Alistair pointed out that the OPRs only covered Church of Scotland and that there were records of other faiths. True as far as it goes, Alistair, but the period in question was the 17th century, and at that time it was C. of S. or nothing! Catholics were to be found only in the Highlands and Islands with very few surviving records until the 1800s. Similarly, early Episcopal records were mainly taken over by the Church of Scotland in 1689, and don't resume until the 18th century. The Congregationalists start in 1794, and the Baptists at a similar period. There were Quakers, but mainly in Aberdeenshire, in the 18th century. The Reformation led to All or nearly all Roman Catholic records being destroyed in the 16th century, and all that exists now is what survived in the Papal Archives in Rome, some of which has been published by the Scottish History Society, but this mainly refers to priests, and the upper classes making supplications to Rome, and mostly 14th/15th century. Gordon.