Stornoway´s OPRs .....

[george]

Hi everybody!

I´m searching for my 4Gparent, Malcolm McLeod, born in Knock, Parish of Stornoway about 1791 (data from 1841 Census)

The registers in Stornoway started in 1762. But when I searched in SP for any McLeod (with soundex marked) and male, only 3 borns matched in the period from 1762 to 1800

What happened? and the others McLeods?

I´ll very appreciate any comments about this?

Regards, George

[AndrewP]

Hi George,

For that period, the online IGI should produce a similar list to SP. On asking the IGI for all McLeods born or christened in Stornoway Parish, for the 10 years before and after 1791. It produces two results for the one person (his birth and christening). Given that the Isle of Lewis has a lot of McLeods, it is reasonable to believe that the records are lacking.

It is most likely that either his birth was not recorded, or the record has not survived. The IGI gives only 19 births or christenings of any name over that 21 year period. Three of these are a birth and christening of the same person, so 16 people - none of these between 1784 and 1794. So on that basis it looks unlikely that you will find a birth or christening record for Malcolm McLeod of about 1791 in Stornoway Parish.

All the best,

Andrew Paterson

[george]

Hi Andrew!

I´m very frustrated The Information about Stornoway Parish is that there is information from 1762. The SP should be include information about the lack records. I´ll contact them about this issue.

Thank you Andrew.

Regards, George

[AndrewP]

Hi George,

Many (most?) OPRs are listed by their start and finish years. I don't think there is any such thing as a definitive listing for the OPRs to tell where the gaps are in them. It is generally accepted that they are far from complete. For pre-1855 they are the best set of documents for Scottish genealogy, even if incomplete.

A quote of one section of the SP FAQs ( http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/conte ... ex.aspx?88 ):

• The oldest register dates from 1553, but many did not commence until much later, some have been lost or destroyed and the condition of the surviving ones is variable. Many people did not bother to register events at all and many non-conformists chose to have an event registered in their own church.

All the best,

Andrew Paterson

[DavidWW]

There is a set of parish maps produced by Aberdeen & NE Scotland FHS which includes the dates for which the OPRs are extant. These dates normally show breaks, but, in this case Stornoway is shown as having b&m for 1762 - 1854, but the figure of only 3 male births in the period can't be correct, even when searching using wildcards M*L*D.

For comparison, a similar search in the civil birth records from 1855 to 1904 gives 4,014 hits

Something not right here! I'd suggest George contacts GROS direct, not SP.

David

[AndrewP]

Hi George,

The Stornoway account form the second Statistical Accounts of Scotland (1840s) tells us the following, concerning the condition of the parochial registers:

• Registers. - The earliest entry in the parochial register is dated 1780; the record was discontinued in 1791. Since 1825, the registers have been regularly kept, and weekly entries are made by the session-clerk.

Although not in 100% agreement with the dates given by GROS and the LDS, this account certainly shows that the records were not well kept (if kept at all) in the era that you are interested in.

The Statistical accounts for each of the Scottish parishes can be found at:
http://stat-acc-scot.edina.ac.uk/stat-a ... c-scot.asp

All the best,

Andrew Paterson

[george]

Hi Andrew and David

Your link Andrew is great! I enjoyed it, except the remark about the register.

Before than I read your post I wrote to SP. They are checking any problem with the database index. But now I believe understand the problem.

However, "discontinue" is used for "not any register was done from 1791" or "occasionals and not obligatory resgisters were done". I was searching for several surnames in the 1791-1799 period and I don´t found anyone. The first option seems right.

But, like David showed, the McLeods from 1762 to 1891 are very scarces. Where are they?

In the Andrew´s links show that the first record is dated 1870. Why SP say from 1862?

I don´t understand.

Best regards, George

[AndrewP]

In the Andrew´s links show that the first record is dated 1870. Why SP say from 1862?

The Statistical Account was from the 1840s. It is possible that another OPR book, or some pages were found and added to the Stornoway OPRs.

The OPRs up to 1819 had to be handed in to GROS in 1855, and the remainder dated 1850 to 1854 were to be handed in 30 years later. So there was time for more pages to be found. I presume that pages that turned up any time since should also be handed in to GROS.

All the best,

Andrew Paterson

[george]

Hi!

I was emailing with SP. At first, they don´t know nothing about a gap in their database. I remarked about the Statistical Accounts of Scotland 1840 and now they will looking for.

I hope these questions awaken the curiosity about the gaps in all Parish. I believe that the evidents gaps must be documented for all users.

Best regards, George

[DavidWW]

Hi George

As you might be aware, the OPR has been/is being completely re-indexed in connection with the eventual introduction on SP of digitized images.

You'd have thought it logical that a by-product from such an exercise would be a definitive list of gaps............ I'll ask my GROS contact..........

David