Genealogy Chat

All credit to Genes Reunited who very graciously refunded my money when they saw what had happened. I have now willingly put the money back in their account for separate details as a very happy customer.

To add to what RG says -

we can also see much more recent (basic) records than is the case for England / Wales.
For full details you have to buy the cert.

Births, marriages, and deaths up to 2016.
Also civil partnerships 2005-16, divorces 1984 - 2016, and dissolutions 2007 - 2016

The Scots may have kept their statutory BMDs and 1911 census on a pay to view site but historical BMDs can be viewed / downloaded much cheaper than English certificates cost. Statutory births recorded more than 100 years ago, marriages 75 years and deaths 50 years ago can be purchased (using credits) for around £1.50 each. A lot of information can be gathered from the Scotlandspeople indexes using the free search facility. It just takes a wee bit of getting used to. The other advantage that we Scots have is that we don't need to assume if a second marriage took place because the first ended in widowhood or divorce. Scottish divorce records have survived and copies of divorce papers are "opened" after a time lapse. I was able to obtain a copy of OH's grandfather's divorce which took place in 1920.

If you are researching Scottish records and are able to visit the Scotlandspeople Centre in Edinburgh or the Mitchell Library in Glasgow, for a daily fee of less than £20, you can view as many records as time permits. Printouts of the earlier records can be taken but you can only take notes for the more recent records.

Researching Scottish records can work out significantly cheaper than researching English records.

Rather than appearing to blame Genes for favouring those living south of the border
( and other companies) maybe you should be having a 'dig' at the Scots who have kept their records to themselves and not sold them on to subscription sites!

Thank you ArgyllGran you are quite right but there is so much information on the pages I didn't notice this. I really do think it should be much clearer. Thank you for your kind offer of help though. x

As a Scot, I agree it's annoying, but, to be fair, if you look at the Births, Deaths, Marriages Records section on this page, it does tell you which records are on GR:

https://www.genesreunited.co.uk/search

If you like to give us some names, dates, places, etc, we can try to help.

Thank you for your replies. I had no idea this was a site which favours those who live in the south of Britain.How ridiculous in this day and age but somehow not surprising. I have wasted £10 on credits and will definitely be complaining and leaving the site.

GR only has English and Welsh records, Louisa.

Welcome to the boards, Louisa

You will find transcriptions of Scotland’s census to 1901. Originals + 1911 census and BMD etc can primarily be accessed on https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk
Although you need to purchase credits in that site to view details, it’s possible to extract a fair amount of detail from free searches.

As there a few members who are experts at using the site, why not post what you are looking for? People would be willing to help.

Can Someone please tell me where to find the Scottish records on Genes Reunited .I have bought 100 credits to use and the English records are of no use to me. Thank you.