Getting to the Roots of Your Family - RootsWeb - Ancestry.com

You will be asked the typical registration questions: Given name, Surname, Address, and Email Address. You
are also asked for a user name (that you choose) and for an image viewer.
When you are done registering, your password will be emailed to your email address. You can then change it
after you log in by clicking on “My Details” on the home page.
Choosing and image view is the trickiest part of the registration process. The best viewer to choose will
depend on how you access the internet. For complete details, go to the following link:
http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/content/help/index.aspx?r=551&458
To summarize, if you are a:
PC User using Internet Explorer – Choose “Active X Control” for your viewer
PC User using Mozilla Firefox or another browser – Choose the “Java Viewer” or “Direct
Download” option.
Apple Mac users – Choose the “Java Viewer” or “Direct Download” option.
If you choose the “Direct Download” option, you will need to download the image and then open it with a
viewing program such as Adobe Acrobat or Irfanview.
THE RECORDS
Statutory Registers (Civil Registration aka Vital Records)
Civil registration of births, marriages and deaths began on 1 January 1855 in Scotland. ScotlandsPeople
has the following available online:
Indexes Records
Coverage Information Coverage Information
Births 1855 – Year of registration, surname, given 1855 – Name, surname and baptismal
2009 name(s) and sex of the child, district
and county of registration and the
1911 name if different, when and where
born, sex, name and occupation of
General Register of Scotland (GROS)
father, name and maiden surname
references.
of mother, signature, qualification
and residence of informant, when
and where registered.
Marriages 1855 –
2009
Index entries do not show the full date
of an event or parents’ names. These
are present on register entries.
Year of registration, surname and
given name(s) of the male, surname
and given name(s) of the female,
district and county where the
marriage was registered and the
GROS references.
1855 –
1936
Additional details in 1855 births:
When & where parents were
married, # of children the parents
have had (living and deceased),
age & birthplace of parents.
Additional details in post-1861
births:
When & where parents were
married.
Names of bride and groom, when,
where & how married (banns, etc.),
age, occupation, marital status,
usual residence and relationship (if
any), name and occupation of
fathers, name and maiden surname