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HINTS & TIPS

Spelling/Transcription

The spelling of names and transcription errors in general are common pitfalls for family historians. Many of our ancestors were unable to read or write and when their names were taken down by, for example, census enumerators or were written in parish registers, they were often spelled as they were heard. The same name can therefore appear with several different spellings from record to record. So, if you are having difficulty finding a particular entry, it is important to check for misspellings.

Aside from actual misspellings, there may also be a number of variants to any one surname. If you are using the International Genealogical Index (IGI), then most of the variants are grouped together. However, this is not the case with the Old Parochial Register index, where names are entered as they are found in the original registers. Surnames beginning with Mc- or Mac- were indexed separately, so always check under both. Forenames, too, can prove perplexing and you may find them abbreviated in some entries and not in others e.g. William, Willm, and Wm, and middle names may appear and disappear! Look at www.scottishdocuments.com for assistance with individual forename variants.

Errors of transcription i.e. when records have been copied are also common, particularly in the IGI, so, where possible, always try to look at the original sources.

Handwriting

In the course of your research you will certainly look at documents from the 19th century and perhaps Old Parochial Registers, Kirk Session Minutes, testaments, deeds, or other documents from the 18th century and much earlier. There is an element of luck involved in that you may encounter a beautifully kept 18th century church register with clear, neat handwriting, then look at a 19th century document which has been badly written up and is almost illegible. If you are having difficulty deciphering words or letters in a document, look elsewhere in the text - there may be a clearer version of the same word or letter. Also consider whether the word might be an abbreviation, or written phonetically. Older documents such as testaments might be written in Secretary Hand or old Scots. See www.asgra.co.uk for researchers who specialise in working with these.

For an excellent insight into how Scottish handwriting has changed over the centuries and for tips on how to decipher older documents, look at www.scottishdocuments.com

Maiden Surname

In Scottish records, married women were usually known by their maiden (or "own") surname. An important exception is in the Census records, where a wife is generally recorded under her married name, although widows did sometimes revert to their maiden name. It may be worthwhile to look under both. Burials record a woman under her maiden, not married name, although there may be reference to e.g. "Widow Hunter", if the husband predeceased the wife.

Recording of the maiden surname is of enormous help to the family historian. For example, in the parish registers, the presence of the maiden surname of the mother recorded at a baptism assists in identification of other children to that couple and in finding their marriage.

Illegitimacy

Illegitimate children in Scotland normally took the father's surname and then in the 19th Century, the mother's surname. They were legitimised if the parents subsequently married, provided both parents were either single or widowed at the time of the birth. The child then assumed the father's surname. If you do find a child's birth/baptism recorded in a particular parish as "natural" or "base-born", it is worth looking in the minutes of the Kirk Session of that parish. Kirk Session minute books recorded all aspects of parish administration, e.g. mortcloth hire for burials, receipt of pledges for marriage proclamations, disciplinary matters and the disclosure and punishment of any moral misconduct by parishioners. Illegitimacy cases were frequently brought before the Kirk Session and you may therefore find more information there. Records of the Kirk Session can be found at the National Archives of Scotland in Edinburgh but microfilms of these records may be found in local archives.

Naming

It was fairly common in Scotland to name the eldest son after the paternal grandfather, the second son after the maternal grandfather and the third son after the father. The eldest daughter would then be named after the maternal grandmother, the second after the paternal grandmother and the third after the mother. However, you will find that there are lots of exceptions to the rule, e.g. a child may have been named after the minister who baptised them, or after a witness/sponsor to the baptism, who may or may not have been a family member. Witnesses may be recorded, alongside the baptism, together with their family connection, if any, and since these can be invaluable in determining the correct line, it is important to look at the actual entries themselves.

With a high rate of infant mortality, it was not uncommon for families to name a subsequent child after a dead sibling, so check that you have the correct child's birth/baptism.