Flisk, Fife, Scotland Genealogy

Parish #430

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

History
FLISK, a parish, in the district of Cupar, in the county of Fife, 8 miles (N. W. by N.) from Cupar; containing the hamlet of Glenduckie. This place is supposed to have derived its name, descriptive of wetness or moisture, from the situation of the lower grounds, which, stretching along the Tay on one continued level, were formerly subject to occasional inundations. The church, erected in 1790, near the site of the old church, then taken down, is a neat plain edifice adapted for a congregation of 150 persons; it is beautifully situated on the bank of the river, and about four miles from Glenduckie, the inhabitants of which hamlet attend the church of Dunbog, it being more convenient for them.

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 Flisk. 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 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 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 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 births are intermixed with marriages throughout and are incomplete 1803–1810. Marriages: Marriages are incomplete 1803–1810. Up to 1708, proclamations and marriages are separately entered. Deaths: There is neither death nor burial entries, except one, September 1791–January 1796. The death records are incomplete after August 1797 and there are no entries recorded November 1815–June 1820. Source: Key to the Parochial Registers of Scotland, by V. Ben Bloxham, pub. 1970. Family History Library British Book.

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 1697–1971 Note: Available at St. Andrews University Library, St. Andrews, Fife, Scotland, record CH2/1545.

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.

Flisk and Creich Free Church
History— Minister of Flisk, adhered to the Free Church at the Disruption. The adherents of the Free Church in Flisk and Creich and in the adjacent parts of Balmerino and Kilmany were organized as a congregation. The church was erected on a convenient site in 1843. The population of the district was mainly agricultural and very sparse. It declined somewhat with the disappearance of handloom weaving. Membership: 1848, 130; 1900, 71. Source: Annals of the Free Church of Scotland, 1843–1900, ed. Rev. William Ewing, D.D., 2 vols. pub. 1914. Film. More details may be given in the source.

Records— Baptismal Register 1843–1886 Marriage Registers 1843–1872 Deacon’s Court Minutes 1849–1929 Baptismal Register of Grangemouth 1839–1843 Note: Available at St. Andrews University Library, St. Andrews, Fife, Scotland, record CH3/1582.

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
Flisk 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 Fife at Cupar. 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' of Fife 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 Fife. Look in the library catalog for the 'Place' of Fife and the subjects of 'Probate Records' and 'Probate Records - Indexes.'

Read more about Scotland Probate Records.