Free access to 1901 Scottish Census?

[dycer]

I am sure I read somwhere that there was free access to the above Census in Register House in Edinburgh.

You will appreciate my chagrin when I visited on Monday 23 May to be told it would cost me £17.00 to access before 1.00 p.m. and £10.00 afterwards(I spent much of my formative years in Aberdeen ).

The Receptionist advised me to try Edinburgh City Library as there may be a copy held, which I could access for free, but the Library was closed due to the local holiday.

I am merely trying to ascertain the dates of birth of my Uncles' who lived in Haddington.

My question,therefore,does any Pal know if Edinburgh City Library or Haddington Library holds the 1901 Census information or will I just have to be sensible and download the information from the Web-Site?

Thanks in anticipation

George

[PPCLI]

Hi George,

Sorry, don't know about the holdings of Edinburgh City Library or Haddington Library - give them a phone? Or do ex-Aberdonians only phone when a freephone 0800 number is available

Joking aside, my reason for replying was to say that if a library does hold a copy of the 1901 census for the local area, it will only be available on microfilm, rather than on a searchable database. So unless you don't mind trawling through (possibly) reels of film, then maybe £6.00 spent online would be easier. Also, if you know where your uncles were born, then with a good search method your £6.00 should be enough to find census info (1891, 1901) and birth certificates for each of them.

Cheers,

Stuart

[dycer]

Stuart,

Thanks for the reply.

You are probably right about the 0800 number

I won't go into the cost of travelling up to Edinburgh,two nights accommodation plus ,of course,letting my Wife loose in Princes Street as I could not "cool her heels" looking at dusty Census Records!

Dowload seems logical,although I am particularly interested in My Uncles,they were members of a large family so goodness knows what else will turn up.I'll be happy as long as the 1901 Census information agrees with my Father's Birth Certificate!

Ta again.

George

[kinnethmont]

George

I am from Aberdeenshire so the Aberdonian influence extends out to here. We also eat butteries.

The £17 price at New Register House is for all day access ie entry before 1pm. £10 is for afternoon ie after 1pm.

It is, in fact, a bit of a bargain which allows you to seach through Births, Deaths. Marriages, etc from 1855 to date. Also Census records. In my view, their on-line service is a bit of a rip off by comparison.

[dycer]

Jas,

Thanks for the info.It makes sense to be honest cos looking at the Census on-line I would have to keep going back for birth certificates, etc.I'll bear it in my mind next time I'm up(I'm exiled,living in Cheshire).

Butteries,now you are talking!Not sure if you know Dyce(it was in Aberdeenshire when I lived there).Had to stock up with Butteries and Mealie Puddings from a large Supermarket whilst on the same trip.Mince and Tatties and Mealie Puddings is,as a native Fifer,one of the most important culinary dishes Aberdeen gave to the World

Thank you again for the advice and trust it assist others.

George

[PPCLI]

The £17 price at New Register House is for all day access ie entry before 1pm. £10 is for afternoon ie after 1pm.

It is, in fact, a bit of a bargain which allows you to seach through Births, Deaths. Marriages, etc from 1855 to date. Also Census records.  In my view, their on-line service is a bit of a rip off by comparison.

I agree. A day spent at New Register House is money very well spent (genealogy-speaking). I know it costs to get in and people argue as to whether you should have to pay for public records (they're actually Crown copyright), but I'm sure that a lot of the money has been ploughed back into the digitisation process.

In comparison to the rest of the UK (well, England and Wales, unsure about N.I.) Scottish records are relatively easy to search. Sitting in Register House, even the birth of a person with a common name in a big town can be found fairly easily by on-screen searching of the digitised records. In England and Wales only the index is available, you would then have to send off (at cost) for each individual certificate to see which one is 'yours'. At New Register House it is possible to trace back generations of one family in a day.

But Jas is right, the online service is very expensive in comparison. The only benefit of it is if you're not in a position to get to Edinburgh (I'm in the same boat - also exiled down south). Go on George, get yourself a midweek trip up to Auld Reekie. You know it makes sense. (And while you're thee could you find my great uncle John's......

