Angus, Generally the C of S didn't record deaths as death was just seen as a gateway to either eternal glory or damnation :-). However in many parishes the poor folks couldn't afford a coffin for their relatives (remember people were not cremated until the modern age) so the parish would have a shroud, called a mortcloth, which it would hire out to the relatives of a deceased so the body could be conveyed with dignity for burial. The record of these mortcloth rentals is what often passes for death registers in the OPR. Very few churches actually recorded deaths. Hope this helps Mark Mark Sutherland-Fisher Director Fisher (Holiday Enterprises) Ltd email: [email protected] web site: www.highland-family-heritage.co.uk Tel/Fax: 00 44 (0) 1862 871877 Mobile: 00 44 (0) 7765 272815 Skype call name: john.sutherland.fisher -----Original Message----- From: Angus Ferguson [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: 10 August 2006 14:15 To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [Renfrew] Scottish equivalent of C of E Bishop's Transcripts? On Thu, 10 Aug 2006 10:12:58 +0100, Mark Sutherland-Fisher, <[email protected]>, wrote > It was the attempt by Charles I to force the English Episcopalian system > with Bishops and Archbishops on the Scottish Presbyterian church which > ultimately cost him his head. The Covenanters (the Scottish Lords and their > supporters opposed to the English church being forced on Scotland) sided > with Oliver Cromwell initially and decisively against Charles and the > Archbishop he imposed on Scotland was murdered. Trust me to stumble blindly into one of the primary causes of the Civil War! I knew that it had been sparked in Scotland, but had forgotten the reasons. Thank you Mark and Irene. I have another question though. Whilst browsing the LDS website, I noted that there are some OPR/Kirk Session death records predating 1855. Are these as limited as the LDS Catalogue suggests (very few individual parishes), or are they more extensive? Is there an aggregated database and if so, where is this held? Or, are they strewn across Scotland in the only parishes noted on the LDS catalogue? In hope. Angus > > Mark Sutherland-Fisher > Director > Fisher (Holiday Enterprises) Ltd > email: [email protected] > web site: www.highland-family-heritage.co.uk > Tel/Fax: 00 44 (0) 1862 871877 > Mobile: 00 44 (0) 7765 272815 > Skype call name: john.sutherland.fisher > > > -----Original Message----- > From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] > Sent: 10 August 2006 09:47 > To: [email protected] > Subject: Re: [Renfrew] Scottish equivalent of C of E Bishop's Transcripts? > > > In a message dated 09/08/2006 23:49:44 GMT Daylight Time, > [email protected] writes: > > Does anyone know whether there are Scottish versions of the Bishop's > Transcripts of pre 1837 BMBs kept by the Church of England? I imagine the > Church of Scotland parishes might have kept these, but did the non - > established churches keep them also? > > > > There were no Bishops in the Church of Scotland. It was and is > Presbyterian. > Attempts from over the border to introduce episcopalianism were strongly > resisted ...eg Covenanters. So there are no BTs > Irene > > > >