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Archiver > MIDLOTHIAN > 2008-02 > 1202641776


From: "John Stevenson" <>
Subject: Re: [MIDLOTHIAN] SCOTLANDSPEOPLE / ORIGINS (SCOTS)
Date: Sun, 10 Feb 2008 11:09:36 -0000
References: <008e01c86b47$7243dfc0$3651d0c4@priv78zhq8wg2d><005901c86b4d$02056160$0c01a8c0@julie><006d01c86ba0$7b75b470$0853d0c4@priv78zhq8wg2d><00d901c86bd1$ca79b590$0c01a8c0@julie>


Snip
> I am not sure either why their births are not available apart from the
> reasons given by other listers.
> Do you have John H W Payne birth??

Good morning Julie,
I have worked , for eleven years ,as a "Volunteer Helper" at Scottish
Genealogy Library and Family History Centre, Edinburgh and this is the
question that causes more problems , than any other, for the Family
Historian who visits us.
As you know the one word that does not appear in the FH's vocabulary is
"ASSUME" but so many people I meet slot in a name/date , possibly through
frustration, without substantiating the information . That is a recipe for
disastor !!
This is where boards like this come into their own - sharing information can
be so productive !!
The fact is that it is not in Scotland's People's interests to "advertise"
there are a large number of births and marriages which were never
registered. ( wink)
I.E. When the tax on registrations was introduced in 1783 the number of B,D
& M registrayions fell dramativally . In one Highland parish it fell to
around 20%..
The Act was repealed in 1794 but it was up to ten years in some parishes
before things got back to "normal"
If you check Births in Parish of Braemar for 1803 you will find pages of
entries by the local JP asking the Session to enter details of births which
took place between 1784 and 1793 and had never been formally registered

Please accept there is nothing sinister about B M & D's not being registerd
in OPR's - doesn't help the FH but there are other roads to try !!

Regards
John

John D. Stevenson
Edinburgh
Scotland

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