Help with Perth/Fife Census .....

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Joan
Posts: 45
Joined: Fri Sep 09, 2005 8:04 pm
Location: Essex

Help with Perth/Fife Census .....

Post by Joan » Tue Oct 11, 2005 11:01 pm

Hi
I am looking for some advice. I have managed to get a trip to Fife/Edinburgh, and of course want to use the spare time I have wrangled to do some research. I want to access the Rattray/Blairgowrie Census Records for 1841 and 1851. If I manage to squeeze any more time the Fife 1841 and 1851 census records. I will at the moment only have Thursday afternoon. Can anyone advise as to the best place to go in order to get access to these. (Will have car so not bothered where).
Thanks
Joan

LesleyB
Posts: 8184
Joined: Fri Mar 18, 2005 12:18 am
Location: Scotland

Post by LesleyB » Wed Oct 12, 2005 12:30 am

Hi Joan
Someone else may be able to suggest other options but try contacting the LDS centre in Kirkcaldy. I know the Dundee one has ALL census material (inc 1841 and 1851) for Scotland 1841-1891 on film (dunno why they don't have 1901...) so the set up in Kirkcaldy might be similar, or depends where you are going in Fife as Dundee is just across the bridge! (from North East Fife).

Family History Centers
Kirkcaldy Scotland
Winifred Crescent
Forth Park
Kirkcaldy, Fifeshire County, Scotland
Phone: 01592-640041
Hours: T-Th 10am-4pm; T-W 7-9pm; Th 6-9pm.

Dundee Scotland
Bingham Terrace
Dundee, Tayside County, Scotland
Phone: 01382-451247
Hours: T-Th 9am-3pm; W, Th 6-9pm.

Other thoughts might be checking with the Scottish Genealogy Society in Edinburgh - they have some census stuff on film but not all - I think the full sets they have are for Midlothian but they do have others. £5 per day for visitors and they have LOADs of other interesting and very distracting stuff in their Library!
http://www.scotsgenealogy.com/

Best wishes
Lesley
Researching:
Midlothian & Fife - Goalen, Lawrie, Ewart, Nimmo, Jamieson, Dick, Ballingall.
Dunbartonshire- Mcnicol, Davy, Guy, McCunn, McKenzie.
Ayrshire- Lyon, Parker, Mitchell, Fraser.
Easter Ross- McCulloch, Smith, Ross, Duff, Rose.

DavidWW
Posts: 5057
Joined: Sat Dec 11, 2004 9:47 pm

Post by DavidWW » Wed Oct 12, 2005 8:05 am

Joan

Tay Valley FHS have a research centre not far from the centre of Dundee, - see http://www.tayvalleyfhs.org.uk/society/centre.shtml

You'll need to make contact to see what are the conditions for use by a non-member (assuming that you aren't one).

David

sporran
Posts: 496
Joined: Sat Dec 11, 2004 11:40 pm
Location: Leominster, Herefordshire, UK

Re: Fife census

Post by sporran » Wed Oct 12, 2005 8:37 am

Hello Joan,


the Scottish Room in Edinburgh Central Library on George IV bridge has census films for some areas around Edinburgh, so it may have Fife. Sorry that I can not be more definite but they are only a phone call away (0131 242 8070). They are open to 8pm on Thursdays.


Regards,

John

DavidWW
Posts: 5057
Joined: Sat Dec 11, 2004 9:47 pm

Re: Fife census

Post by DavidWW » Wed Oct 12, 2005 8:53 am

sporran wrote:Hello Joan,


the Scottish Room in Edinburgh Central Library on George IV bridge has census films for some areas around Edinburgh, so it may have Fife. Sorry that I can not be more definite but they are only a phone call away (0131 242 8070). They are open to 8pm on Thursdays.


Regards,

John
Can't recall for the moment with whom I was discussing t'other day, - ADP?, - the respective holdings of the Edinburgh Library and the SGS Library a couple of hundred yards away, but my memory is that the Edinburgh Central Library has the census microfilms for much, altho' not all of Scotland, so that I'd be surprised if they don't have Fife.

David

AndrewP
Site Admin
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Joined: Sun Dec 12, 2004 1:36 am
Location: Edinburgh

Post by AndrewP » Wed Oct 12, 2005 11:00 am

The Scottish Room in Edinburgh Central Library has censuses and OPRs for Fife, but not Perthshire.

I don't know if any of the Fife Libraries hold the films for Perthshire. The Fife libraries with family history information are listed on the TalkingScot Libraries page.

The Perthshire ones should be in the A K Bell Library in Perth - contact details on the TalkingScot libraries page.

The whole lot of course are in NRH in Edinburgh.

