I can't see that anyone has as yet directly addressed the enquiry from Robert Owen <robert.owen3@btinternet.com> which was: << I am assisting a cousin who is researching her Scottish roots and wondered if anyone can help regarding the following people: Alexander DAVIDSON b  c1854 we think Peterhead, married a Christina CLYNE b c1857 again  Peterhead, they had the following children: Arthur c1886, James c1887, Alexander c 1888,William c 1892 & Helen c 1895. James Davidson married an Ethel Pass. in 1914 in Liverpool. Robert is asking for direction regarding certificates and how to verify definite dates. >> Alexander DAVIDSON -- If borne pre-1855 then his details will be in the appropriate Old Parochial Register but the amount of data will depend on the clerk who kept the records at that time, there was no standard format.  Scotlands People have indexes in their pay-to-view site. The indexes, divided into Counties and Parishes list the birth registration dates and parents names. These pre-1855 index pages can be download at a cost of 1 credit (0.20 uk pnds) a page. When a likely candidate is identified it cost a further 5 credits (1 Uk pnd) to view and download the cert. If Alexander was actually born in 1855 then you are on to a winner, that would be the best you could ever get for detail -- 1855 certs are goldmines for data, see further comment below.  It is absolute delight to get an 1855 certificate. Christina CLYNE -- Her post-1854 cert will be recorded in standard format preprinted registers.  For BDMs the Regitrars was required by law fill in all the boxes.  Of course this depended to a great extent on the informant knowledge of the person being recorded. The 1855 certs were spread over 2 pages of the record book and required a lot of information.  These were used only for that initial year of stautory registration.  From 1856 the amount of data registered varied for a few years and was reduced to the present day single page entry.  Where it is an illegitimate birth and the father was not present, his name is not always given on the initial entry.  In such instances it is always a good idea to refer to the Register of Corrected Entries which often records the result of litigation to identify and name the father.  Scotlands People will flag up such entries which will cost a further 5 credits. The above applies to Scottish Records not English records which will have to be searched for a Liverpool marriage. In this case your costs will be greater and you will not be sure if your index hits refer to your Davidson until you pay for the cert.   Cheers, Sandy in Dumfries research Pittendreigh and Freeman in Aberddenshire and Kincardineshire

Further to my earlier comments on Bob's query: It is possible to 'play around with Scotlands People searches without spending anything but time on line. Alexander DAVIDSON birth search 1851 to 1854 gives 21 hits in Aberdeenshire.  = 1 credit (20p) to download. Same search 1855 to 1856 score 17 hits = 1 credit. The downloads will allow for a narrower choice of certs before spending any pounds. Christina CLYNE birth search 1855 to 1900 gives ZERO hits for Aberdeenshire and 10 for ALL Districts again 1 cert to download. The Alexander DAVIDSON = Christina CLYNE marriage search  gives ZERO hits for Aberdeenshire and just a SINGLE hit for ALL Districts fidling with the dates gives this for 1880 to 1884. This is where I would spend my first quid. The marriage details will identify parents of both parties.  Then return to the Birth Certificates The marriage cert will identify the Parish where you could start looking for the children of this couple. Nice inexpensive way to spend a boring Sunday evening away from the tele. Cheers, Sandy researching PITTENDREIGH & FREEMAN in Aberdeenshire and Kincardineshire ________________________________ From: Sandy PITTENDREIGH <dfsgal@btinternet.com> To: aberdeen@rootsweb.com Sent: Sunday, 8 November, 2009 18:11:24 Subject: [ABERDEEN] Davidson & Clyne Query I can't see that anyone has as yet directly addressed the enquiry from Robert Owen <robert.owen3@btinternet.com> which was: << I am assisting a cousin who is researching her Scottish roots and wondered if anyone can help regarding the following people: Alexander DAVIDSON b  c1854 we think Peterhead, married a Christina CLYNE b c1857 again  Peterhead, they had the following children: Arthur c1886, James c1887, Alexander c 1888,William c 1892 & Helen c 1895. James Davidson married an Ethel Pass. in 1914 in Liverpool. Robert is asking for direction regarding certificates and how to verify definite dates. >> Alexander DAVIDSON -- If borne pre-1855 then his details will be in the appropriate Old Parochial Register but the amount of data will depend on the clerk who kept the records at that time, there was no standard format.  Scotlands People have indexes in their pay-to-view site. The indexes, divided into Counties and Parishes list the birth registration dates and parents names. These pre-1855 index pages can be download at a cost of 1 credit (0.20 uk pnds) a page. When a likely candidate is identified it cost a further 5 credits (1 Uk pnd) to view and download the cert. If Alexander was actually born in 1855 then you are on to a winner, that would be the best you could ever get for detail -- 1855 certs are goldmines for data, see further comment below.  It is absolute delight to get an 1855 certificate. Christina CLYNE -- Her post-1854 cert will be recorded in standard format preprinted registers.  For BDMs the Regitrars was required by law fill in all the boxes.  Of course this depended to a great extent on the informant knowledge of the person being recorded. The 1855 certs were spread over 2 pages of the record book and required a lot of information.  These were used only for that initial year of stautory registration.  From 1856 the amount of data registered varied for a few years and was reduced to the present day single page entry.  Where it is an illegitimate birth and the father was not present, his name is not always given on the initial entry.  In such instances it is always a good idea to refer to the Register of Corrected Entries which often records the result of litigation to identify and name the father.  Scotlands People will flag up such entries which will cost a further 5 credits. The above applies to Scottish Records not English records which will have to be searched for a Liverpool marriage. In this case your costs will be greater and you will not be sure if your index hits refer to your Davidson until you pay for the cert.   Cheers, Sandy in Dumfries research Pittendreigh and Freeman in Aberddenshire and Kincardineshire ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to ABERDEEN-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message