Genealogy Chat

Hi, wonder if anyone can answer this question for me? Last year I received a copy wedding certificate of my gggg grandfather and his wife. The wedding took place in Edinburgh in 1855. I had been led to believe that Scottish certificates carried a wealth of information, and particularly, those from 1855 as this was the first year of registration. Of most interest to me was the fact that the bride and grooms mothers maiden names would be on the certificate. But when I received the certificate, the mothers maiden names were NOT on it! Do you think this could just be an error, and they were not copied out, or is it likely that they were not given on the original certificate? On IGI the wedding is listed twice, once on 23.12.1855 and once on 31.12.55, no idea why. The actual certificate date is 31.12.55. Any thoughts anyone?? Thanks, Carol.

Carol I haven't had any marriage certificates from 1855 yet, I did however have a death certificate which gave the person's age and all her children that she was leaving behind, this gave me six new names to search it also gave the children's ages so I could work out their birth dates.It also stated her oldest daughter was married. I have heard that they are more detailed but again it depended on who was writing the info and if they attended church then they would know the family better. Scotlands people is a good site if you need more info.here is a wee extract from it.1855 certificates were very detailed but that detail proved difficult to sustain and the amount of information required for registration of a birth, marriage or death was reduced. However, Scottish certificates are still more detailed than their English counterparts. For example, besides the names of both parents, birth certificates, in 1855 and from 1861, include the date and place of the parents' marriage, allowing you to find the marriage certificate more quickly. Marriage certificates show the names of both parents, including the maiden surname of the mother, and death certificates record the names of the parents of the deceased. Mary

Carol I have quite a few Scottish marriage certificates (19th and 20th century) and in all cases the bride's parents' names, and mother's maiden name are given. But I do not have any certificates from 1855 which was the year in which Civil Registration started in Scotland. In view of Mary's comments, above, it might be worth a call to the General Register Office in Scotland to clarify this point. Regards David

Hi Carol, I have lots of Scottish ones but the first one that I have is 1863. The column header states name and maiden surname of mother. Does your certificate have such a header? Did you get it from the records office or from the scotlandpeople web site? Regards Margaret

Mary, David and Margaret, thank you for replying. I can't quite remember but think I ordered the certificate through Scotlandspeople, is this likely to be the reason why there were no maiden names on it, do you think? I might contact them and ask. If anybody else has a Scottish wedding certificate from 1855, could they possibly have quick peek and let me know? Thanks. Carol.

Hi Carol, I have not sent for a proper marriage cert, but have several parish register entries for marriages, as available on scotlandspeople, but I assume the info is the same? They all show bride & groom and their addresses and occupations. Both sets of parents with fathers occupation and mothers maiden name. Dated between 1858 and 1874. Hope that helps. Debbie