Week Six: SELL THE COW

Reading Records in Scotland, 2015 (click this link to view this larger)

Sell the Cow

Week 6

"Ye canna sell the cow and sup the milk too!"

("You cannot have it both ways")

["Haud Yer Wheesht!" Your Scottish Granny's Favorite Sayings by Allan Morrison

Neil Wilson Publishing (May 31, 2011)]

It seems like I have been researching this family for most of my life! During this Scots Genealogy Do-over, I have been examining the many vital records and census pages. I have searched for and paid the fee to obtain the actual records looking for clues to help me find where they lived, causes of death and in some cases to examine the actual signatures of those who were witness to an event. Records like this are very complete. They were required by law to be accurate and were filed by the registrar. It gives who "present" at the event. 

As an educator, I feel that you need to examine these records (that I have gathered for teaching purposes) so that you can see the similarities and differences to our records in the United States.   You need to gather the GROS number of each record for your citations if you have Scot ancestors.

Example of a Birth Record (click here to view record)
You can see the full record of the birth and death of the infant son of John Broadfoot and his wife Jane Hannah. The baby boy was born in the afternoon and lived 3 3/4 hours at 178 High St. Dalbeattie, Scotland on 3 June 1878. This is a Statutory Death Record which I stumbled upon by doing a wide search for just the surname Broadfoot in Dalbeattie. By the way, this matches what is on the gravestone. Always great to see good solid info even if it is a sad event. 

Example of Marriage (click here to view record)
The marriage record of Thomas Broadfoot and Margaret Harcomb in 1851 was not online in 2002 so I followed the directions and sent to Scotland for it. I realize now that I would never have all these records if I had to use the process of sending for each vital record. It took several weeks to arrive in my mailbox. The one online is the same exact record. I could have waited but it was fun to get it in the mail.

Example of Death (click here to view record)
The death record for John Broadfoot, my paternal great grandfather, confirms his death on Alpine Street in Dalbeattie at the age of 74 of stomach cancer. Notice that BOTH his wives are mentioned and his place of birth is on this record. I have not been able to find that record of birth (in Creetown) His parents are listed as deceased with no marriage date. Many records also include that marriage information but this one does not. Most births do list the parents wedding date and location.

The GROS numbering system is important to learn so that you can be sure you have the right person/family in a location. Scotlands People explains the numbering system on this page for free. Many new research books explains the numbering but as Scotlands People holds ALL the original images you will have to use that Web site to pay for them. (All you will get from Ancestry.com will be the index that was taken in cooperation with from Family Search.)

"You can't sell the cow and drink the milk" too, as you have to have the original (for pay) records for your research. Use the index to help you locate the record. I have learned that the index is quite good because if I can't find a record (like John's birth), I can't find it in the index either.