ScotlandsPeople parish registers

[josey]

Forgive me if it is a question t hat's been answered elsewhere, I find that the church records on SP cannot be searched after 1855. Is there any other way to see the baptism registers post 1855, wherein might be stated the reputed father of an illegitimate child? And is it assumed that ALL births after 1855 were registered?

[Forfarian]

Forgive me if it is a question that's been answered elsewhere, I find that the church records on SP cannot be searched after 1855.

No. They cannot be searched on Scotland's People, fo the simple reason that they are not in the care of Scotland's People.

What happened was that when statutory registration started in 1855, the government collected all the surviving Church of Scotland registers to make sure that the information was preserved. It wasn't necessary to collect the ones after 1855 because the statutory registers replaced them as a means of collecting information, so later registers remained with individual churches.

Is there any other way to see the baptism registers post 1855, wherein might be stated the reputed father of an illegitimate child?

You have to contact the churches and ask where their post-1855 registers are, and how to get access to them. I would be surprised if a baptism named a father when the birth certificate doesn't, though.

And is it assumed that ALL births after 1855 were registered?

Yes, registration was compulsory in Scotland from the outset, unlike in England and Wales where it didn't become compulsory until (IIRC) 1872-ish. Except that a very small number did escape the net.

If you tell us the name of the child and its mother, and when and where it was born, we may be able to find ways to look for the information you want.

[GR2]

Kirk sessions usually investigated illegitimate births and their minutes can be very informative. Many of the minute books are available to read free on ScotlandsPeople.

[Forfarian]

Yes.

Which is why we need to know the name of the child's mother, and the date and place of birth, in order to know whether it can be looked up or not.

[josey]

If you tell us the name of the child and its mother, and when and where it was born, we may be able to find ways to look for the information you want.

Thanks for your replies, both. Very informative as ever, Forfarian. It was just a general query, as recent searches on SP didn't allow church records to be searched after 1855.

I have found in the past that marginal notes in any parish registers can be useful and they are not transcribed unless there is an optional 'remarks' field in the transcription software.