Kincardine, Perthshire, Scotland Genealogy

Parish #364 ( in Menteith )

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

History
KINCARDINE IN MONTEITH, a parish, in the county of Perth, 2 miles (S. by W.) from Doune; containing the villages of Kirklane and Woodlane. This parish, of which the name is of very uncertain etymology, is pleasantly situated in the vale of Monteith, and in the southern part of the county. The church, which was greatly dilapidated, was rebuilt in 1814. It is a cruciform edifice in the later English style, with an embattled tower crowned by minarets, and contains 770 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 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 Records
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 appear to have been regularly kept. Marriages: Marriages appear to have been regularly kept. One page of entries dated July 1831–September 1832 occurs immediately before births for 1691. 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 1728–1736, 1777–1800, 1802–1833 Poors’ Fund Account 1728–1743, 1829–1907 Accounts 1750–1770, 1770–1907 Note: Available at the Stirling Council Archives, Stirling, Scotland, record CH2/1455.

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.

Kincardine United Presbyterian Church
History— The congregation of Kincardine originated with members of the Established Church, who felt dissatisfied with the doctrine taught by their minister, and applied for and obtained supply of sermon from the Associate Burgher Presbytery of Dunfermline, 1775. The first church was built 1819. 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— Managers’ Minutes 1852–1957 Note: Available at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh, record CH3/1018.

Norrieston Free Church
History— Norrieston was a “quoad sacra” parish partly in the parishes of Kilmadock, Kincardine, and Port of Monteith. Free Church services were provided at Norrieston immediately after the Disruption. The congregation was organized and a minister settled in September 1843. The new church was completed the following August. Membership: 1848, 200; 1900, 135. 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—  Baptismal Register 1843–1859, 1864–1879 Various Minutes 1843–1923 Abstinence Society List of Members 1845−1850, Minutes 1851–1909 Note: Available at the Stirling Council Archives, Stirling, Scotland, record CH3/1224.

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
Kincardine 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 FamilySearch Library. To find the microfilm numbers, search in the library catalogfor the 'Place-names' of Perthshire 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.

Websites
Kincardine-on-forth Local History Group