Services
- Birth, marriage and death
- Birth - registering
- Births - historical searches
- Civil partnerships
- Copies of birth, marriage and death certificates
- Death - advice and support
- Death - funerals and cremations
- Death - registration
- Death - repatriation of bodies
- Deaths - historical searches
- Marriage - ceremonies
- Marriage - registering a place of worship
- Marriages - historical searches
- Registering a stillbirth
Deaths - historical searches
Sources in the West Lothian Local History Library for tracing deaths before 1855:
- old parish registers for West Lothian - from c.17th century till 1854 - some include deaths, or hire of mortcloths
- Monumental Inscriptions pre-1855 (pre-1855 gravestones)
Local newspapers - the Library holds a range of local newspapers including
- West Lothian Courier 1873 to date
- Linlithgowshire Journal and Gazette 1891 to date
- Midlothian Advertiser 1906-1967
- Livingston Post 1968-1981
- Bo'ness Journal and Linlithgowshire Advertiser 1879-1950
- Lothians Express 1893-1921
- Edinburgh Evening Courant 1780-1812
- West Lothian Herald and Post 1996 to date
Most of these papers included death notices. The newspapers can be viewed on microfilm in the library, and the local newspaper index (new window) to the first three titles above can be searched online. Although birth, marriage and death notices were not indexed, obituaries are indexed and the newspapers often included reports on accidental deaths - e.g. pit disasters, road accidents, etc.
For other parts of Scotland, the Local History Library holds:
- the International Genealogical Index (based on old parish registers) for the whole of Scotland and Ireland
- Monumental Inscriptions for many parts of Scotland
For burial records after 1855, contact West Lothian Council Cemeteries Section , County Buildings, Linlithgow, EH49 7EZ. Tel. 01506 775240.
Statutory Records (from 1855 on)
To search for statutory records (birth, marriage or death certificates, from 1855 on), there are three options:
- go to the Scotlandspeople website (new window)
- visit New Register House (new window) , Princes Street, Edinburgh. Tel. 0131 314 4449 or 4450
- contact your local registrar's office - see phone book under Registration Service.
For online sources, see the links on the right of this page.
To get a copy birth, marriage or death certificate:
- apply to any Scottish Registrar's office
OR
- go online - www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk (new window)
OR
- apply to GROS, New Register House (new window).
