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Statutory Registration did not begin in Scotland until 1855. The next best thing to a birth certificate would be if you were able to find a christening recorded in the OPRs. Most of these refer to Church of Scotland records so if you family belonged to a different church you would have to source those records.

The birth certificate for Wilkinson Oxley born in 1839 in Newcastle upon Tyne is the way forward. That may be the only way to find Margaret's maiden surname for sure. Without Margaret's maiden surname any marriage you find would be based on guesswork.

I had a look at the tree on Ancestry but the source details for Wilkinson's birth is just the reference from Freebmd - not his birth certificate. No source for his marriage and again only the Freebmd reference for his death. If fact for all the children of George Oxley and Margaret "Haldane", there are no sources other than census and freebmd index references.

Please come back and let us know if Margaret was a Haldane (just curious as I know someone who has Adam Haldane in her tree!)

Thanks for your help. Still unable to find the Scottish births (pah!) but have ordered Wilkinson's birth certificate. Hopefully this will give me more information on his parents. Thanks again.

Further to Tempest's post: You can access the GRO via: http://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/

Scottish BMDs usually provide more info than English ones. However, civil registration didn't begin there until 1855, so you'll want Old Parish Records. Scottish OPRs are usually more informative than English OPRs. They usually give the mother's MS (maiden surname) on baptisms (actually, they usually don't call her by her married name). If you're lucky, a minimum block of credits might buy 5 images (OPRs, older BMDs, census pages are all same price).

FYI - there's a map showing East Lothian parishes (back then, Haddington, but they've all SCT counties) at:
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/gazetteer/

For England and Wales certs if you know the GRO reference you can order them from www.gro.gov.uk certs are £9.25 (cheaper than anywhere else) you order them online and are posted to you, usually within 7 days

For Scotland use www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk it's pay per search and generally you can view certs/parish register entries online. Once you have registered with them, you buy credits online

Also, I'm not sure how to go about ordering copies of birth certificates. Who would I contact?

Sorry, I've been offline for a while. I have the above information, I'm sorry if I wasn't clear enough, but am really grateful for your help. I can trace the above family all the way to present without any disruption. I have found the birth records for every member of this family to present day but have been unable to find records for Margaret (mother) or her first 3 children (Margaret, Joseph and James) all of whom were born in Scotland. I was hoping there was somebody out there who had access to records that I've been unable to access. I am unsure of Margaret's maiden name but have found the record of a marriage between Margaret Haldane and George Oxley in Prestonpans East Lothian. George disappears from this point but is listed as Mary's father on her birth record. This suggests he died (?) immediately prior to the 1841 cencus. To be honest I just wanted something a little more conclusive to help me try and go back further. Thanks for all your help so far. It's much appreciated.

This looks like the same family in 1851.

Name: Margaret Oxley
Age: 40
Estimated birth year: abt 1811
Relation: Head
Gender: Female
Where born: Scotland

Civil parish: Monkwearmouth
Ecclesiastical parish: All Saints
County/Island: Durham
Country: England

Condition as to marriage: Widow

Disability: View image

Registration district: Sunderland
Sub-registration district: Monk
ED, institution, or vessel: 1a
Neighbors: View others on page
Household schedule number: 161
Household Members: Name Age
Margaret Oxley 40 b. Scotland
Joseph Oxley 17 Coal Miner, b. Scotland
James Oxley 14 Coal Miner, b. Scotland
Wilkinson Oxley 11
Mary W Oxley 9
Joseph Russek 21 Boarder
Margaret Russek 19 Boarder

Source Citation: Class: HO107; Piece: 2398; Folio: 25; Page: 43; GSU roll: 87076.



So this birth certificate will give Margaret's husband's name and her maiden surname?

Surname First name(s) District Vol Page

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Births Dec 1839 (>99%)
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Oxley Wilkinson Newcastle on Tyne 25 337

1841 England Census
Civil parish: Winlaton
Hundred: Chester (West Division)
County/Island: Durham
Country: England
Street Address: Low Town End Winlaton
Registration district: Gateshead
Sub-registration district: Winlaton

Margaret Oxley 28 Scotland
Margaret Oxley 9 Scotland
Joseph Oxley 8 Scotland
James Oxley 4 Scotland
Wilkinson Oxley 1 1/2 Not in Co Durham

Source Citation: Class: HO107; Piece 302; Book: 7; Civil Parish: Winlaton; County: Durham; Enumeration District: 1; Folio: 12; Page: 21; Line: 11; GSU roll: 241349.

[Ancestry has a contributed alteration for Wilkinson's pob, viz. Newcastle (Gallowgate), Northumberland, England]

You might contact the contributor - if you don't have Ancestry, I'll forward a message if you pm it to me. However, the contributor hasn't used Ancestry for over 6 months.

their is a tree on ancestry that lists this family the dates appear correct so far as i can tell

I have broached this subject before and received some good information. However I remain stuck in a rut and am hoping someone with access to more information might help me out.
I am trying to find any record of the following births:
MARGARET OXLEY c.1832 SCOTLAND
JOSEPH OXLEY c. 1833 SCOTLAND
JAMES OXLEY c.1837 SCOTLAND
Their mother is called Margaret Oxley (possibly nee Haldane) and the father of a later sibling MARY WILKIN is listed as George Oxley on the IGI index. I'd really appreciate any help.