William Pitt Dundas 1801–1883
If you’ve benefited from the detail in Scottish civil records, you owe William Pitt Dundas your thanks
Scotland’s first registrar general was Edinburghborn William Pitt Dundas, who was appointed to the role in September 1854 as well as to the new position of deputy clerk register for Scotland. In 1853 Pitt had previously been made deputy keeper of the privy seal of Scotland.
In establishing the new registration system, Pitt oversaw the transmission of Church of Scotland parish registers prior to 1820 to the General Register Office for Scotland (GROS), and further records (1820–1855) to local registration offices, with the state church’s volumes deemed to be public records. On his watch a Register of Neglected Entries was created to allow unrecorded births from 1800 to 1854 to be registered with the state, and also a Register of Corrected Entries, into which corrections for birth, marriage and death registrations could
be made. Both registers are unique records to Scotland, and they are accessible digitally on scotlandspeople.gov.uk.
Pitt did much to assert the independence of the GROS, hiring his own superintendent of statistics, and sent detailed annual reports to the British government summarising the numbers of Scottish births, marriages and deaths in the preceding year. He successfully planned and carried out the 1861 and 1871 censuses for Scotland (previous censuses had been coordinated from London), and did much to prepare for the 1881 enumeration.
A keen traveller, Pitt also worked as a magistrate in Fife, and became a Companion of the Order of the Bath in 1876, before finally retiring on a pension in 1880. He died in Edinburgh on 17 May 1883.
in the Foreign Returns (1860–1965), Consular Returns (from 1914), High Commission Returns (from 1964), Service Returns (from 1881) and the Air Register (from 1948).
The Adoption Register
A Scottish Register of Adoptions was not started until 1930. Although it is not available online, it is accessible at the centres, but it should be noted that it does not provide details of biological parents. A Register of Stillbirths was also kept in Scotland from 1939, but is only available to affected parents or their next of kin.
Between 1864 and 1948 the vaccination of a newborn child was compulsory, with the parents given an instruction to have the procedure carried out within six months, although the procedure could be postponed on medical grounds. Upon completion the word “vaccinated” or “insusceptible” was later added to the left margin of only the local copy of the birth register. In a small number of cases, local district registers were digitised for ScotlandsPeople, where the words can still be seen despite being scored out.
Scottish marriage records are the most different to those in the rest of the UK. From 1855, the proclamation of banns was required prior to a regular church wedding taking place, and a threeweek residency criteria was introduced a year later. As a result of the 1878 Marriage
‘Marriage records are the most different to those in the rest of the UK’
Notice (Scotland) Act, from 1 January 1879 the prepublication of a marriage notice was an alternative to the banns. However, prior to 1940 it was also possible in Scotland to marry irregularly, usually via a declaration. This simply required a couple to exchange their consent to marry in front of witnesses, with no celebrant involved.
The marriage records on ScotlandsPeople note the date and place where the marriage was celebrated; the religious denomination and minister’s name if a church wedding; and whether the banns were called or if it instead occurred through publication by marriage notice. If the marriage was irregular, a warrant from a sheriff substitute granting
permission to register the event is instead noted. Records also provide the names, condition, ages, occupations, and residences of both spouses, as well as the names of their mothers and fathers; the names of witnesses; and details of the registration. For the year 1855 alone records will also include the birthplace of each partner, the number of previous marriages for each, and the number of children produced from those marriages. Records from 1972 onwards will also note a partner’s birthplace.
As with birth records, overseas marriages involving Scots are also included in ScotlandsPeople’s Minor Records category. From 1984 a Register of Divorces has been kept, indexes for which can be viewed on ScotlandsPeople, although the original records are closed for privacy purposes.
Death Records
Death registration was especially important from 1855, with informants incurring a fine of 20s if they failed to notify a registrar. Note that the events were recorded in the parishes or registration districts where they happened, and not in the home parish of the deceased.
Helpfully for family historians, death records on ScotlandsPeople are considerably more detailed than their British and Irish counterparts. They include the name of the deceased; his or her marital status, plus the names of any spouses; the date, time and location of death (and the usual residence, if not at home); the names of the deceased’s father and mother, together with their occupation and whether they are still alive; the cause of death, and whether it is certified; the informant; and the details of registration.
Again in 1855 alone, the records include the deceased’s burial place and the name of the undertaker, as well as the names of any children born to him or her, their ages, and their date of death if they died before 1855. This children’s information was unfortunately removed in 1856, and the burial information by 1860. From 1856 to 1860 the burial information remained in the records, but the names of any spouses in this period were unfortunately not recorded, although the deceased’s marital status was noted. As with births and marriages, overseas deaths are also included in the Minor Records category.
CHRIS PATON
is a genealogist based in North Ayrshire whose research service can help you uncover your own Scottish roots. Find out more information at scotlandsgreateststory.co.uk