Creich, Fife, Scotland Genealogy

Parish #418

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

History
CREICH, a parish, in the district of Cupar, county of Fife, 5 miles (N. W. by N.) from Cupar; containing the villages of Brunton and Luthrie. This place is supposed to have derived its name, signifying in the Gaelic language, rocky or rugged ground, from the general appearance of its surface. The church, erected in 1832, is a handsome structure, containing 252 sittings.

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 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
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: Births are intermixed with marriages 1694–December 1711 and January 1720–November 1806. Entries prior to 1703 are irregular. There is only one birth entry August 1704–June 1706. Mother's names are not recorded in the entries until December 1743. There is a separate record beginning 1797. Marriages: There is only one entry July 1783–November 1785. A separate record begins 1797. See also Kirk Sessions Deaths: Burials are intermixed with births and marriages October 1783– September 1794 then no entries until April 1817, after which a separate record of deaths and burials are recorded. Source: Key to the Parochial Registers of Scotland, by V. Ben Bloxham, pub. 1970. FamilySearch Library British Book.

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 1693–1941 Miscellaneous Documents 1686–1976 Register of Baptisms and Marriages 1668–1854 Collections and Disbursements 1749–1922 Parochial Board Minutes 1845–1896 Note: Available at the St. Andrews University Library, St. Andrews, Fife, Scotland, record CH2/1544.

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.

At the time of the New Statistical Account of Scotland, written in 1838, there was no Dissenting chapel in the parish. The number of dissenters was 45 individuals in ten families. They would have attended services in neighboring parishes. The Disruption and founding of the Free Church in 1843 changed that status.

Creich Free Church
History— This congregation was formed in 1843; church and manse were built in 1849. A new church was built in 1881. Membership: 1855, 700; 1900, 90. Source: Annals of the Free Church of Scotland, 1843–1900, ed. Rev. William Ewing, D.D., 2 vols. pub. 1914. Film. More details may be given in the source.

Records— The extent of pre–1855 records is unknown. See also Flisk 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
Creich 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 Fife.

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.