Hello, I'd just like to say that I'm still interested in finding out which part of County Donegal my ancestors lived in. I only have names, Andrew RITCHIE and Isabella (?) (YEATES?), who had a daughter, Eliza (beth?) RITCHIE, in June 1837. And, William HANNAH and Mary Ann (?), who had a son, William HANNAH, in December 1828. I don't know anything else about this family. But, I'm told the 2 families might have moved back and forth between Ireland and Scotland looking for work. William and Eliza married in Glasgow in Dec. 1854 / Jan. 1855. They had a daughter in 1856 and another in April 1857. In July 1857 they left, and sailed to Massachusetts / US. Their daughter, Elizabeth HANNAH, b1857, was my great-grandmother. The older daughter did not survive to adulthood. They had several more children while in MA. Betty (near Lowell, MA, USA) FYI: Elizabeth married in MA to William KERR, whose grandparents were KERR's and HENDERSON's who lived in County Sligo, Ireland, and left in 1820's for Canada. William came down to MA/US ~1874. Remember to check the archives of all the Lists and Boards for your surnames and place-names. And, please remember to check the on-line auctions for for your surnames and place-names.

Hello Betty. The Scottish BIRTH records, after official registration began in 1855, provide the BIRTHPLACES of both parents of the child. Therefore, I would suggest obtaining Elizabeth's birth certificate. If for some reason that information is not on her birth certificate; then hopefully it would be on that of her elder sister, who would still have been born after the date of official registration. Also, IF the parents were married in January 1855, when official registration first started in Scotland; then their marriage certificate should also provide you with a lot of good information. In case you are not aware of all of the wonderful resources available on ScotlandsPeople, here is their URL: http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/ Also, have you googled for "andrew ritchie" ? There are lots of hits there, which might be helpful; although I suspect that some of the genealogy ones might be your own entries. HTH: Ray in Oz ----- Original Message ----- From: "Betty" <[email protected]> ... I'm still interested in finding out which part of County Donegal my ancestors lived in. > > I only have names, Andrew RITCHIE and Isabella (?) (YEATES?), who had a > daughter, Eliza (beth?) RITCHIE, in June 1837. And, William HANNAH and > Mary Ann (?), who had a son, William HANNAH, in December 1828. > > I don't know anything else about this family. But, I'm told the 2 > families > might have moved back and forth between Ireland and Scotland looking for > work. > > William and Eliza married in Glasgow in Dec. 1854 / Jan. 1855. They had > a > daughter in 1856 and another in April 1857. In July 1857 they left, and > sailed to Massachusetts / US. > > Their daughter, Elizabeth HANNAH, b1857, was my great-grandmother. The > older daughter did not survive to adulthood. They had several more > children while in MA. > > Betty (near Lowell, MA, USA) > FYI: > > Elizabeth married in MA to William KERR, whose grandparents were KERR's > and > HENDERSON's who lived in County Sligo, Ireland, and left in 1820's for > Canada. William came down to MA/US ~1874.

Have literally looked at thousands of Scottish Birth, Marriage and Death registrations. The only year that gives birthplaces of father and mother is 1855. I just checked the questions asked by looking at an example of Bs, Ms and Ds in a non-1855 year. For a Birth, a Marriage and a Death in 1855, the birthplace was specifically asked. If they did not know, it simply will say 'unknown' or 'doesn't know' however, that's more often on a Death Registration since its not the deceased answering the question, it was an Informant, they may not even be related to the deceased. For 'Birthplace' you don't know what was told to the Registrar. Civil Registration was a totally new process as of 1 Jan, 1855, it more or less depended on what the Registrar thought was required. They may have said "Ireland'. Or maybe 'Donegal' or hopefully, the particular townland is named. I was lucky on one 1855 Stirlingshire Marriage, the bride said 'Killymard, Donegal' as her birthplace. Unlucky for me the Registrar wrote 'Tullymard' and it took over 3y to figure out it was Killymard. We found the 1855 death registration for a sibling and it confirmed the birthplace. Beginning 1 Jan, 1856 the Registration questions changed drastically, and the birthplace of the parents is no longer required on any Scottish Registration. The only time a birthplace is asked is for a birth. They ask specifically for the Place of Birth. Nothing is even asked about the parents' marriage until 1861 when that question was re-instated. The IGI says there was an entry on 1 Jan, 1855 in Blythswood, so they must have registered in both bride's and groom's parishes. Cross your fingers. The FHC where I volunteer has the full series of 1855 events for all the 901 parishes in Scotland. I'll check for the 1855 Marriage and hope they were Registered that year. Didn't matter when the Marriage took place, its if it was REGISTERED in 1855, all those great questions were asked. Will check for the marriage of William HANNAH and Elizabeth RITCHIE. ....MegG in OK ======================= >

Meg: thank you for this very complete explanation. I had thought that I was on strong ground in asserting what I did about the parent's birthplaces on Scottish birth certificates; because I double-checked it with one which I have from there ---- and you guessed it, it was for 1855 !!! Oh what a pity that they changed the questions the following year. Thanks for clarifying this Meg; and my apologies to the list for having led people astray. Ray in oz ----- Original Message ----- From: "Meg Greenwood" <[email protected]> > Have literally looked at thousands of Scottish Birth, Marriage and Death > registrations. The only year that gives birthplaces of father and > mother is 1855. ... > Beginning 1 Jan, 1856 the Registration questions changed drastically, > and the birthplace of the parents is no longer required on any Scottish > Registration. The only time a birthplace is asked is for a birth. They > ask specifically for the Place of Birth. Nothing is even asked about > the parents' marriage until 1861 when that question was re-instated. .... MegG in OK