Post 1905 Births and a post 1955 Death.....

[Pandabean]

Is there anyone going to the place in Edinburgh for looking at records?

How easy is it to look for children belonging to these two people? One of the children they had was George McDonald (My Grandfather). He was born in 1918 I think. I could ask my Nan but she doesnt really know his brothers.

There is one of two lines I am trying to look into:

William McDonald (b.2/2/1888 - Kelvin, Glasgow --- d.4th Apr 1957 - Airth)
Parents - Alexander McDonald and Margaret Adamson
Married (30th August 1912 - Bothwell, Lanark)
Sarah Jane Leitch (b. 8/12/1886 - Bothwell, Lanark ---- d.16th Dec 1953 - Airth)


My other line is a death of a Robert Thorburn Greenlees. I know it was after 1955 as I cannot find a death cert on SP. His with Sarah O'Neil Greenlees lived until the 70s, early 80s as my mother remembers her well.

Robert Thorburn Greenlees -
b. 9th Aug 1889 - Prestonpans
m. 31st May 1915 - St Giles, Edinburgh
d. after 1955

Parents were Andrew Greenlees and Sarah Davidson.

[DavidWW]

Is there anyone going to the place in Edinburgh for looking at records?

....snipped........

Yes, - New Register House, where you can look at records up to the prsent day, literally so in terms of the indexes, - images tend to follow on after a year or two.

Depending on how much else you need to look at, it could weel be worth a day trip down from Aiberdeen , - it costs £17 for entry for a full day, but the only costs after that are 50p copies, unless you also want some extracts.

See http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/famrec/index.html

David

[Pandabean]

How easy is it to look through records there? Is it all paper/film or is any of it computerised

Also are you allowed your laptop in? I dont want to end up going down there and ending up forgetting something important.

I might pop down one day, its just that I am very busy with uni and starting a new full time job for the next 2 month - more money for SP I guess lol.

[DavidWW]

How easy is it to look through records there? Is it all paper/film or is any of it computerised

All the stats and the open censuses are computerised in terms of indexex and images; with the OPR computerised in terms of the index.

Also are you allowed your laptop in? I dont want to end up going down there and ending up forgetting something important.

Yes, but you need to make that clear whenyou book so that you get a place with an adjacent power socket.

I might pop down one day, its just that I am very busy with uni and starting a new full time job for the next 2 month - more money for SP I guess lol.

I've looked at over 1,000 statutory birth register images in 5 hours, - just work out how much that would cost on SP!

David

[AndrewP]

The searching is all computerised these days. At the desk-space you are allocated there, you have a computer with access to the indexes and images, and a microfiche reader.

The certificates and censuses are mostly available as onscreen images, by clicking on links from the indexes in a similar manner to ScotlandsPeople. However, it is not te same search facility. There are no wildcard searches, so you need to search with each spelling variation. The exception to that is if it is the end of the name that you would normally use a wildcard for - leave the end of the name off. For example in a search for a female, "Chris" would find Chris, Christian, Christina, Christine etc.

You can use the microfiche reader if the image of a certificate is difficulty to read. Sometimes it can be clearer on the microfiche. If it is still diffictult to read, you can ask to see the original book. The original book makes censuses a lot easier to read where the ages or placenames have been scored through by the person making the summary information. On the digital images and microfilms, these scorings are black on white - the same as the writing you are trying to read. In the books, you fnd the scorings were in coloured pencil that you can usually see through and read.

Yes, you can take a laptop into NRH. Ask for a seat with a power connection available.

The tip that I would give anyone going to NRH is to have your agenda of lookups that you want to make written down. If you go in with no particular agenda and do look ups randomly you will lose a lot of time.

The onscreen certificates should be almost up to the current date. 2005 and 2006 (and maybe 2004) may not be available onscreen or microfiche yet, although they will appear on the index. If you are looking for anything that recent and there is no image, try the microfiche, and if that is not there, then ask if the book is available yet. The completed books are not sent iinto NRH until after the examiner has been to the issung registrar's office and examined and approved the book. Then over a course of time they will be microfiched and digitally scanned and placed online in NRH.

All the best,

AndrewP

[mallog]

I've looked at over 1,000 statutory birth register images in 5 hours, - just work out how much that would cost on SP!

David

Did you manage to read them as well or were you eliminating possiblities? Perhaps you left the reading till later and just copied those of interest?

I didn't know you could ask for original. Some of the images are pretty unreadable although I have managed to read most of what I need to know by crosschecking on other records.
Mallog

[DavidWW]

I've looked at over 1,000 statutory birth register images in 5 hours, - just work out how much that would cost on SP!

David

Did you manage to read them as well or were you eliminating possiblities? Perhaps you left the reading till later and just copied those of interest?

I didn't know you could ask for original. Some of the images are pretty unreadable although I have managed to read most of what I need to know by crosschecking on other records.
Mallog

I read them indeed, - it was a due diligence search in connection with an Australian estate !!, so that an audit trail had to be created ...............

David

[mallog]

David
=D> =D> I'm impressed. You must be ambidextrous or something similar

Mallog

[Jack]

Hi Andy,
Could this be your Robert? Or just quite a coincidence...?
--
Robert Farnie GREENLEES (27), shale miner, d. 22 APR 1917, Livingstone.
Married to Sarah HUNTER.
pas - Andrew GREENLEES, coal miner & Sarah ms DAVIDSON.
infmt - John PROVAN, bro-in-law.
--
Jack