Daviot and Dunlichty, Inverness-shire, Scotland Genealogy

Scotland Inverness-shire  Daviot & Dunlichty

Parish # 95 

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

= History =

DAVIOT and DUNLICHTY, a parish, chiefly in the county of Inverness, but partly in that of Nairn, 5 miles (S. E.) from Inverness. These two ancient parishes were united about the year 1618: the former received its appellation, as is supposed, from David, Earl of Crawford, who built a fort here; and the latter, which is by far the larger, derives its name from the term dun-le-cutti, or "the hill of the Catti," which bisects the territory formerly held by the Catti, whose descendants now possess nearly the whole lands. The church at Daviot is about four miles from the eastern, and that at Dunlichty twelve miles from the western, boundary; the former, with seats for 500 persons, was built in 1826; and the latter, containing seats for 300 persons, was built in 1759, and repaired in 1826. There are also an episcopal chapel, and a place of worship for members of the Free Church.

Dunlichity, the larger, and probably the older of these parishes, is so called for a high mountain. Dun-le-Catti is the name of this hill which is in the middle of the territory of Catti. Daviot or Davie is said to be a name given to this parish in memory of David earl of Crawford, who built a fort there.

The battle of Culloden was fought in this parish on 16 April 1746, also this parish is known for the "Raid of Petty".

The land holders and only heritors in the parish are, John Lachlan Macgillivray; Charles Mackintosh; Alexander Mackintosh; Colonel James John Mackintosh; Duncan George Forbes; Lachlan Mackintosh; and Evan Baillie.

The earliest date in the parochial register (one small volume) is 1774, and until the year 1820 the register was not kept regularly. The former registers were destroyed in a accidential school-house fire where they were kept.

Source:New Statistical Account of Scotland for Daviot and Dunlichty, Family History Library book, series 2, vol. 14.

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 you are interested in. 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—
Index: For an index to these records, see the Scottish Church Records Index available on computers at the Family History Library and family history centers. The records may also be indexed in the International Genealogical Index. Births: There are numerous irregular entries 1781–1810, whole families being frequently recorded together. Some of these are dated after 1820. There are irregular entries 1796–1813, after record for 1819, and 1797–1825 after marriages for 1780. Marriages: There are no marriage entries except seven, 1791–1804, March 1780–June 1815. 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 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 1771–1782, 1786–1795, 1834–1835, 1843–1976 Note: Available at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh, record CH2/937.

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.

Daviot Free Church
History— Shortly after the Disruption a church was built for the purpose of accommodating the adherents of the Free Church in the parishes of Daviot and Dores. A minister was settled in Daviot in August 1844, who undertook to give occasional services at Moy. Source: Annals of the Free Church of Scotland, 1843–1900, ed. Rev. William Ewing, D.D., 2 vols. pub. 1914. Film #

Records— No known pre-1855 records.

= 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 =

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

= References =

Return to Inverness-shire parish list.