Symington, Lanarkshire, Scotland Genealogy

Symington (#657)

This is a guide to the history and major genealogical records of Scotland as they pertain to the parish of Symington. To learn more about how to use these records to search for your ancestors, go to the Scotland: Research Strategies.

History
SYMINGTON, a parish, in the Upper ward of the county of Lanark, 3½ miles (S. W.) from Biggar. This place derived its name, originally "Symon's Town," from its ancient proprietor, Symon Loccard, who, having in the reign of Malcolm IV. obtained a grant of the lands, fixed his residence here, and also erected a chapel, which subsequently became the parish church. The church is an ancient structure, repaired in 1761, and enlarged in 1820, and which again underwent a thorough repair in the year 1845; it contains 300 sittings.

The New Statistical Account of Scotland (pub. 1834-45) offers uniquely rich and detailed parish reports for the whole of Scotland, covering a vast range of topics including history, agriculture, education, trades, religion and social customs. The reports, written by the parish ministers, are available online at http://edina.ac.uk/stat-acc-scot/. Click on ‘Browse scanned pages’ then search the parish reports for [parish]. Also available at the.

Census Records
A census is a count and description of the population, taken by the government, arranged by locality and by household. Read more about Scotland Census Records.

Click here for a list of the FS Library microfilm numbers for the

Below is information for any known surname indexes:

The 1901 census of Scotland is indexed on www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk. To use it, you must register and pay a small access fee. All available censuses, 1841-1901, are indexed on this website. It may be easier for you to pay to use the website rather than access indexes through the library.

Church Records
The Established Church of Scotland was Presbyterian. Read more about Scotland Church Records.

Here are the pre-1855 records that exist for this parish.

Condition of Original Registers
Indexed: For an index to these records, see Scotland’s People website, a pay-for-view website. The Scottish Church Records Index is also still available at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. Some records may be indexed in the [https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/5 International Genealogical Index. ] Births: The first page contains mostly irregular entries January 1691–1709. There are no entries, except for two 1708, 1712, May 1708–November 1742. After November 1794, there are three pages containing entries of the families of successive ministers of the parish, preceded by the marriages of the parents, 1747–1801 and one marriage 1807. Marriages: Proclamation fees, with occasional entries of sums collected at marriages, intermixed throughout with other matters. There are no entries July 1709–February 1743. Deaths: Mortcloth Dues are intermixed with the entries of proclamation fees, etc. Source: Key to the Parochial Registers of Scotland, by V. Ben Bloxham, pub. 1970. British Book.

Established Church—Kirk Session Records
The Kirk session was the court of the parish. The session was made up of the minister and the land owners and business men of the parish, chosen to serve on the session. The Kirk session dealt with moral issues, minor criminal cases, matters of the poor and education, matters of discipline, and the general concerns of the parish. Kirk session records may also mention births, marriages, and deaths.

Here is a list of the surviving Kirk session records for this parish: 

Minutes 1689–1705, 1716–1736, 1778–1934 Collections 1714–1723 Cash Book 1787–1818, 1932–1944 Accounts 1782–1934 Note: Available at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh, record CH2/728.

Nonconformist Church Records
A nonconformist church is any church that is not the Established church. Read more about nonconformity in Scotland in the article on the Scotland Church Records Union Lists.

There are none.

Civil Registration Records
Government or civil registration of births, marriages, and deaths (also called statutory records) began on January 1, 1855 in Scotland. Each parish has a registrar's office and large cities have several. The records are created by the registrars and copies are sent to the General Register Office in Edinburgh. Annual indexes are then created for the records for the whole country. See the article on Scotland Civil Registration  for more information and to access the records.

Probate Records
Symington was under the probate jurisdiction of the Commissary Court of Lanark until 1823, and since then has been under the Sheriff's Court of Glasgow. Probate records for 1513- 1901 are indexed online at www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk. You must register on the website but use of the index to probate records, called 'Wills &amp; Testaments,' is free. You may then purchase a copy of the document or, if the document is before 1823, it will be on microfilm at the Family History Library. To find the microfilm numbers, search in the library catalog for the 'Place-names' of Lanark and the subject of 'Probate records.' Then click on the link to the records of the Commissariat of Symington. The library also has some post-1823 probate records for Lanark. Look in the library catalog for the 'Place-names' of Lanark and the subjects of 'Probate Records' and 'Probate Records - Indexes.'

Read more about Scotland Probate Records.