Kilmadock, Perthshire, Scotland Genealogy

Scotland Perthshire  Kilmadock

Parish #362

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

= History =

KILMADOCK, a parish, in the county of Perth, 9 miles (N. W.) from Stirling; containing the late quoad sacra parish of Deanston and part of that of Norrieston, the town of Doune, and the villages of Buchany and Drumvaich. This place derives its name from the dedication of its ancient church to St. Madocus or Madock, one of the Culdees, who lived here in sequestered solitude. The ancient church of Kilmadock was, with the exception of the eastern gable, taken down in 1744, and a church erected at Doune, which is now the parish church; it is a handsome structure in the later English style, and is seated for 1121 persons, but capable of holding a congregation of 1400. A church has been erected at Deanston; and there are places of worship for members of the Free Church, the United Secession, the Congregational Union of Scotland, and Wesleyans.

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 the separate 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 the Scottish Church Records Index available on computers at the Family History Library and family history centers. The records may be indexed in the International Genealogical Index. Births: There are no entries for June 1638–September 1641, June 1652–May 1668, February 1692–March 1694, and January 1699–November 1701. Records are imperfect and partially illegible for 1691–1734, and incomplete for June 1746–October 1748. Mothers' names are not recorded until 1677. Marriages: There are no entries for July 1634–May 1645, December 1650–February 1652, June 1652–June 1717 except one for 1666, April 1720–March 1722, and November 1735–November 1756 except one for 1747. Deaths: The record is of Mortcloth Dues. There are no entries January 1708–December 1716. 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 1652–1685, 1704–1706, 1734–1935 Accounts 1722–1731, 1809–1825 Book of Penalties, Payments to Poor 1623–1648, 1716–1732 Note: Available at the Stirling Council Archives, Stirling, Scotland, record CH2/212.

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.

Bridge Of Teith, Doune United Presbyterian Church
History— Several persons in the parish of Kilmadock acceded to the Associate Presbytery in April 1738. In the next year, several other persons in the vicinity acceded to the Associate Presbytery also. These persons formally joined the Secession. In July 1740, along with the Seceders in the parish of Dunblane, they were united into one Association under the designation of "The Correspondence of Monteith", and had sermon supplied to them as the Presbytery could afford it. In July 1741, 5 elders and 50 private persons in the parishes of Kilmadock, Kincardine, Monteith, and Callander acceded to the Associate Presbytery and were joined to the Correspondence of Monteith. In 1744 the place of meeting was moved from Thornhill to the Bridge of Teith, where a church was built. A new church was built in 1838. Source: Annals and Statistics of the United Presbyterian Church, by Rev. William MacKelvie, D.D. pub. 1873. Film #477618. More details are given in the source.

Records— FHL Film Number Session Minutes 1740–1749, 1755–1774, 1787–1869 1482986 items 5–7 X Session Minutes 1869–1883 1482987 items 1–7 Managers’ Minutes 1819–1863 1482987 items 1–7 Trustees’ Minutes 1832–1948 1482987 items 1–7 Account Books 1824–1867 1482987 items 1–7 Collection Books 1800–1814 1482987 items 1–7 Baptisms 1758–1764 1482987 items 1–7 X Marriage Proclamations 1758–1766 1482987 items 1–7 X Note: The X means that records have been extracted.

Kilmadock, and Doune Burgher or Deanston Free Churches
History─ Immediately after the Disruption, a strong Free Church congregation was formed in Kilmadock and a minister was settled. A congregation of the Burgher Synod in Doune, which had joined the Church of Scotland in 1839, also "came out" in 1843. It maintained a separate existence in the village of Deanston until 1871, when it was discontinued and joined with the Kilmadock congregation. Membership: 1848, 547; 1900, 362. Doune: 1848, 120. 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— FHIL Film Number Doune or Deanston: Session Minutes 1800–1871 1484191 item 4

Kilmadock: Session Minutes 1843–1908 Deacon's Court Minutes 1843–1908 Cash Book 1845–1880 Note: Available at the Stirling Council Archives, Stirling, Scotland, record CH3/190.

Doune Independent Congregational Church
History— A church was formed in March 1843 by members of the church in Stirling. A chapel was opened at Christmas of that year. The church ceased in 1864. Source: A History of Scottish Congregationalism, by Harry Escott, pub. 1960. FHL book 941 K2es. Further details are given in the source including a list of ministers.

Records— The extent of pre-1855 records is unknown. For information write to: The United Reformed Church, Scottish Synod Office PO Box 189 240 Cathedral Street Glasgow G1 2BX Scotland

Doune Wesleyan Methodist Church
History— There was a meeting house for Wesleyan Methodists in Doune built about 1843 but no other history is available and no records are known of. See Perth 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 =

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

= References =

Return to Perthshire parish list.