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OLD PAROCHIAL REGISTERS

Old Parochial Registers contain the births/baptisms, proclamations of banns/marriages, deaths/burials recorded by parish ministers of the Established Church of Scotland (Presbyterian). They are fully indexed, arranged by county and available on microfiche. Scottish OPR's can also be found on the International Genealogical Index (IGI), produced by the Latter Day Saints.

The earliest OPR's date from 1553 but most started after 1600, and many began at the end of the 17th Century after the restoration of Presbyterianism. Registers may be incomplete, badly written up, eaten by mice, affected by damp, or missing altogether. The earlier ones can be very difficult to read. The Scottish Association of Family History Societies publishes a useful guide to "The Parishes, Registers & Registrars of Scotland" (1993) Reprinted 2001 ISBN 1-874722-05-6 (Rainbow Enterprises, Aberdeen). It details the dates between which there are registers available for baptisms, marriages and deaths in each individual parish, with parish and county maps. It is available to purchase on-line from www.tayvalleyfhs.org.uk

Information in OPR's can vary enormously. For example, a "good" register of baptisms might record both the birth and baptism dates, the name of the child, the father's name, the mother's name and maiden surname, where they live and the father's occupation. There may be witnesses to the baptism, with their relationship to the child (if any) shown.

Not every event was actually recorded, for various reasons. Many people, especially by the 18th and 19th centuries simply did not bother to have a baptism performed, particularly if they had to pay a fee. Similarly, an ancestor may not appear in the Registers because he/she was a member of another religious denomination, although details of some non-conformists can be found in Established Church registers. Irregular marriages, by betrothal and consummation, or by cohabitation and repute, were recognized in Scotland and as such, occurred without any official record of the event. Recording of deaths/burials was particularly sparse and some parishes have no burial records until Statutory Registration in 1855.

Where the OPR's are found to be lacking, gaps can sometimes be filled by looking at the Kirk Session Minutes, which recorded the fees paid by parishioners for hire of the mortcloth for burial or for proclamation of the banns of marriage. The banns proclamation identified the parish of both parties, the name of the bride's father, the groom's occupation and, if he was a minor, his parents' names. There is also a Register of Neglected Entries, listing some births, marriages and deaths known to have taken place between 1801 and 1854, but for which there are no entries in the parish register. These can be found at the end of the microfilm reel of the appropriate register.