"Blotter" & "Scroll" Records .....

[DavidWW]

Back in the days of the OPRs paper was a valuable source, - they'd be horrified to see how casually we treat paper today.

It was most often the case that a minister or session clerk would keep a rough copy of the details of proclamations, marriages, christenings etc., and then, every so often, write up the details in the actual OPR. Going off on a side-track, if you are unlucky the interval may have been long, - several months, - and his memory not just as good as he thought, so that his assumption that he would naturally recall the details that weren't originally written down turned out to be wrong!

The rough drafts sometimes survived and are generally known as scroll or blotter records; "blotter" from the terms used in counting houses to refer to a "waste" copy of a record book, or a rough draft of a letter. "Scroll" derives from a term used for duplicate records, for example where a minister kept a private record of events, i.e. not just a draft but a fair copy.

Apart from the above Aberdeen records, there are blotter records for Glasgow for 1815 to 1854; Barony for 1829 - 1854; Edinburgh St Cuthberts Births and Baptisms 1724 - 1850, and marriages 1744 - 1755 and 1768 - 1772; Edinburgh St Cuthberts again, scroll proclamations 1818 - 1855; Canongate kirk session treasurer's accounts including baptisms, marriage and mortcloth dues 1689 - 1693, plus Rev William Dun's prviate marriage register 1814 - 1822.

While not strictly speaking in the same category there are also records such as Jenat Thomson's Midwife Register of Births for Kilmarnock 1777 - 1829.

All of the above are in the custody of GROS at NRH.

Davie

[JustJean]

Hi Davie

This is a fascinating topic but I need a point clarified. You mention extant blotter/scroll records for Barony from 1829-1854. Would these be only Births or Marriages or Deaths or a combination of whatever events had transpired in the order they were received by the registrar?

And now a further question.....is all data contained in the blotter/scroll records now also contained in the index of OPR available online? In my own research I have failed to find a birth recording that I believe occurred in or just prior to 1854 in Barony Parish Glasgow. Is it possible that this might exist in the blotter/scroll archives and not in the OPR?

Jean

[DavidWW]

Hi Davie

This is a fascinating topic but I need a point clarified. You mention extant blotter/scroll records for Barony from 1829-1854. Would these be only Births or Marriages or Deaths or a combination of whatever events had transpired in the order they were received by the registrar?

Marriages only.

And now a further question.....is all data contained in the blotter/scroll records now also contained in the index of OPR available online? In my own research I have failed to find a birth recording that I believe occurred in or just prior to 1854 in Barony Parish Glasgow. Is it possible that this might exist in the blotter/scroll archives and not in the OPR?

Jean

I believe that these will be in the OPR index, but not necessarily IGI.

Davie

[JustJean]

..... Would these be only Births or Marriages or Deaths or a combination of whatever events had transpired in the order they were received by the registrar?

Marriages only.

Drat!!!

And now a further question.....is all data contained in the blotter/scroll records now also contained in the index of OPR available online? In my own research I have failed to find a birth recording that I believe occurred in or just prior to 1854 in Barony Parish Glasgow. Is it possible that this might exist in the blotter/scroll archives and not in the OPR?

Jean

I believe that these will be in the OPR index, but not necessarily IGI.

Davie

....guess it's back to the

Jean

[DavidWW]

....guess it's back to the
Jean

You got it s

Davie