Colvend and Southwick, Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland Genealogy

Colvend and Southwick #861

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

History
COLVEND and SOUTHWICK, a parish, in the stewartry of Kirkcudbright; 18 miles (E.) from Dumfries. The former of these places is supposed to have derived its name from John de Culwen, its proprietor in the fifteenth century, and the latter from the position of its ancient church, now in ruins, with reference to a small river which flows through the parish into Solway Frith. The church is a plain structure, erected in 1771, and totally inadequate to the population. There is a place of worship for members of the Secession Synod.

"This parish extends in length, from east to west, along the coast of the Solway Frith, about 8 miles, and is, from north to south, 4 miles broad….. There are a number of small lakes in the parish. A strong chalybeate flows from one of the clefts. It was formerly used as a tonic in intermittent fever….. Coasting vessels are employed in shipping grain to Liverpool, Dublin, Glasgow, &amp;c.; in the herring fishery; and or bringing coal and lime from the English side. There are annually exported from the parish, about 4000 bushels of barley, and 5000 stones of meal…. The parish church is extremely ill situated for the united parishes. The nearest part of Southwick is four miles, and some farms are distant seven miles. It was built in 1771, and is too small for the present population….." excerpts from the New Statisical Account, 1845

Condition of Original Registers

 * Births: - Prior to 1781 there are only Baptisms
 * Marriages:
 * Deaths: 

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:

Records— Minutes 1715–1782, 1786, 1788, 1794, 1806 Marriages 1715–1732, 1744–1760, 1775–1780 Baptisms 1715–1750, 1754–1787 - with gaps Deaths 1750–1759 - with gaps Note: Available at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh, record CH2/1018.

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.

Lochend and New Abbey Free Church
History— From 1843 till 1861 Lochend and New Abbey, six miles apart, were separate Home Mission stations. In 1861, they were united under one probationer. The charge was sanctioned in 1863. When the church was built at the east end of the village of Beeswing in 1857, it was called Lochend. A church was erected in New Abbey in 1878. Membership: 1872, 101; 1900, 106. Source: Annals of the Free Church of Scotland, 1843–1900, ed. Rev. William Ewing, D.D., 2 vols. pub. 1914. Film #918572. More details may be given in the source including lists of ministers.

Records— No known pre–1855 records. Note: An 1844 source states that there was a meeting place for members of the United Secession church, but it was ill attended.

Cemetery Records
Courtesy of the Kirkcudbrightshire Community, contact individual is Jim Bell:


 * Colvend Churchyard Monumental Inscriptions
 * Southwick Churchyard Monumental Inscriptions

Probate Records
Colvend and Southwick were under the probate jurisdiction of the Commissary Court of Dunfries until 1823, and since then has been under the Sheriff's Court of Kirkcudbright. 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' of Kirkcudbright and the subject of 'Probate records.' Then click on the link to the records of the Commissariat of Dunfries. The library also has some post-1823 probate records for Kirkcudbright. Look in the library catalog for the 'Place' of Kirkcudbright and the subjects of 'Probate Records' and 'Probate Records - Indexes.'

Read more about Scotland Probate Records.