The new ScotlandsPeople website is now online at ww1.scotlandspeople.gov.uk - note the change of address, though the original will redirect you to the new site. There are some new features, but crucially, the rest of the Roman Catholic records have been uploaded to the site. The following is the description as given on the site:
Catholic Parish Registers
Catholic Parish Registers comprise records of
births and baptisms
marriages; confirmations
deaths and burials
communicants
sick calls
status animarum
converts
first confessions
seat rents
The records cover all Scottish parishes in existence by 1855 – before the introduction of civil registration; the records of the main Catholic cemeteries in Edinburgh and Glasgow and the records of the RC Bishopric of the Forces, which records all sacramental events for British service men and women serving in the armed forces worldwide.
Under the provisions of Church Law, all faithful are to have sacramental information recorded in the registers of the parish. Record format and content varied over time, with the responsibility for the information gathered being placed with the parish priest - since there was no standard format prescribed, record keeping varied enormously from parish to parish and also from year to year.
As a result, the information may be sparse, unreliable and difficult to read. Approximately 700 registers have survived, the earliest dating from 1703, but most records only begin in the 30 years following the relaxation of legislation against Catholics in the 1790s. To find out more about the types of CPR records, select one from the right menu.
Chris
www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
Professional genealogical problem solving and research
http://twitter.com/ChrisMPaton
Researching Scottish Family History (New book)
Good news that these Catholic Records are finally coming online.
ReplyDeleteHowever, there does seem to be a glitch in the new system - after a period of inactivity I was automatically logged out and now when I try to log in again I get the message "This user is currently logged in elsewhere". Hopefully this is just a temporary problem!
Kirsty
Can't wait to try these out, as the majority of my ancestors were Catholic. Unfortunately I spent all my pennies on Scotlands People site at the weekend.
ReplyDeleteOn a side note: Chris, have you tried the updated Perth Burgh Burial records yet? I keep getting an error message. I tried to "tweet" the PKCArchive about it but I'm not sure I've got the hang of twitter yet.
Hi Joe, yes you are right, there is someting not working right! I'll drop Jan a note at the archive - it'll be a 't' not crossed or an 'i' not dotted, no doubt! :)
ReplyDeleteChris
Just heard back from P&KC Archives - they're on the case! Thanks for the heads up,
ReplyDeleteChris