Tips for finding our ancestors in the 1911 census

As many of you will know the 1911 census for Scotland is not available on Findmypast or Ancestry. The Orkney 1911 census has been transcribed and is available from the Orkney FHS.

This means that we have to use the census on ScotlandsPeople which is a pay-per-view website. If we are researching a common name in a densely populated area we may have to look at many entries before we find the right one. 

How can we save those credits?

I will be sharing some tips at our conference on 30 January 2021 but here is one for you today.

Use Street Indexes

Before the census was available to public access, street indexes were prepared for large towns and cities. These can be helpful as they tell you which streets are in each registration district and even which census enumeration book. 

For example, earlier today I was searching for someone who I knew had been living at 272 Buchanan Street Glasgow in 1909. I wanted to work out from the ScotlandsPeople index (without paying anything) if any of the possible results could relate to 272 Buchanan Street.

First I went to the census street index for Glasgow and I was told that 272 Buchanan Street was in registration district number 644/8 and the relevant enumeration book was number 29.

Sadly you can’t use these reference numbers to search on ScotlandsPeople so I needed to work out what the name of registration district number 644/8 was in 1911. For rural areas, this isn’t such a problem but there are loads of districts in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Dundee. It can all get a bit confusing. 

I now headed to the ‘Registration District guide - Glasgow’ which told me that in 1911 (very important to look at the date column) 644/8 was St. Rollox registration district.

I could now return to ScotlandsPeople and narrow down my search to St. Rollox. You can’t narrow it down to the enumeration book but we are looking for entries from 644/8 29. 

On ScotlandsPeople you will also see a page number as part of the reference number, for example we may see, ‘644/8 29/ 26’ This is registration district (RD) 644/8, enumeration book 29, page 26.

If I had originally thought that the entry with the reference 644/8 29/ 26 was 272 Buchanan Street, Glasgow, I would now know that it wasn’t and therefore I could save my credits for another search.

There are 1911 Census Street Indexes for the following places in Scotland:

Aberdeen

Ayr

Bonhill

Bothkennar, Grangemouth and Polmont

Bothwell, Holytown and Bellshill

Cambusnethan

Dalziel

Dumfries

Dunbarton

Dundee

Dunfermline

East and West Calder

Edinburgh

Falkirk

Glasgow

Greenock, Gourock and Port Glasgow

Hamilton

Hawick

Inverness

Kilmarnock

Kirkcaldy and Dysart

Lewis and Harris

Montrose

New Kilpatrick

New Monkland

Old Kilpatrick

Old Monkland - Western District, Coatbridge and Old Monkland - Eastern District

Paisley, Johnstone and Elderslie

Perth

Skye

St Ninians

Stirling

The Street Indexes are free from the National Records of Scotland here: https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/research/guides/census-records/1911-census#Street%20indexes

The ‘Parishes and Registration Districts of Scotland by name’ guide (1.4 MB pdf) lists all parishes and districts in alphabetical order with the dates during which each was operative. There are also pages with further breakdowns of the cities of Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow. See: https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/research/guides/statutory-registers/registration-districts

I hope this helps you understand the referencing system a bit more and will hopefully save you some of those credits while you hunt for your ancestors. Hope you can join us at the next conference for more Scottish genealogy tips!

Understanding Our "Lunatic" Ancestors

Lunatic, Imbecile or Feebleminded

It can be quite a shock for many people when they first see the column on census pages headed: “If any person in this Schedule is:- … Lunatic, Imbecile or Feebleminded”. Variations on this question were asked from 1871, when the question was “Whether: 1. Deaf-and-Dumb 2. Blind 3. Imbecile or Idiot 4. Lunatic.” What can come as a greater shock than the phrasing of the question is when we discover that our ancestor is listed as an “Imbecile” or a “Lunatic”!

Greater Understanding

As time has passed a greater understanding of mental health has led to kinder and more specific terminology as well as huge improvements in the help available for sufferers. When we see such a reference we may immediately want to know more about the condition our ancestors had.

