Burns' records go digital

Published on Wednesday 24 January 2007 18:15

THE BIRTH and marriage certificates of Robert Burns can be viewed online from today, exactly 248 years after the birth of Scotland's national bard.

On the web

General Register Office for Scotland

ScotlandsPeopleDigital images of the certificates are part of a major document transformation conducted by the General Register Office for Scotland (GROS).

The technological advance – timed to coincide with Burns Day celebrations – marks the end of the digitisation process that began in 2001. More than 100 years' of GROS records were added to the official website in hopes of improving access on the country's genealogical archives.

Scotland’s old parochial records, some of which date back more than 450 years, are now being displayed on the ScotlandsPeople website, as well as in the public search rooms of the GROS in Edinburgh.

The website will provide indexed digital images of the statutory registers of births, marriages and deaths for Scotland from 1855; Scottish census returns from 1841 to 1901; old parish registers of Scotland from 1553 to 1854; and wills and testaments from 1513 to 1901.

George Lyon, deputy public services minister, said: "Since this project first began in 2001 there has been an explosion of interest in family history. Visitors from around the world can now research their Scottish roots from their own homes, using documents hundreds of years old.

"Scotland is very fortunate to hold such good historical records," Lyon said. "For the first time, family historians will be able to see on their computers anywhere in the world excellent images of the oldest records held by the General Register Office for Scotland."