Kirkmichael, Dumfriesshire, Scotland Genealogy

Scotland Dumfriesshire, Scotland  Kirkmichael

Parish #836

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

= History =

KIRKMICHAEL, a parish, in the county of Dumfries, 8½ miles (N. by E.) from Dumfries. This place, which derives its name from the dedication of its church to St. Michael, includes the ancient parish of Garvald, or Garrel, which, with the exception of some lands now in the parish of Johnstone, was united to it about 1663 or 1664 (Source: Gazetteer for Scotland, including entries from Groome's 19th-Century Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland, Edinburgh, 1882-85). The church, situated near the south-western boundary of the parish, is a neat cruciform structure, erected in 1815, and containing 500 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 edina.($) Click on ‘Browse scanned pages’ then search the parish reports for Kirkmichael. 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.

Click for a list of the Family History Library microfilm numbers for the census records of Kirkmichael.

Below is information for any known surname indexes:

The 1901 census of Scotland is indexed on scotlandspeople.($) 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 the Scottish Church Records Index on computer at the Family History Library and family history centers. Some of these records may be indexed and searchable on familysearch.org Births: The record beginning July 1759 is for the parishes of Kirkmichael and Garrell. Entries in July 1759–September 1796 are numbered consecutively and amount to 676. An additional 356 entries bring the record to January 1812. One family, 1760–1777 is recorded together after September 1781. Marriages and Deaths: No records were kept for this parish. 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 1727–1831 Note: Available at the Scottish National Archives, Edinburgh, record CH2/230.

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.

Kirkmichael Free Church
History— The congregation here, having been fostered by the church at Lochmaben, was placed on the footing of a preaching station in 1848. For fourteen years public worship was conducted in a wooden shed. A site having been at length obtained, a church was built in 1862. The charge was sanctioned in 1872, but was again reduced to a preaching station in 1885. Membership: 1873, 83; 1900, 51. Source: Annals of the Free Church of Scotland, 1843–1900, ed. Rev. William Ewing, D.D., 2 vols. pub. 1914. Film #918572. More details are given in the source.

Records— The extent of the records is unknown.

= 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 =

Kirkmichael was under the probate jurisdiction of the Commissary Court of Dumfries until 1823, and since then has been under the Sheriff's Court of Dumfries. Probate records for 1513- 1901 are indexed online at scotlandspeople.($) 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 Dumfries and the subject of 'Probate records.' Then click on the link to the records of the Commissariat of Dumfries. The library also has some post-1823 probate records for Dumfries. Look in the library catalog for the 'Place-names' of Dumfries and the subjects of 'Probate Records' and 'Probate Records - Indexes.' Read more about Scotland Probate Records.

= References =

Return to the Dumfriesshire parish list.