Currie, Midlothian, Scotland Genealogy

Parish #682

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

History
CURRIE, a parish, in the county of Edinburgh, 6 miles (S. W.) from Edinburgh; containing the villages of Balerno and Hermiston. This place, called anciently Kil-Leith, from a religious establishment on the Water of Leith, is supposed to have derived its more general appellation from the remains of the Roman station Coria, which some antiquaries have identified with the immediate vicinity. The church, a neat structure erected about the year 1790, is situated on an eminence on the south bank of the river; and its spire, rising above the foliage around, forms a pleasing feature in the scenery of the village. There is a place of worship for members of the United Secession Church.

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.

is a list of the Family History Library microfilm numbers for the census records of Currie, as well as the library numbers for any 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
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: There are no entries March 1641–April 1643, May 1645–February 1646, November 1647–January 1649, June 1649–February 1657, November 1660–November 1662, March 1665–December 1666, and September 1672–November 1675. Entries out of the order of time are frequent after 1797. Marriages: There are no entries December 1650–January 1653, August 1660–November 1661, December 1663–July 1681, August 1689–February 1715, November 1722–May 1738, June 1740–May 1741, July 1748–April 1765 and except two, April 1794–January 1796. Except December 1783–July 1796 the record after February 1715 appears to be one of proclamations of banns. There are transcribed entries of irregular marriages, 1716–1794, after record for 1819. Deaths: Deaths and burials for period August 1662–November 1687, burials from November 1783–April 1794 and again after February 1811. Mortcloth Dues for periods December 1701–April 1704, December 1707–October 1708, a few entries for 1715 and 1722 and 1741–1815. 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 1679–1687, 1691–1700, 1712, 1714–1881 Heritors Minutes 1757–1818, 1828–1849 Cash and Account Books 1691–1711, 1713–1718, 1739–1761, 1782–1892 Note: Available at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh, record CH2/83.

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.

Balerno Secession Church
History— In 1739, the minister presented to the vacant parish of Currie had rendered himself very obnoxious to all sympathizers with the Seceding cause. Those sympathizing individuals traveled to Edinburgh for services as there were too few of them to form a congregation in Currie. They subsequently helped to form the congregations of East Calder and Slateford. Finally in 1826 there were enough of them that they were disjoined from the other congregations at their own request and formed into a separate congregation with its seat in Balerno. A church was built in 1829. Source: Annals and Statistics of the United Presbyterian Church, by Rev. William MacKelvie, D.D., pub. 1873. FHL Film #477618. More details may be given in the source including ministers.

Records— Baptisms 1832–1836 Various Minutes 1826–1970 Note: Available at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh, record CH3/345.

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