi,

We've been adding more entries since my last post. The total number is 3,640 entries and the index covers most of the Scottish Borders and all of Dumfriesshire!

1830-1914 - Dumfries - Dumfriesshire
1831-1892 - Jedburgh - Roxburghshire
1830-1851 - Duns - Berwickshire
1837-1914 - Peebles - Peeblesshire
1830-1906 - Selkirk - Selkirkshire

You can view the full record for free in the National Records of Scotland, we even give you the page number!

I hope this collection helps you get over your genealogy brick wall!

Emma