St. Monans or Abercrombie, Fife, Scotland Genealogy

Parish #454

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

History
ABERCROMBIE, or St. Monans (briefly known as St. Monance), a parish, in the district of St. Andrew's, county of Fife, 2 miles (W. by S.) from Pittenweem. This place, which appears to have been a distinct parish since the middle of the 12th century, is in ancient documents invariably called Abercrombie, or Abercrumbin; but, towards the close of the year 1647, on the annexation of the barony of St. Monans, previously in the adjoining parish of Kilconquhar, it obtained the latter appellation, by which, till within the last thirty years, it was generally designated. The church, formerly the chapel of St. Monans, is said to have been originally founded by David II., about the year 1370, and by him dedicated to St. Monans, the tutelar saint of the place, in gratitude for the deliverance of his queen and himself from shipwreck on this part of the coast; it is a beautiful specimen of the English style prevailing at that period, and is a cruciform structure, with a square tower rising from the centre, surmounted by an octagonal spire. It now forms one of the most beautiful edifices in the country, adapted for a congregation of 530 persons.

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 St. Monans or Abercrombie. 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, (St. Monans and St. Monance could be used interchangeably sometimes),  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—
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 FamilySearch Library in Salt Lake City. Some records may also be indexed in other FamilySearch collections for Scotland. Births: There are three entries for 1682 and one for 1690 on the first page. Entries occasionally occur a few years out of the order of time. At 1817, there are six irregular entries dated 1807–1848 and a duplicate of record 1719–1747. Marriages: There are no entries, excepting a few of proclamation fees, August 1691–May 1707 and November 1756–March 1758. There are occasional entries of irregular and clandestine marriages. There is a duplicate of record 1712–1740 and 1746–1747. Deaths: There is only Mortcloth Dues prior to 1747 and no entries 1681–1690, 1704–1736. Deaths are recorded for August 1747–November 1756 and January 1773–July 1781. Burials are recorded after October 1783. There are transcribed entries of Mortcloth Dues applicable to the blanks in the regular record 1756–1773 and 1781–1783. There are no entries for November 1817–January 1827 and a duplicate of the portion 1827–1844. Source: Key to the Parochial Registers of Scotland, by V. Ben Bloxham, pub. 1970. FS Library British Book 941 K23b.

Established Church—Kirk Session Records
The Kirk session was the court of the parish. The session was made up of he 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 and Accounts 1597–1617, 1629–1660, 1665–1682–1939 Note: Available at St. Andrews University Library, St. Andrews, Fife, Scotland, record CH2/1056.

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.

There are no known pre-1855 nonconformist churches or records for this parish.

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
St. Monans (St. Monance) or Abercrombie was under the probate jurisdiction of the Commissary Court of St. Andrews until 1823, and since then has been under the Sheriff's Court of Fife at Cupar. 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 FamilySearch Library. To find the microfilm numbers, search in the library catalog for the 'Place' of Fife and the subject of 'Probate records.' Then click on the link to the records of the Commissariat of St. Andrews.

The library also has some post-1823 probate records for Fife. Look in the library catalog for the 'Place' of Fife and the subjects of 'Probate Records' and 'Probate Records - Indexes.'

Read more about Scotland Probate Records.