The genealogist, whether amateur or professional, will have to consult a wide range of sources. An increasing number of records and archives are coming on-line but it’s still usually necessary to get away from the keyboard and visit record offices. Here in Edinburgh we are fortunate in having both the General Records Office (GRO) and the National Archives of Scotland (NAS, formerly SRO) on our doorstep. Here is a look at the most commonly used records in genealogical searches held at the GRO. 

The GRO on Princes Street holds all the statutory birth, marriage and death certificates for the whole of Scotland. Statutory certification was introduced in 1855 and these certificates are a treasure trove of information. Birth certificates, as you would expect, give the place of birth and parents name but you will also find the date and place of the parents’ marriage. Marriage certificates are quite detailed. You can expect to find the place and date of the wedding, religious denomination, age, occupation and address for both the bride and groom with details of their parents and their parents’ occupations, along with the mothers’ maiden names. Death certificates, in addition to the expected details give the name and occupation of any spouse and parents’ names and occupations. Visitors to the GRO can search a computerised index to the statutory certificates and view selected certificates on microfiche.

The GRO also hold all the census returns for Scotland from 1841 onwards. There is a hundred-year rule which ensures total confidentiality for all census entries for one hundred years from the date the census was taken. The 1901 census has recently been released. Censuses were taken every 10 years from 1841 (except for 1941) and the later ones give the following information: address, name, age, occupation, relationship to head of household and birthplace. It is essential to know where your ancestor lived as the census is arranged by location and not by name. The GRO has a computerised index for the 1881 and 1891 censuses where you can do a search on name, but given that there are usually many people of the same name the more clues you have the better. The GRO is part way through a digitisation programme where they are scanning the census entries and making them available on a computer screen. The 1891 census is now available in this format, with a search facility, and is a great improvement.

Old Parish Registers: before 1855 all baptisms and marriages within the church of Scotland were recorded by parish clerks. They are available on microfiche and can prove difficult to read. Sometimes the handwriting is quite poor or has become faded with the passage of time – sometimes there are stains or damaged pages. Not all of the registers are complete by any means; some clerks were better than others at keeping records. In some parishes there were few records of marriages kept as this was not regarded as a sacrament of the church.

Terms & Conditions