Kilrenny, Fife, Scotland Genealogy

Parish #438

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

History
KILRENNY, a royal burgh and a parish, in the district of St. Andrew's, county of Fife, 3 miles (S. W. by W.) from Crail, and 10 (S. S. E.) from St. Andrew's; including the village of Nether Kilrenny or Cellardykes, and that of Upper Kilrenny. This parish, which is situated on the north of the Frith of Forth, at the south-eastern extremity of the county, is supposed to have derived its name from the dedication of its church to St. Ireneus. The church is a neat plain structure in good repair.

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 Kilrenny. 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 Scotland 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 indexes through the library.

Church Records
The Established Church of Scotland was Presbyterian. Read more about Scotland Church Records.

Here are the pre-1855 records that exist for this parish.

Condition of Original Registers—
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 Family History Library in Salt Lake City. Some records may also be indexed in other FamilySearch collections for Scotland. Births and Marriages: Births are intermixed with marriages throughout. There are no entries November 1660–August 1677, September 1680–November 1688, and 1696–July 1712. Deaths: Except for a few entries of burials, 1688–1696, among the births and marriages, there is no record until May 1753. There are also no entries November 1782–November 1783, from which date until October 1791 deaths are recorded among the births and marriages. There is a separate record after November 1791, in which particulars connected with the last illness of the deceased are frequent. Source: Key to the Parochial Registers of Scotland, by V. Ben Bloxham, pub. 1970. Family History Library 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 1712–1939 Accounts 1791–1819 Note: Available at St. Andrews University Library, St. Andrews, Fife, Scotland, record CH2/215.

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 or records for this parish.

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
Kilrenny 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 Fife at Cupar. 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 Fife and the subject of 'Probate records.' Then click on the link to the records of the Commissariat of Fife.

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

Read more about Scotland Probate Records.