Glenbervie, Kincardineshire, Scotland Genealogy

Parish #261

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

History
GLENBERVIE, a parish, in the county of Kincardine, 7 miles (W. S. W.) from Stonehaven; containing the village of Drumlithie. This parish, which obviously derives its name from the situation of its church in a small glen on the north-eastern bank of the river Bervie, is totally unconnected with any event of historical importance. The church, a neat plain structure erected in the year 1826, contains 700 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: The first three pages of birth entries for 1721–1748, are very irregular with respect to dates and entries, many years are out of order of time are frequent throughout the record. Mothers’ names are not recorded until 1812 and often omitted until 1817. Marriages: Marriage contracts only. There are no entries April 1747–October 1749, July 1751–November 1755, November 1788–February 1793; and two entries August 1775–April 1779. Deaths: There are no registers, except eight entries relating to paupers, 1727–1752. 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 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 and Accounts 1725–1933 Cash Book 1807–1904 Donation Register 1825–1915 Note: Available at the Scottish National Archives, Edinburgh, record CH2/1150.

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.

History— This congregation was formed at the Disruption. Ordinances were granted by the Presbytery in June 1843. At first the congregation worshiped in a hall in the village, but the church was soon erected. The manse was built in 1848. In 1850 the church was replaced by a new building on the same site. The population greatly declined through failure of the weaving industry and emigration. Membership: 1848, 165; 1900, 95. Source: Annals of the Free Church of Scotland, 1843–1900, ed. Rev. William Ewing, D.D., 2 vols. pub. 1914. Family History Library Film.

Records— Minutes 1843–1933 Minutes of the Church Defense and Free Church Associations 1841–1889 Deacons Court Minutes 1841–1933 Note: Available at the Scottish National Archives, Edinburgh, record CH3/1172.

Drumlithie St. John’s Episcopal Chapel
History— The chapel existed here by 1795 and the number of Episcopalians in the parish at that time was 200, out of a total population of 1307. However, the manse was built about 1725, so Episcopalians had been in the area for many years prior to the commencement of records. Source: The Statistical Account of Scotland, 1791–1799, Family History Library Book vol. 14.

Records— Family History Library Film Number Baptisms 1796–1825 item 4 Marriages 1813–1825  item 4

The Dundee University Archives has the register of baptisms of St. Johns Chapel, Drumlithie (Kincardineshire) 1818-1912. Other parishes mentioned are Arbuthnott, Banchory, Bervie, Caterline, Fordoun, Kineff. Write to: Archive Services, University of Dundee, Nethergate, Dundee DD1 4HN tel: +44 (0) 1382 384095

email:archives@dundee.ac.uk fax: +44 (0) 1382 385523

website: www.dundee.ac.uk/archives

In addition to the above, some Episcopal church transcriptions exist for one, Robert Sparks, containing baptism and marriage registers for Glenbervie. Spark's baptism and marriage register contain some Baptisms for not only Glenbervie, but also for Arbuthnott, Fettercairn, Fetteresso, Fordoun, Kineff, Laurencekirk, Montrose, St. Cyrus), from 1800-1825, marriages from 1814-1825. These transcriptions are available at the above University archives (Dundee).

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.
Glenbervie was under the probate jurisdiction of the Commissary Court of Brechin 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-names' of Kincardine 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 Kincardine. Look in the library catalog for the 'Place-names' of Kincardine and the subjects of 'Probate Records' and 'Probate Records - Indexes.' Read more about Scotland Probate Records.