All the best,

Stuart

[Max]

Whilst being the first to encourage the seperation of a Scotsman from his money (however difficult a task that this may be) I do think that those north of the border are getting a bit of a raw deal when compared to their southern cousins.

Access to public records in their original form should be free at the point of use, and charges only made when these records have been made available in a different format i.e. indexed and available on the web.

IMO the records are yours regrdless of the niceties of "Crown copyright".

Andy

[dycer]

Stuart,

Don't tempt me! I can see a money making scheme being developed here,like Mr Baker,Professional Searches undertaken on Scottish Census info at £50.00 an hour." Well I did live in Aberdeen(shire) for 11 years.

Next visit home,to Dyce,is likely to be by train.The better half though, preferred the slow saunter via Edinburgh instead of the normal "bomb" up the M6,M74,A90.So I'm sure we'll be in Edinburgh again soon,assuming there is anything left after July!I'll be in touch at the appropriate time re your Uncle.One of my Uncles was John Souness,we're not looking for the same man are we?

George(no relation to the Newcastle Manager !)

[PPCLI]

Whilst being the first to encourage the seperation of a Scotsman from his money (however difficult a task that this may be) I do think that those north of the border are getting a bit of a raw deal when compared to their southern cousins.

Access to public records in their original form should be free at the point of use, and charges only made when these records have been made available in a different format i.e. indexed and available on the web.

Hi Andy,

I agree about the Crown Copyright part, but not about the raw deal. Unless I've missed something I can't see where our southern cousins are getting such a great deal. Yes, they can pop into the FRC in London and it's free to look at the indexes of births, marriages, etc, but then what? Send off for each individual certificate that will cost £7.00 a time.

In Edinburgh, you may have to pay to get through the door, but you get straight to the actual register entries (digitised on-screen), not just the index. If you have a reasonably straightforward family to research you can get huge amounts of information in just one day. A similar amount of individual certificates would cost you several hundred pounds to purchase in England and Wales, and you would have to wait a couple of weeks for them to arrive (and make sure they were the ones you thought they were!).

You may not hear this often, but I am one Scotsman that is quite happy to pay out £17.00 for a day. In fact I've paid out £54.00 (or something similar) for the week. I have tried to do a little research on one offshoot of my family that were in England in the 1830s and found it quite impossible.

If I've missed some crucial fact about researching in England and Wales please let me know, then I'll be able to tidy up my loose end and start on my wife's family.

Cheers,

Stuart

[i did not receive any money from the Crown for this reply ]

[larneman]

[i did not receive any money from the Crown ]

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

So if I play a bit of sherlocking:-

You are not a civil servant or in the military or in local government employ, sick or unemployed, a student, have young children, pensioner, a youth under 16. Wonder what I missed Watson...

I know, your a Scot

Have a nice day anyway

Liam

[PPCLI]

So if I play a bit of sherlocking:-

You are not a civil servant or in the military or in local government employ, sick or unemployed, a student, have young children, pensioner, a youth under 16. Wonder what I missed Watson...

You're doing a great impersonation so far Mr. Holmes, you just need to work on your accent However, once your on the opium you'll know you've gone too far!

What I meant was that my reply wasn't an advert to aid the Crown's coffers via New Register House.

Cheers,

Stuart

[larneman]

What I meant was that my reply wasn't an advert to aid the Crown's coffers via New Register House.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Sorry Stuart,

but I could let a chance like that pass me by,

It shall to do with being from Larne I think

Liam

[dycer]

Stuart,

I knew what you meant!

It's to be hoped that the money I spend,thanks to yours and Jas' advice,plus the money you both have already spent, is reinvested in Register House for the benefit of future researchers.

I have to say I would rather spend my money in Edinburgh in Register House rather than on the " Braveheart" Character who was posing for photographs with tourists on the approach to the Esplanade but don't start me off about having to pay to get into the Castle (I know about free access to the SNWM but it's a bit of a beggar having to pay to visit my Family's Regimental Museum,Royal Scots unless someone can assure me that some of the entrance fee goes to support the Museum?) .

George