Kilmaronock, Dunbartonshire, Scotland Genealogy

Kilmaronock (#497)

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

History
KILMARONOCK, a parish, in the county of Dumbarton, 1 mile (W. by S.) from Drymen. The name of this place signifies "the cell, chapel, or burial-place of St.Marnoch." The parish is beautifully situated on the southern bank of the river Endrick, and on Loch Lomond. The road from Dumbarton to Drymen passes through the parish, as well as the Drymen and Glasgow road. The church was built in 1813, and is in good repair; it contains 400 sittings. There is also a Relief meeting-house.

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 Kilmaronock. 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 Family History 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 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 be indexed in the [http://www.familysearch.org/eng/search/frameset_search.asp?PAGE=igi/search_IGI.asp&clear_form=true International Genealogical Index. ] Births: Three pages of irregular entries 1770–1800, after record for 1771. Records are defective 1787–1789, inclusive. Irregular entries and families recorded in groups frequently after 1803. Marriages: Records are blank, excluding five entries 1770–1771, October 1768–March 1777. 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 administrative unit of the parish. The Kirk session was made up of the minister and the land owners and men of the parish, elected to serve on the session. The Kirk session dealt with moral issues, 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 and are useful for tracing illegitimate births.

'''The National Archives of Scotland has no kirk session records for this parish. They may be held by the local minister.'''

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.

Kilmaronock Relief Church, later United Presbyterian
History— When the church and parish of Kilmaronock became vacant in 1770, the parishioners were much opposed to the patrons’ choice for minister. When he was ordained, the parishioners almost wholly withdrew from the Established church and applied for and obtained supply of sermon from the Relief Presbytery of Glasgow. A first church was built in 1772 and a second in 1853. Source: Annals and Statistics of the United Presbyterian Church, by Rev. Wm. MacKelvie, D.D., pub. 1873. Film #.

Records—  The 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
Kilmaronorck was under the jurisdiction of the Commissary Court of Dunbarton until 1823. Unlike England there is no probate in Scotland and wills are confirmed either before the commissary court or later after 1823 the sheriff court of the area where the parish was located - Dunbarton in this case. Confirmations for 1513- 1901 are indexed online at www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk. You must register on the website but use of the index to wills and 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 Dunbarton and the subject of 'Probate records.' Then click on the link to the records of the Commissariat of Dunbarton. The library also has some post-1823 probate records for Dunbarton. Look in the library catalog for the 'Place-names' of Dunbarton and the subjects of 'Probate Records' and 'Probate Records - Indexes.'

Read more about Scotland Probate Records.