Rothiemay, Banffshire, Scotland Genealogy

Rothiemay (#165)

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

History
ROTHIEMAY, a parish, in the county of Banff, 5½ miles (N. by E.) from Huntly; containing the village of Milltown. This place, of which the name is of uncertain derivation, belonged in the reign of Malcolm IV., to the family of the Abernethys. The church, which is situated near the village, is a neat and substantial structure erected about the beginning of the present century, and is well adapted to the accommodation of the parishioners. The members of the Free Church have a place of worship.

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 your parish of interest. 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 Family History 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
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—
Index: 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 regular record begins February 1677. Eight entries prior to this date, October 1658–October 1660, have been copied from the session minutes. No entries July 1691–May 1693 and July 1710–January 1748, except five entries 1739–1746. Beginning at 1748 is a copy. The earliest entry now extant in the original record is dated May 30th 1749 and the latest August 7th 1778. Six pages of irregular entries dated 1740–1797 follow the 1819 entries. Marriages: No entries exist December 1602–1604, 1631–1644, 1651–1658, 1661–1677, 1707–1721, 1736–1751, and November 1768–June 1771. There is a duplicate of the portion from 1751–1777. From 1601–1649 the marriages are intermixed with the session minutes. The entries 1649–1661 are copied from the session minutes. Deaths: Mortcloth Dues, etc. 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:

Minutes 1649–1672, 1686–1737, 1827–1872 Miscellaneous Papers 1643–1686 Collections and Distributions 1717–1730 Ledger - Tithes 1822–1824, 1828–1831 Note: Available at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh, records CH2/416.

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.

Rothiemay Free Church
History— At the Disruption, this parish was organized and met for a time in temporary quarters. They built a manse and school with a house for the teacher, and in 1852 erected a church. Membership: 1848, 310; 1900, 246. Source: Annals of the Free Church of Scotland, 1843–1900, ed. Rev. William Ewing, D.D., 2 vols. pub. 1914. Film #918572. More details are given in the source, Records— Extent of records is unknown.

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
Rothiemay was under the probate jurisdiction of the Commissary Court of Aberdeen until 1823, and since then has been under the Sheriff's Court of Banff. 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 Banff and the subject of 'Probate records.' Then click on the link to the records of the Commissariat of Aberdeen. The library also has some post-1823 probate records for Banff. Look in the library catalog for the 'Place-names' of Banff and the subjects of 'Probate Records' and 'Probate Records - Indexes.'

Read more about Scotland Probate Records.