Marykirk, Kincardineshire, Scotland Genealogy

Parish #265

This parish was formerly Aberluthnot.

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

= History =

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 Family History Library.

= 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 Family History Library microfilm numbers for the census records of Marykirk 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 the Scottish Church Records Index available on computers at the Family History Library and family history centers. The records may be indexed in the International Genealogical Index. Births: There are no birth entries May 1723–July 1728. After 1784, there are irregular entries many years are out of order of time. Marriages: There are no marriage entries October 1720–June 1723, March 1803–May 1817. After November 1784, the record seems to be one of contracts. Deaths: The registers are burials. There are no entries July 1719–January 1763 and December 1768–1847. 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 he 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 1699–1720, 1763–1805, 1852–1893 Cash Book 1784–1918 Communion Roll 1836–1892 Accounts 1790–1817 Note: Available at the Scottish National Archives, Edinburgh, record CH2/842.

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.

Muirton Associate Anti-burgher, later United Presbyterian Church
History— Muirton is a village in the parish of Marykirk, Kincardineshire, about 4 miles west of Laurencekirk, and 9 miles north-east of Montrose. The representatives of the persons forming the congregation of Muirton, were chiefly parishioners of Fettercairn, which bounds Marykirk on the west, who acceded to the Associate Presbytery in 1738. They met at different places with the other Seceders in the district, until the congregation of Mill Street, Montrose, was formed, when they became part of it. About the year 1758, a large common in the parish of Marykirk was divided among the proprietors of land in the neighborhood, some of whom feued their allotments, from which circumstance the village of Muirton arose. The new village was considered by the seceders in the district as a suitable site for a place of worship, and they applied for and obtained supply of sermon from the General Associate Anti-burgher Presbytery of Perth in 1765. The first church was built 1769; the second built in 1824. Source: Annals and Statistics of the United Presbyterian Church, by Rev. William MacKelvie, D.D., pub. 1873. FHL FHL Film #477618

Records— The extent of records is unknown.

Marykirk Free, later United Free Church
History— This congregation was formed at the Disruption of those who adhered to the Free Church, and occasional services were at first provided. The church was erected in 1846. The charge was sanctioned in 1847, the manse built in 1849, and it was reconstructed in 1895. The congregation suffered through the drift of young people away from the country, decline of the population, and changes in the farms in the district. Membership: 1848, 134; 1900, 112. Source: Annals of the Free Church of Scotland, 1843–1900, ed. Rev. William Ewing, D.D., 2 vols. pub. 1914. FHL FHL Film #918572

Records— Minutes 1844–1917 Deacons’ Court Minutes 1850–1906 Cash Books 1843–1917 Note: Available at the Scottish National Archives, Edinburgh, record CH3/817.

= Civil 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 =

Marykirk 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 Stonehaven. 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' of Kincardine and the subject of 'Probate records.' Then click on the link to the records of the Commissariat of St. Andrews.

The library also has some post-1823 probate records for Kincardine. Look in the library catalog for the 'Place' of Kincardine and the subjects of 'Probate Records' and 'Probate Records - Indexes.

Read more about Scotland Probate Records.

Return to Kincardineshire parish list.