More Scottish census data put online

Published on Thursday 20 April 2006 13:37

CENSUS records for Scotland from 1841 and other rare Scottish documents today were unveiled online.

The announcement by ScotlandsPeople, a leading genealogy website, is a major advance for people researching their Scottish family history.

On the web

ScotlandsPeople

Documents detailing births, marriages, occupations and deaths can now be accessed online along with more than 50 million other Scottish records.

One of the hand-written documents from 1759 shows the record of Robert Burns's birth in Alloway, Ayrshire, on 25 January.

These original 1841 records have never been seen online.

The unveiling today of the material online is part of a five-year project that is funded by the Scottish Executive.

It contains the most comprehensive online set of family history information for any country in the world and is one of the largest single information resources on the web.

The 1841 census was the first to record information on individuals and has helped to paint a unique picture of life in Scotland. With a population of 2.6 million, some of the more peculiar jobs in Scotland then included heddle maker (weaving loom), hedger and muslin sewer.