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  • Death Records in Scotland
    • Main contributor: Chloe O׳Shea
    grave ayr
    Military headstone in Ayr Cemetery

    The records relating to a person's death in Scotland will depend on the year that they died. An ancestor who died from 1st January 1855 to the present day will have a death certificate which can be ordered from Scotlands People. Scotland's People[1] This contains set information including their date of death. Prior to this date, a deceased person may appear in an Old Parochial Register (OPR). Church burial registers were kept less stringently than in other parts of the United Kingdom and many burial records were not kept. Where burials were recorded and where the register survives they give a date of burial or a date of death. Other documentation can be used to discover more about an ancestor's death in Scotland including wills, newspaper records and memorial inscriptions.

    Death certificates in ScotlandDeath certificates in Scotland

    national records of scotland building
    National Records of Scotland

    Civil registration came into effect in Scotland on 1st January 1855. If your ancestor died after this date you will be able to order their death certificate from Scotland's People. The information contained within a Scottish death certificate includes:

    • The name, sex and age of the deceased
    • Their marital status and occupation
    • The date, time and place of death
    • Their cause of death
    • The name and occupation of their father
    • Their mother's name (including maiden name)
    • Name of the medical professional who certified the death
    • Name and residence of the informant along with how they knew the deceased
    • Details of the registrar

    In addition to the above, the early years of civil registration included some additional details:

    • In 1855- The deceased's place of birth
    • In 1855- The names and ages of the deceased's children
    • In 1855- How long the deceased had lived in the parish
    • 1855-1860- Place of burial
    • 1855-1860- The date that a medical professional last saw the deceased alive
    • 1855-1860- Name of the undertaker

    Old Parochial Registers (OPRs)Old Parochial Registers (OPRs)

    Records of burial were kept haphazardly throughout Scotland. Some parishes chose not to record burial details at all and many records do not date back very far. Where they have been kept the information is often sparse and unclear. For example, the name of the deceased is usually given along with a date. It is however unclear whether the date refers to the person's date of burial or their date of death. It is rare to find two dates for both events for the same person recorded.

    Burial records for women in Scotland can be harder to find. A woman may be recorded by her married name only, such as 'Wife of William Simpson' or 'Widow Simpson' with no first name. A woman may also be recorded by her married name or her maiden name, making identification harder.

    In rare cases you will find additional information supplied in a burial register, including the person's place of residence, their occupation, age at death and cause of death.

    Some transcriptions are available online, including the Scotland, Stirlingshire and Perthshire Burials collection at MyHeritage, dating from 1755 onwards.

    Other death records in ScotlandOther death records in Scotland

    memorial inscription
    Headstone of Robert Fergusson in Edinburgh

    You may find further evidence of your Scottish ancestors death in the records below:

    • Newspaper records- A notice of death or an obituary may have been placed for your ancestor in their local newspaper. Some of these are available online, such as in the Scotland, Funeral Notices and Obituaries collection at MyHeritage.
    • Memorial inscriptions- An ancestor's date of death may be etched into their headstone. This is sometimes accompanied with a date of birth. The date of death may be a precise date or only the year may be given. Not all of our ancestors were wealthy enough to afford a headstone and of those that do survive, many are illegible.
    • Wills- Your Scottish ancestor may have written a will detailing how they wished their estate to be divided upon their death. These are held at Scotland's People. You can be sure that the subject person died after the will was written but before the testament was written (equivalent to English probate).
    • Other sources- You may find reference to your Scottish ancestor's death recorded in kirk sessions, military records, school registers, occupational records and inquest reports.

    See alsoSee also

    Explore more about death records in ScotlandExplore more about death records in Scotland

    References

    1. ↑ Statutory register of deaths


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