Cathcart, Renfrewshire, Scotland Genealogy

Cathcart (#560)

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

History
CATHCART, a parish, partly in the Lower ward of the county of Lanark, but chiefly in the Upper ward of the county of Renfrew; including the villages of New and Old Cathcart, Clarkston, Crosshill, Crossmy-loof, Hanginshaw, Langside, Millbridge, and Netherlee; 3 miles (S.) from Glasgow. This place, which is supposed to have derived its name, of Celtic origin, from the situation of its castle on the river Cart, is of remote antiquity. The old church was greatly dilapidated, taken down, and the present church erected, in 1832. It is a handsome structure in the later English style, with a square embattled tower.

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 THE STATISTICAL ACCOUNTS OF SCOTLAND 1791-1845; Click on ‘Browse scanned pages’ then search the parish reports for Cathcart. 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 census records.

Here is a list of the FS Library microfilm numbers for the as well as the library numbers for any surname indexes available:

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 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 also be indexed in other FamilySearch collections for Scotland. Births: The record prior to July 1792 is tabulated. Marriages: After 1785, the fact of marriage is often omitted in the entries of proclamation. Irregular marriages, however, are not infrequent in the record. Deaths: Date of death recorded prior to 1787; after that date the record is one of burials. Note: Cathcart is in greater Glasgow area - see also Lanarkshire Source: Key to the Parochial Registers of Scotland, by V. Ben Bloxham, pub. 1970. British Book 941 K23b.

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:

Cathcart Kirk Session

Minutes 1701–1902 Heritors’ Minutes 1786–1832 Accounts 1759–1822 Communion Roll 1838–1896 Note: Available at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh, and the Glasgow City Archives, Mitchell Library, Glasgow, record CH2/732.

Crosshill Kirk Session
Minutes 1854–1879 Register of Baptisms 1854–1888 Seat Rents 1838–1857. Note: Available at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh, and the Glasgow City Archives, Mitchell Library, Glasgow, records CH2/1231.

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 List.

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
Cathcart was under the probate jurisdiction of the Commissary Court of Glagow until 1823, and since then has been under the Sheriff's Court of Paisley. 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 Renfrew and the subject of 'Probate records.' Then click on the link to the records of the Commissariat of Glasgow.

The library also has some post-1823 probate records for Renfrew. Look in the library catalog for the 'Place-names' of Renfrew and the subjects of 'Probate Records' and 'Probate Records - Indexes.' Read more about Scotland Probate Records.