Scotland Presbyterian & Protestant Church Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

 Scotland

What Is in This Collections?
This collection will include records from 1736-1990. The records are of Free, United Presbyterian, United Free and Other Protestant Churches in Scotland from 1736-1990. They were originally filmed at the National Archives of Scotland. This collection contains baptismal, marriage and death records. The Free Church of Scotland was formed in 1843 when a group of Evangelicals dissented from the Church of Scotland. In 1900, the majority of the Free Church integrated with the United Presbyterian Church, which had been formed in 1847 when the United Secession Church merged with the Relief Church (both of which had been offshoots of the Church of Scotland). Together they formed the United Free Church of Scotland. However, it wouldn’t last long. In 1929, the majority of the United Free Church merged with the Church of Scotland, reversing a large portion of the conflict back in 1843.

What Can These Records Tell Me?
The following information may be found in these records: Baptisms Marriages Deaths
 * Date and Place of Baptism
 * Given Name of Child
 * Date and Place of Birth
 * Parents' Names and Occupation of Father
 * Legitimacy of Child and Parents
 * Names of Godparents
 * Date and Place of Marriage
 * Groom's Age, Marital Status, Occupation and Residence
 * Names of Groom's Parents, including Maiden Name of Mother
 * Bride's Age, Marital Status, Occupation and Residence
 * Names of Bride's Parents, including Maiden Name of Mother
 * Birthplaces of Bride and Groom
 * Witnesses' Names, Age and Occupation
 * Date and Place of Death and Burial
 * Name and Age of Deceased
 * Cause of Death
 * Father of Deceased and his Occupation
 * Date and Birthplace of Deceased
 * Marital Status of Deceased
 * If Married, the Name of the Spouse

How Do I Search This Collection?
As you are searching it is helpful to know such information as your ancestor's given name and surname, some identifying information such as residence, age, estimated birth, marriage or death year, and family relationships.

How Do I Analyze the Results?
Compare each result from your search with what you know to determine if there is a match. This may require viewing multiple records or images. Keep track of your research in a research log.

I Found the Person I Was Looking For, What Now?

 * Save or print a copy of the image or record, if possible. The original may contain information that was not recorded in the index
 * Use the information which you have found to estimate ages in other life events. For example, use a christening date to approximate a marriage date, or a burial record to calculate an estimated year of birth
 * Once you have found a christening or a burial church record, you may want to search for birth and death in civil records (1837 and later)
 * Use the information you have found to find the person and families in census records
 * Continue to search the index to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives. Note that family members often appear on an individual's records, such as in the role of witnesses to a marriage
 * Titles may be clues to property ownership, occupations, rank, or status within the community.

I Can’t Find the Person I’m Looking For, What Now?

 * If your ancestor does not have a common name, collect entries for every person who has the same surname
 * Be careful using the listed age on a marriage record to estimate a birth year. Rather than listing actual ages, clerks often wrote in 21 as the age of both the bride and groom to show that they each were of legal age
 * Check for other names. An individual might have been listed under a middle name, a nickname, or an abbreviation of their given name
 * Spelling was not standardized for much of the period of this collection, so names were often spelled as scribes heard them. Try searching based on how the name may have been pronounced
 * Vary the search terms. For example, expand the date range or search by either the given name or surname to return a broader list of results
 * When you search baptismal records, remember that it was not unusual for a child to be baptized weeks or even months after birth
 * Note that marriages often took place in the parish where the bride resided

Research Helps
The following articles will help you in your research for your family in Scotland.
 * Scotland Guided Research
 * Scotland Record Finder
 * Research Tips and Strategies

Citing This Collection
When you copy information from a record, you should list where you found the information; that is, cite your sources. This will help people find the record again and evaluate the reliability of the source. It is also good to keep track of records where you did not find information, including the names of the people you looked for in the records. Citations are available for the collection as a whole and each record or image individually.