Monklands Memories - Airdrie & Coatbridge areas

However, when you begin your family tree, it will probably become very interesting and you may wish to research other branches of your family.

The primary resources for this in Scotland are:

• the statutory registers of births, marriages and deaths (from 1855)
• the old (Church of Scotland) parish registers (1553 -1854)
• the enumerated census returns (1841 -1901)

North   Lanarkshire Council hold various information as follows:

Burial records are currently held in fireproof safes and are unavailable for inspection unless required by the lair holder. The lair holder has the right to inspect any relevant record. Lair searches can be carried out by arrangement, please note there may be a cost for this service and they may take some time to conclude. The form entitled Request for Search of Cemetery Records should be completed and submitted to the cemetery administration office.

There are a number of information sources for your family history research available within the Council's Museums and Heritage service.

Family history resources available within the Council

Old parish registers on Microfilm

Bothwell Parish 1671-1854
Cadder Parish 1662-1854
Cambusnethan Parish
Dalziel Parish
New Monkland Parish 1693-1854
Old Monkland Parish 1695-1854
Shotts Parish 1707-1854

Census Returns on Microfilm

Bothwell Parish
Cambusnethan Parish
Dalziel Parish
New Monkland Parish 1841-1901
Old Monkland Parish 1841-1901
Shotts Parish 1841-1881

Cemetery records

Indices to several cemeteries in North Lanarkshire are available within the Museums and Heritage Section.

Cemeteries Administrative Assistant
Environmental Services
Old Edinburgh Road
Bellshill
ML4 3JS
Send a message to Cemeteries
Phone: 01698 506300
 

School records

A database of the school record holdings for the area of North Lanarkshire is available at the Archives.

Valuation rolls

Burgh of Airdrie 1855-1950, 1957-1960 and 1961-1974
Burgh of Coatbridge 1886-1950 and 1967-1974
Cumbernauld 1963-1975, 1975-1976, 1977-1985, 1987-1988 and 1989-1996
Joint Burgh of Motherwell and Wishaw 1948-1949 and 1967-1994
Monklands District Council 1975-1993
North Lanarkshire Council 1996-1997 and 2001-2002
[Valuation rolls not held within the Council can be accessed at the National Archives of Scotland in Edinburgh]

Local Newspapers

Airdrie and Coatbridge Advertiser 1855-present
Airdrie and Coatbridge Luminary 1847 and 1851-1851
Airdrie Journal 1850-1851
Airdrie Literary Album 1828-1829
Bellshill Speaker 1898-present
Coatbridge and Airdrie Standard 1868
Coatbridge Express 1885-1951
Coatbridge Leader 1905-1955
Cumbernauld News 1961-1977
Hamilton Advertiser 1862-1875
Kilsyth Chronicle 1959-2005
Motherwell Times 1883-present
Wishaw Press 1873-present

Family history resources held outwith North Lanarkshire

Births Marriages and Deaths

Information is available online from the General Register Office web site and allows access to 400 years of births and marriages in Scotland and to Scottish wills. This resource comprises 50 million records, with searchable indexes and images of many records.

• Scottish births from 1553 -1905
• Marriages from 1553 - 1930
• Deaths from 1855 -1955
• Census data from 1841-1901
• Scottish wills from 1513 - 1901

Poor relief records

Poor relief records for Lanarkshire and Dunbartonshire are held at Glasgow City Archives, The Mitchell Library, Glasgow.

Police personnel records

Surviving police personnel records where the successor force was Strathclyde Police are held at Glasgow City Archives, The Mitchell Library, Glasgow.

How to begin Family History

Start with your own birth certificate - this should give you the exact date and place of your parents' marriage. With this information, you should be able to trace their marriage certificate which will give you their ages, although not their exact dates of birth. This should lead you to their birth certificates and then backwards to your grandparents.

Useful Tips

• talk to older members of your family as they should be able to provide useful leads, e.g. "Your grandfather was a policeman in Glasgow"
• remember to take notes about where you found your information as it may be necessary to re-check details
• speak to other people who are doing family history research as they may be able to give you some useful tips

Staff at NLC Archives and at the The Discovery Room - (Local Studies Libraries) in Airdrie and Motherwell can also help you with your research.