This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/EgC.2ACE/10158.1 Message Board Post: Unfortunately, statutory registration did not begin in Scotland until 1855. You would need to find his baptism in the old parish registers. The OPR's of the Church of Scotland are indexed in the IGI. I ran a quick check on familysearch without success. If he was a dissenter (e.g. Episcopalian, Baptist, Free Kirk, Roman Catholic), then he is unlikely to appear in the IGI. Where did James and Emma marry? I ran a quick check on www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk for their marriage - I didn't find it. Scottish marriage certificates state the names of the parents of the bride and groom. There are partial census indexes for 1841, 1851, and 1861 - but how would you know which James is your James? His middle name is unlikely to appear in a Census. Why do you believe that he may have been born in Scotland?