Errol, Perthshire, Scotland Genealogy

Parish #351

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

History
ERROL, a parish, in the county of Perth; including the villages of Drums, Grange, Leetown, Mains of Errol, and Westown; 10 miles (E.) from Perth, and 12 (S. W. by W.) from Dundee. This place in the Gaelic language is descriptive of its situation as a conspicuous landmark in the Frith of Tay. The church, pleasantly situated on a gentle acclivity at the extremity of the village, is a handsome cruciform structure in the later English style, with a lofty square embattled tower crowned by pinnacles; it was erected in 1832, and is adapted for a congregation of 1434 persons. There are places of worship for the United Secession, members of the Free Church, and the Relief Church.

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 birth record on the first four pages is a copy. The originals are extant from February 1571. Up to Septempber 1581, the day of the week and the name of the month are uniformly expressed in Latin. No entries September 1585–October 1587, April 1590–August 1608, except three for 1600 and October 1677–May 1680. Between the years 1700–1754 two or more baptisms are frequently recorded in one entry. Mothers' names are seldom added before 1739 and not with regularity until about 1754. Marriages: The marriage record up to 1654 is intermixed with other matters. A separate record of marriages begins January 1655. From August 1789–August 1812 the record is entries of contracts only. Deaths: Entries of burial fees are mixed with other matters for 1613–1630. There are no entries for 1630–October 1685. The record is burials October 1685–December 1686. There are no further entries until July 1704, from which date until October 1719 only entries of Mortcloth dues are recorded. There are no entries for October 1719–February 1782, except two for 1763. Mortcloth Dues are recorded until October 1783, when a record of burials is commenced and ends December 1790. Mortcloth Dues continued to July 1812. There are no entries until 1841, after which burials are recorded. 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 1819–1945 Note: Available at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh, record CH2/887.

Roll of Male Heads of Families
An 1834 list of male heads of families in this parish can be found here.

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.

Secession Church United Presbyterian
History— The Breach of 1747 divided the Seceders in the parishes of Errol and Kilspindie and prevented their formation into a separate congregation. Those who adhered to the General Associate Anti-burgher Synod obtained supply of sermon from the Presbytery of Perth, 1753. They formed a separate congregation in January 1759. First place of meeting was at Westown. The first church was built in 1758, second in 1809. Source: Annals and Statistics of the United Presbyterian Church, by Rev. William MacKelvie, D.D., pub. 1873. Film #477618. More details are given in the source.

Records— Extent of pre-1855 records is unknown. No records deposited at the National Archives of Scotland.

Relief Church, extinct
The Presbytery was persuaded that the people had been deprived of their just rights and stood in need of the Gospel. On these grounds they complied with the prayer of the petition, March 1796 and the people built a place of worship the same year. Source: Annals and Statistics of the United Presbyterian Church, by Rev. William MacKelvie, D.D. pub. 1873. Film #477618. More details are given in the source.

Records— The extent of pre-1855 records is unknown. No records deposited at the National Archives of Scotland.

Errol Free Church
History— The minister of the parish "came out" in 1843 along with many of his people. They worshiped in the Relief Church for a few months until their own church was ready for occupation. Membership: 1848, 450; 1900, 158. 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— Minutes 1843–1912 Deacons Court Minutes 1844–1872 Note: Available at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh, record CH3/863.

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