Kirkmichael, Perthshire, Scotland Genealogy

Parish #370

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 Perth, 14 miles (N. W. by N.) from Blairgowrie. This parish, the site of which is elevated, and the climate cold, is situated on the great military road from Perth to Fort-George. The members of the Free Church have two places of worship.

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 and 1911 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, 1841-1911, 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: Births are intermixed with marriages prior to July 1693. There are no entries for June 1654–November 1691 or July 1693–June 1720, from which date a separate record is kept. There are only two entries for May 1731–1733, none December 1734–May 1736, and, except a few irregular entries June 1745–January 1755. Mothers' names are not recorded until after November 1691. Marriages: There are no entries June 1654–November 1691, July 1693–March 1736, January 1744–December 1746, March 1753–February 1756, December 1761–February 1763, October 1768–January 1770, and September 1783–November 1784. From 1770 to 1818 the fact of marriage is seldom added to the entry of contract. Deaths: The record is of burials and concludes February 1789. Source: Key to the Parochial Registers of Scotland, by V. Ben Bloxham, pub. 1970. British Book 941 K23b.

Established Church—Kirk Session Records
Minutes and Accounts 1725–1758The 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 1767–1770, 1820–1825, 1849–1930 Accounts 1767–1834 Account of Mortifications 1721–1729 Poors’ Fund Accounts 1720–1726 Roll of Male Heads of Families 1835–1841 Cash Book 1834–1958 Other post-1855 records Note: Available at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh, record CH2/1479.

Roll of Male Heads of Families
1835-1841 lists 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.

Kirkmichael Free Church
History— The people in this district, almost in a body, "came out" at the Disruption and formed the Free Church congregation. The population seriously declined but the district attracted many visitors in summer and autumn. Membership: 1848, 270; 1900, 108. 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 any pre-1855 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 Dunkeld until 1823, and since then has been under the Sheriff's Court of Dunblane. 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 Perthshire and the subject of 'Probate records.' Then click on the link to the records of the Commissariat of Dunkeld. The library also has some post-1823 probate records for Perthshire. 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.