SRI birth not on SP

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Geoff Rogers
Posts: 86
Joined: Fri Jul 25, 2008 9:26 pm
Location: Hampshire

SRI birth not on SP

Post by Geoff Rogers » Sat Feb 28, 2015 4:44 pm

Hello

I have found an Allan McDonald born 21st May 1855 and baptised 30 December 1855 at Balquhidder, Perthshire on the family Search (LDS) website but cannot find it on SP. The next two children however are there on SP.

Could it be a transcription error on SP or was it not registered? Any clues would be most welcomed.

Regards
Geoff
Researching Sim(e), Ruddiman, Donald, Munro, Mitchell, Harper, McDougall, Frazer, MacGregor

AndrewP
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Re: SRI birth not on SP

Post by AndrewP » Sat Feb 28, 2015 7:20 pm

Hi Geoff,

I tried a few methods of searching on SP to try and account for misindexing.
  1. I tried Al*n M*Don*l* anywhere in Scotland 1855-1856
  2. I tried all births registered in Balquhidder in 1855 (14 births registered) or 1856 (24 births registered).
In (1), there were 5 results - 4 x Allan and 1 x Alison - none of them were yours.
In (2), there were none that would have been mis-spellings, or the like for Allan McDonald, and none were McDougall (the mother's maiden surname).

So, like you, I have drawn a blank on that search. I have read somewhere that the statutory registration of births, deaths and marriages, which started in 1855 in Scotland was not welcomed by all. In spite of a risk of being fined if caught, at the beginning of statutory registration, a number of people did not register their family births, marriages or deaths.

The baptismal record can be seen on ScotlandsPeople (that surprised me, I think they used to only show OPRs up to the end of 1854). The only comment that I can make on the baptismal record is that it has been added at the end of the page and is in different handwriting than the rest of the page.

All the best,

AndrewP

Geoff Rogers
Posts: 86
Joined: Fri Jul 25, 2008 9:26 pm
Location: Hampshire

Re: SRI birth not on SP

Post by Geoff Rogers » Sat Feb 28, 2015 8:51 pm

AndrewP wrote:Hi Geoff,
The baptismal record can be seen on ScotlandsPeople (that surprised me, I think they used to only show OPRs up to the end of 1854). The only comment that I can make on the baptismal record is that it has been added at the end of the page and is in different handwriting than the rest of the page.
Thanks Andrew

Are you saying that the baptism record for Allan McDonald exists in the OPRs section? - Also would this mean that it will only show minimal information compared to the SRIs.

Many Thanks
Geoff
Researching Sim(e), Ruddiman, Donald, Munro, Mitchell, Harper, McDougall, Frazer, MacGregor

AndrewP
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Re: SRI birth not on SP

Post by AndrewP » Sat Feb 28, 2015 10:39 pm

Geoff Rogers wrote:Are you saying that the baptism record for Allan McDonald exists in the OPRs section? - Also would this mean that it will only show minimal information compared to the SRIs.
Hi Geoff,

Yes, it is in the OPRs section. It has a little over the absolute minimum of information, but it doesn't start to compare with an 1855 SRI birth record (the bonus year that had more information that any other).

All the best,

AndrewP

Geoff Rogers
Posts: 86
Joined: Fri Jul 25, 2008 9:26 pm
Location: Hampshire

Re: SRI birth not on SP

Post by Geoff Rogers » Sun Mar 01, 2015 12:24 am

Hello Andrew

Thanks for that, I was hoping for my first 1855 certificate.

Regards

Geoff
Researching Sim(e), Ruddiman, Donald, Munro, Mitchell, Harper, McDougall, Frazer, MacGregor

AndrewP
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Re: SRI birth not on SP

Post by AndrewP » Sun Mar 01, 2015 8:42 am

Hi Geoff,

There should have been an 1855 birth certificate for you to view, but it looks like there is not one for this birth. Who knows, there may be another 1855 birth in your family tree that you are yet to uncover.

I have seen most of 1000 SRI birth certificates for my family tree, almost all on my father's side of the family (my Mum's side are not from Scotland). Of that almost 1000, dated from 1855 to 2013, 7 are from 1855. That is less than 1% of them.

All the best,

AndrewP

Geoff Rogers
Posts: 86
Joined: Fri Jul 25, 2008 9:26 pm
Location: Hampshire

Re: SRI birth not on SP

Post by Geoff Rogers » Sun Mar 01, 2015 7:17 pm

Hello Andrew

That's an impressive amount of certificates, that would certainly bankrupt me if I had more Scottish ancestry. I have only a few lines back through my father's Grandmother and they have been the trickiest to sort out. I also have Australian and Norwegian lines through my mother.

Regards
Geoff
Researching Sim(e), Ruddiman, Donald, Munro, Mitchell, Harper, McDougall, Frazer, MacGregor

AndrewP
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Posts: 6152
Joined: Sun Dec 12, 2004 1:36 am
Location: Edinburgh
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Re: SRI birth not on SP

Post by AndrewP » Mon Mar 02, 2015 12:18 am

Geoff Rogers wrote:That's an impressive amount of certificates, that would certainly bankrupt me if I had more Scottish ancestry.
Hi Geoff,

By far the majority of these certificates I have transcribed while in New Register House, and in more recent years the ScotlandsPeople Centre (I realise that is fine for residents of the Edinburgh area, but not so cheap or easy for those travelling from further afield). The only cost there needs to be your entrance fee of £15. Once inside, you can view and transcribe as many certificates as you can fit in within a day. If you want to print or save to a memory stick, then more costs are incurred (and the same date restrictions as the online site). That way I have transcribed these masses of records and managed to stave off bankruptcy.

When I first started going there in the late 1990s, the SRI certificates were all on microfiche, so there was time spent out of your seat picking up microfiche (no more than 3 at a time allowed). Then along came the DIGROS project which was the digital imaging of the microfiche records (SRI) and later the microfilm records (OPR and census). That was a great time saver. Initially, all the transcribing was pencil and paper; in more recent times it is keying into the laptop.

A day's hard work researching and transcribing means you sleep well that night. :D

All the best,

AndrewP

Geoff Rogers
Posts: 86
Joined: Fri Jul 25, 2008 9:26 pm
Location: Hampshire

Re: SRI birth not on SP

Post by Geoff Rogers » Mon Mar 02, 2015 11:52 am

Hello Andrew

Thanks for your explanation. I live close to the Winchester record office and have trawled though many films and microfiche over the last 12 years.

I only use the SP site in small sessions every now and then to save on money. This last time I got carried away on a problem that I've been trying to solve for quite a while.

Regards
Geoff
Researching Sim(e), Ruddiman, Donald, Munro, Mitchell, Harper, McDougall, Frazer, MacGregor

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