All the best,

Andrew Paterson

LesleyB
Posts: 8184
Joined: Fri Mar 18, 2005 12:18 am
Location: Scotland

Post by LesleyB » Wed Oct 12, 2005 11:37 am

I don't know if any of the Fife Libraries hold the films for Perthshire.
I don't know about the others but Cupar Library doesn't have Perthshire census films. It has the whole of Fife, OPRs and Census films as far as I'm aware, but Fife films only.

I thought Fife FHS might be worth a shot ( http://www.fifefhs.org/ ) & not sure what they themselves hold but they give some info on other Fife Libraries:

Kirkcaldy Central Library
War Memorial Grounds
Kirkcaldy
KY1 1YG
01592 412878
Mon-Thurs 9.30am-7pm
Fri, Sat 9.30am-5pm
  • IGI on microfiche for Scotland, England and Ireland
    Old Parish Registers index on microfiche for all of Scotland
    Old Parish Registers for all of Fife on microfilm
    Census Returns 1841-1891 on microfilm for all of Fife
Dunfermline Central Library
Abbot St
Dunfermline
KY12 7NL
01383 312600
  • IGI on microfiche for Scotland and Ireland
    Microfiche index to Old Parish Registers for Scotland
    Old Parish Registers on microfilm for Fife and Kinross, and also Culross and Tulliallan
    Censuses on microfilm from 1841 10 1891 for Fife and Kinross, and also Culross and Tulliallan

Best wishes
Lesley
Researching:
Midlothian & Fife - Goalen, Lawrie, Ewart, Nimmo, Jamieson, Dick, Ballingall.
Dunbartonshire- Mcnicol, Davy, Guy, McCunn, McKenzie.
Ayrshire- Lyon, Parker, Mitchell, Fraser.
Easter Ross- McCulloch, Smith, Ross, Duff, Rose.

Joan
Posts: 45
Joined: Fri Sep 09, 2005 8:04 pm
Location: Essex

Post by Joan » Mon Oct 17, 2005 1:41 am

Thank you to everyone who took the time to reply. I really appreciate it as I am a complete novice at this.
I was able to visit the AK Bell library in Perth and Dunfermline library so I had a great time. The staff in both were a great help, and very patient.

Lots of research done which I have poured over for two days now and found the more answers I have, the more questions that are raised. I am now becoming convinced that my Fraser family deliberately set out to make a research nightmare. None of them appeared to get married, they had children who regularly changed names, they didn't register births (OPR) and every time there was a Census from 1841 to 1901 they changed the year of birth for everyone in the household. I am refusing to give up however and already compiling a list of things to go through on my next visit home or when my LDS re-opens
Again many thanks :D

DavidWW
Posts: 5057
Joined: Sat Dec 11, 2004 9:47 pm

Post by DavidWW » Mon Oct 17, 2005 12:20 pm

Joan wrote:Thank you to everyone who took the time to reply. I really appreciate it as I am a complete novice at this.
I was able to visit the AK Bell library in Perth and Dunfermline library so I had a great time. The staff in both were a great help, and very patient.
Great to hear!
Joan wrote:Lots of research done which I have poured over for two days now and found the more answers I have, the more questions that are raised. I am now becoming convinced that my Fraser family deliberately set out to make a research nightmare. None of them appeared to get married, they had children who regularly changed names, they didn't register births (OPR) and every time there was a Census from 1841 to 1901 they changed the year of birth for everyone in the household. I am refusing to give up however and already compiling a list of things to go through on my next visit home or when my LDS re-opens :D
You mean that no-one warned you that this type of situation is far from uncommon :?: :shock:

But then that's the absolute fascination of the detective work involved. Where's the real enjoyment in straighforward boring ancestors who pose no challenge :?: \:D/

I still have one personal tree situation in Edinburgh in the late 1800s involving some quite unusual surnames but also some poorhouse deaths, the informant being the governer, where I have yet to be able to tease out and reach certainty in terms of the situation that really obtained.

David

LesleyB
Posts: 8184
Joined: Fri Mar 18, 2005 12:18 am
Location: Scotland

Post by LesleyB » Mon Oct 17, 2005 12:39 pm

Joan

Glad to hear your trip was fruitful.
found the more answers I have, the more questions that are raised
That happens for me every time! I'm sure its true for most people. I just don't understand when folk say they are nearly "finished" . How can you ever be "finished"???? - every new discovery I make seems to open up so many new avenues for exploration. I'm just sooooo glad I didn't leave this till later or for when I was retired as lots of folk seem to do. There would never be enough time to follow up all the leads I want to and visit all the places I want to visit! :-s

Best wishes
Lesley
Researching:
Midlothian & Fife - Goalen, Lawrie, Ewart, Nimmo, Jamieson, Dick, Ballingall.
Dunbartonshire- Mcnicol, Davy, Guy, McCunn, McKenzie.
Ayrshire- Lyon, Parker, Mitchell, Fraser.
Easter Ross- McCulloch, Smith, Ross, Duff, Rose.