Craignish, Argyllshire, Scotland Genealogy

Parish #508

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

History
CRAIGNISH, a parish, in the district and county of Argyll, 16 miles (N. N. W.) from Lochgilphead. This place, though known in modern times only by its present appellation, was anciently called both Craignish and Kilmhorie. The former name, which is a compound Gaelic term signifying a rocky peninsula, is descriptive of the southern portion of the parish. The church is a neat structure, erected in 1826, and conveniently situated on the eastern side of the parish.

The parish belonged for some centuries to two families of the name of Campbell. The Campbells of Craignish and the Campbells of Barbreck. This parish is 26 miles southwest of Inverary, 24 miles south of the village of Oban. An engagement between the Danes and the natives is marked by two Cairns. It is called Dail-nan-Ceann, that is the field of heads. The major land owners were: Captain Donald Campbell R.N. of Barbreck; John M’Dougall Esq. of Lunga; and Colin Campbell, Esq. of Jura. The land was primarily used for farming, oats, Flax, potatoes, turnips, cultivated hay, some livestock and dairies. The population in 1801 was 904, and in 1841 was 873. The earliest date of the kirk-session record is 5-Feb-1745. The first entry in the register of births, baptisms and marriages is the 7th of June 1756. It was not regularly kept until 1791. Presbyterianism is well attended. The average number of communicants is 180. There are two Dissenters in the Parish

This account was written in 1843. source: New Statistical Account of Scotland (FS Library book 941 B4sa, series 2 vol. 7)

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 Craignish. 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 Records—
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 be indexed in FamilySearch Records. Births: There is a duplicate of the record January 1784–May 1810. Mothers' names are seldom recorded until January 1791. Marriages: Only one entry appears January 1784–March 1787. The portion March 1787–March 1810 is duplicated. The fact of marriage is very seldom recorded in entries prior to January 1787. Deaths: Only five entries occur after October 1764. Source: Key to the Parochial Registers of Scotland, by V. Ben Bloxham, pub. 1970. 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 1755–1935 Collections 1767–1836 Accounts of the Poor 1800–1868 Note: Available at the Scottish National Archives, Edinburgh, record CH2/401.

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.

None are available.

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

Read more about Scotland Probate Records.

Return to the Argyllshire Parish List