Which Ancestry?

Dennis · Post by **Dennis** » Sun Feb 08, 2009 4:32 am

Hi:)

I'm wondering which Ancestry.? to subscribe to that will give me Scotland BMDs? I've got an aunt born in 1938 and is now married with bairns of her own. I'm talking Knightswood.

Cheers. dennis

JustJean · Post by **JustJean** » Sun Feb 08, 2009 5:08 am

Hi Dennis

Sorry but there is no Ancestry database that will provide you with Scottish BMD information be it indexes or digital images. Ancestry does have indexes of all the Scottish censuses but that is all...and remember those are just indexes no digital images of originals.

There is just one online place to access BMD's and it's www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk and it's pay per view via their credit system. You can access modern indexes there for births that would include the time frame you're interested in but you will not be able to access any images linked to that modern index. I say modern because the standard closure periods for Scotland births prevent online public access to images newer than 100 years. So "modern" equals births occuring in the last 100 years. If your aunt had been born on the other side of the 100 year marker then you'd be in luck as the digital image of her birth would be accessible online...anything after then and you either have to locate what you belive to be the correct record in the modern index and order an extract from GROS via the www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk website or you (if you live in the UK) or someone else (if you don't and aren't planning to visit soon) need to book a seat at a repository and take a transcription of the record. So you see the information can be had...just because it is closed to online access does not mean it is not obtainable.

Best wishes
Jean

trish1 · Post by **trish1** » Fri Feb 13, 2009 2:34 pm

Hi Jean

Just to mention, the ancestry Scotland census data - consists of transcripts, rather than just an index - most items of the transcript are indexed. The main item missing from the transcripts (frustratingly) is the marital status. The last column (related to disabled issues) is also not transcribed. As you say, there are no images, and the transcriptions were done with such speed - they really are rather woeful.

Dennis

If you were looking for any data in UK only, there is little point in subscribing to the Worldwide membership. The difference between UK essentials and premium appears to be Ireland - but it is hard to find the detail. As Jean says the civil registration data from Scotland is not on any version. I belong to the Oz version because I get Australian information & some British (but I think not all that is available).

Ancestry does have British phone books - would they be of any use looking for your family.

Trish

JustJean · Post by **JustJean** » Fri Feb 13, 2009 2:47 pm

Hi Trish

Agreed that the lacking marital status is sometimes a frustrating bit....but I find the inclusion of the occuaption as a searchable field for Scottish census records makes up for almost everything the data as a whole lacks (including the oftentimes ridiculous interpretations of it

) I'm certain I've found more people based only on a scrap bit of their name and a scrap bit of their occupation than the searches on SP will allow. Of course I always go back to SP to nail the image...but it's Ancestry all the way for me for the first port of call. Just works out cheaper and far more expedient....

Best wishes
Jean

Post by **SarahND** » Fri Feb 13, 2009 3:33 pm

I would agree with Jean that the ability to search, say, for anyone named James who was a mason in 1861 makes up for a lot of the shortcomings of Ancestry. Or even anyone named James who was a mas* in case they transcribed it as "masson" or "masan" or some other fanciful thing

Of course, that doesn't help if it was transcribed "maron," as sometimes

but then you could always try anyone named James born in inv* or wherever and go at it from that angle...

I really like being able to search from "scraps" of information, if the obvious name isn't finding it.

All the best,
Sarah

JustJean · Post by **JustJean** » Fri Feb 13, 2009 3:52 pm

SarahND wrote: I really like being able to search from "scraps" of information, if the obvious name isn't finding it.

All the best,
Sarah

Ahhh....a researcher after my own heart....

Best wishes
Jean

trish1 · Post by **trish1** » Sat Feb 14, 2009 4:36 am

I have been an ancestry fan for years - the ability to be able to check 105 wrong records, before finding the correct one, for a single fee, wins me every time. They obviously rushed the Scottish transcripts, which I think is sad, such things as having 5 family members and giving them different surnames - I find frustrating. I also think missing the marital status was an oversight - and it has given SP a little of my money that they would otherwise not have received. Searching by given name only - finds an amazing number of folks. To search by occupation (or part thereof) often needs some lateral thinking re transcribing.

Trish