West Lothian Council delivers

Family history and genealogy - searches

 

Family history resources for West Lothian are held in the West Lothian Local History Library in Linlithgow.

• Census Records 1841-1901
• Old Parish Records pre-1855
• Monumental Inscriptions (pre-1855)
• Poll and Hearth Tax records of the 1690s
• Valuation Rolls 1855 to the present
• Voters' Rolls 1869 to the present

For online access to censuses including the 1911 census, and Old Parish Records, go to the Scotlandspeople (new window) website.

For free online access to old parish records, go to the Familysearch (new window) website. 

For areas outside West Lothian, the Local History Library holds :

• IGI for Scotland and Ireland
• Index to the 1891 Census for the whole of Scotland
• the 1881 Census for Great Britain on CDs
• 1851 census indexes for many parts of Scotland
• Monumental Inscriptions for many parts of Scotland

 

Local newspapers

Local newspapers for West Lothian are held from 1873 onwards.  They are all in microfilm format and print-outs can be made.   The three main ones - West Lothian Courier, Linlithgow Gazette and Midlothian Advertiser - are indexed, and the newspaper index (new window) can be searched online.  The birth, marriage and death notices have not been indexed, but there is an index entry to all obituaries. 

The library holds:

• West Lothian Courier 1873 to date
• Linlithgowshire Gazette 1891 to date
• Midlothian Advertiser 1906-67
• Bo'ness Journal and Linlithgowshire Advertiser  1870-1950
• Lothians Express 1893-1921
• West Lothian Herald and Post 1996 to date
• Edinburgh Evening Courant 1780-1812

 

Birth, marriage and death certificates

To get a birth, marriage or death certificate...

Apply to any Scottish Registrar's office - in West Lothian, Tel. 01506 281894, or email registration@westlothian.gov.uk

OR

Go online - www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk (new window)

OR

Visit the ScotlandsPeople Centre, New Register House, Princes Street, Edinburgh.

 

Burial Records

To find West Lothian burial records after 1855, contact the West Lothian Council Cemeteries Service, County Buildings, High Street, Linlithgow, EH49 7EZ.  Tel. 01506 282315.

To find West Lothian burial records before 1855, contact the West Lothian Local History Library. 

More on  Burial Records ...

updated 09/01/12