St. Cyrus, Kincardineshire, Scotland Genealogy

Parish #267

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

History
CYRUS, SAINT, or Ecclescraig, a parish, in the county of Kincardine; including the villages of Lochside, Milton, Roadside, and Tangleha, 5½ miles (N. by E.) from Montrose. This place, now generally known by the former of the two names, is supposed to have derived the latter, in the Gaelic language Eaglais-Creag, from the situation of its church at the base of a rocky promontory projecting into the North Sea. The name of St. Cyrus, which, till the close of the last century, was limited to a portion only of the parish, is derived from a saint who lived in retirement on the adjacent lands of Criggie, where there is a well still called after him. The church, erected in 1783, on a site nearly a mile to the north of the ancient church, and enlarged in 1830, is a neat substantial structure with a spire, and contains about 850 sittings. From its situation on an eminence 250 feet above the level of the sea, it forms a conspicuous landmark for mariners. There is a place of worship for members of the Free 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: There are three pages of irregular birth entries 1781–1805, recorded after 1798. Mothers’ names are not recorded until about 1782. Marriages: Prior to November 1775, marriage entries are intermixed with those of births. After November 1775 entries are of contracts only. There are no entries August 1796–July 1801. There is also an intermixed record of proclamations 1696–1776. Deaths: Register is burials only. 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 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 1781–1954 Cash Book 1787–1841 Note: Available at the Scottish National Archives, Edinburgh, record CH2/590.

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.

St. Cyrus Free Church
History— The colleague ministers of this parish, father and son, with a considerable congregation, "came out" in 1843. A church and manse were soon erected. Membership: 1848, 380; 1900, 138. Source: Annals of the Free Church of Scotland, 1843–1900, ed. Rev. William Ewing, D.D., 2 vols. pub. 1914 FHL Film #918572.  Records—

Some transcriptions of church registers exist for one, Robert Sparks, containing baptism and marriage registers for St Cyrus. Spark's baptism and marriage register contain some entries for not only Laurencekirk, but also for Arbuthnott, Fettercairn, Fetteresso, Fordoun, Glenbervie, Kinneff, Laurencekirk, and Montrose), from 1800-1825, marriages from 1814-1825. These transcriptions are available at:

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

Deacons’ Court Minutes 1844–1901 Other Post-1855 Records

Note: Available at the Scottish National Archives, Edinburgh, record CH3/1557.

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
St. Cyrus was under the probate jurisdiction of the Commissary Court of St. andrews 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 St. Andrews.

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.