The Archives

In Scotland there is a fabulous resource held by the National Records of Scotland (NRS). Whilst these politically incorrect terms are used in the records there is also a description of the facts as seen by the doctor at the time, and as related to the doctor by other individuals. This means we can move beyond the words “lunatic” or “idiot” and understand more about the people behind the terms and how they were suffering”.

The documents are recorded under the reference ‘MC’ in the NRS. The most informative series is MC2 which is entitled “Notices of Admissions by the Superintendent of the Mental Institutions”. These notices of admissions start in 1858. There is also a register, containing less detail. The register begins in 1858 but includes all those already within the system at that point in time. So if somebody entered an asylum in 1820 and was still there in 1858 they are in the register but a person committed in 1850 but who left in 1856 will not be in the register. The references for these registers begin MC7 (see the NRS catalogue for years and full references).

Example

Let’s say then we have been doing some research and we have come across Marjory Methven in the 1861 census, who is listed as a patient in the Royal Lunatic Asylum. We may want to learn more about poor Marjory.

I have found her in the “Notices of Admissions by the Superintendent of the Mental Institutions”. The record begins:

“I herby give you notice, That Marjory Spence or Burrell or Methven, a pauper lunatic of the Parish of Edinburgh was received into the Eastern Division of the  Poorhouse Edinburgh as an Insane person on the Twenty-third day of February and I herewith transmit a Copy of the Order and Medical Certificates and Statement on which she was received…” [this notice was signed by a doctor in March 1858].

On the next page is a form to be filled out, asking again for name, age, marital status etc. It also asks:

8 - Length of Time Insane

9 - Whether first attack

10 - Age (if known) on first Attack

14 - Whether subject to Epilepsy

15 - Whether Suicidal

16 - Whether Dangerous to others

17 - Parish or Union to which the Lunatic is Chargeable

18 - Christian Name and Surname, and Place of Abode, of nearest known Relative of the Patient, and degree of Relationship (if known), and whether any Member of his Family known to be or have been Insane

In our case questions 8-13 are answered as “Not Known”, and questions 14-16 are answered as “No”. Number 18 gives the detail: “Miller Methven, her husband, 203 Cannongate. Not known whether any of the family are or have been insane.” [this page is again signed, this time by the Inspector of the Poor].

Next we have a notice from the Sheriff-Clerks Office saying that Marjory Spence or Methven can be admitted.

The Facts of the Case

On the following page we have the medical certificate, which is where we begin to find out some real detail about poor Marjory.

“I, the undersigned John Smith M.D., being a Physician and being in actual practice as a Physician do hereby certify, on soul and conscience, that I have this day at the Eastern Division of the Edinburgh Poor House in the County of Mid-Lothian separately from any other Medical Practitioner, visited and personally examined Marjory Spence or Birrell or Methven, and that the said Marjory Spence or Birrell or Methven is a Lunatic and a proper Person to be detained in a Poorhouse under care and treatment, and that I have formed this opinion upon the following grounds, viz: -

1. Facts observed by myself: She says she has just come over from Kirkcaldy to be crowned Queen, that she received papers telling her to do so, that the papers were given by Soldiers, but she does not know who sent the papers. - Was taken up by the Police, having a crowd about her calling out Victoria.

(Signed) John Smith M.D. Physician, 20 Charlotte Square.

We have a second physician, completing the same form:

. . . I have formed this opinion upon the following grounds viz: -

1. Her fantastic dress & incoherent language. She labours under delusions, for example that she is Queen of England, and that she is about to be married to a Nobleman.

(Signed) William D. Adams M.D., 5 Argyle Square

And there you have it, that’s the sort of thing you can find in the MC records held by the National Records of Scotland. These records can certainly help us to have an insight into our ancestors.

Indexing

If you need help to access these records please get in touch. Records under 100 years old are not available to the public but earlier records can be consulted. There was an index created but at the time the closure on the records was only 75 years. This means that the index itself is now closed as some of the material indexed is from less than 100 years ago. The best finding aid at the present time is therefore the register of lunatics, NRS reference  MC7. This gives date(s) of admission and a number. This number stays with the same individual throughout their admissions.

What we really need is an index, as in the case of so many valuable records at the NRS. If you would like to volunteer to help please get in touch with me.