Weem, Perthshire, Scotland Genealogy

Parish #398

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

History
WEEM, a parish, in the county of Perth, 1 mile (N. W.) from Aberfeldy; containing the hamlets of Balnasuim, Caolvallock, Kirkton of Weem, Balwahanaid, Cragganester, Craggantoul, and Tombreck, and part of the quoad sacra parish of Glenlyon. This place is supposed to have taken its name from the Gaelic word uamh, or uamha, signifying "a cave," a recess here of some kind having formerly afforded an asylum for persons in danger or distress, though no traces of it are now to be found. The church was built in 1835, and contains 561 sittings. Part of this parish is annexed for ecclesiastical purposes to the district church of Glenlyon, in the parish of Fortingal, and other parts are connected with the mission chapels of Lawers and Amulrie; the distance of the inhabitants, in some places amounting to thirty miles, rendering their attendance at the parish church next to impossible.

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 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 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 intermixed with marriages up to 1742. There are very few entries April –June 1705. No entries September 1707–March 1738, except a few irregular entries dated 1710–1723. Births are separately registered after September 1743. At June 1811 is a page of irregular entries, followed by a list of births from "Cranich" March 1802–1811 inclusive. Regular record resumed at January 1813. There is a page of irregular entries, 1810–1821, before January 1819. Marriages: Marriages intermixed with births up to 1742. No entries November 1704–March 1738. From 1738–1743 the entries of marriages are more numerous than those of the births. Marriage records among baptisms until 1742. Separate record from 1742, regularly kept. Deaths: Only two death entries, dated 1800 and 1813. 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 and Account 1705–1756, 1770–1819 Minutes 1741–1768, 1828–1869 Accounts 1819–1820 Collections 1747–1769 Distributions 1748–1769 Baptisms of the Family of Menzies of that Ilk 1817–1855 List of Ministers and Elders 1560–1935 Note: Available at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh, record CH2/1384.

Roll of Male Heads of Families

1834, 1835, 1836, 1837, 1838, 1839, 1840 and 1841 lists of male heads of families in this parish can be found here.

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.

There were no known nonconformist groups in 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
Weem was under the probate jurisdiction of the Commissary Court of Dunkeld 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 FamilySearch Library. To find the microfilm numbers, search in the library catalog for the 'Place-names' of Perthshire and the subject of 'Probate records.' Then click on the link to the records of the Commissariat of Dunkkeld. 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.