Stracathro, Angus, Scotland Genealogy

Parish #320

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

History
STRICKATHROW, a parish, in the county of Forfar, 5 miles (N. by E.) from Brechin. This place comprehends the two ancient parishes of Strickathrow, which originally formed the prebend of the chantorship in the cathedral church of Brechin, and Dunlappie, which was united to it in 1612, by act of the General Assembly. Strickathrow is supposed to have derived its name (anciently Strath-Cath-Ra, and signifying in the Celtic language "the Valley in which the King fought") from a battle that took place here in 1130, between the army of David I., King of Scotland, and the forces of Angus, Earl of Moray. The church, erected in 1791, and lately repaired, is a handsome structure in the later English style of architecture, containing 360 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 Family History 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 Family History Library in Salt Lake City. Some records may also be indexed in other FamilySearch collections for Scotland. Births: Birth records are blank August 1713–February 1716. There are only two entries May 1737–December 1740 and the records are defective 1752–1755. There is an imperfect copy or draft of a portion from May 1713 to 1747. It is a fair copy of the whole record. Mothers' names are rarely recorded prior to 1760. Marriages: Marriage records are blank July 1715–June 1764. There are no entries July 1788–May 1790 or December 1816–February 1818. There is a copy of the record from 1764. 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 1709–1723, 1747–1916 Accounts 1808–1943 Note: Available at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh, record CH2/339

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 are no known nonconformist groups.

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
Stracathro was under the probate jurisdiction of the Commissary Court of Brechin until 1823, and since then has been under the Sheriff's Court of Dundee. 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 Angus and the subject of 'Probate records.' Then click on the link to the records of the Commissariat of Brechin. The library also has some post-1823 probate records for Angus. Look in the library catalog for the 'Place-names' of Angus Read more about Scotland Probate Records.