Buittle, Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland Genealogy

Buittle #859

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

History
BUITTLE, a parish, in the stewartry of Kirkcud-bright, 4 miles (S. E. by S.) from Castle-Douglas containing the village and port of Palnackie. This place is of great antiquity, and there are still some remains of its castle, supposed to have been the principal seat of the ancient lords of Galloway. The parish, of which the name is of very uncertain derivation, is bounded on the east by the river Urr, and on the south by the bay of Orchardton, in Solway Frith. The church, situated in the centre of the parish, and erected in 1819 is a handsome structure in the early English style, containing 400 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 Buittle. Also available at the

Condition of Original Registers—

 * Births: Births are intermixed with marriages and other matters until 1785.
 * Marriages: Marriages are intermixed with births and other matters until 1785. There are no entries June 1782–March 1793, after which date the marriages are recorded on parallel columns with the births and deaths.
 * Deaths: Burials; are recorded on parallel columns with births and marriages. The record after 1785 is attested by the minister. There are no entries for 1846. Source: Key to the Parochial Registers of Scotland, by V. Ben Bloxham, pub. 1970. Family History Library 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:

Records— The exact minutes of the presbytery of Kirkcudbright, July 6 and 7, 1736 relating to a vacancy at Buittle resulted in the ordination of John McKnaught on the 21st of September 1736. Minutes 1779–1847, 1858–1883 Marriage Proclamations 1855–1893 Miscellaneous Papers, 1740–1862. Note: Available at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh, record CH2/440.

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.

No known Nonconformist groups.

Cemetery Records
Courtesy of the Kirkcudbrightshire Community, contact individual is Jim Bell:


 * Buittle Kirkyard Monumental Inscriptions
 * Buittle Cemetery Monumental Inscriptions

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

Read more about Scotland Probate Records.