Clatt, Aberdeenshire, Scotland Genealogy

Parish #180

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

History
CLATT, a parish, in the district of Alford, county of Aberdeen, 10 miles (S.) from Huntly. The Gaelic word Cleith, or Cleit, signifying "concealed," appears to have given the name to this place, in consequence of its secluded situation, it being hidden from view on all sides. The church, which is a very ancient edifice, was thoroughly repaired and re-seated in 1828, and contains sittings for 290 persons.

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 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 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 record is defective for 1682 and is blank for May 1695–May 1696, May 1705–February 1706, June 1710–July 1718, and July 1721–August 1723. It is also defective for 1762–1765 and 1790–1792. Mothers’ names are not recorded in the entries until 1765. Marriages: The record is blank for December 1710–May 1719, February 1721–September 1723, October 1745–August 1784, March 1798–1820, and 1836–1844. Deaths: Burials, there is no record for August 1790–1844 except for about thirty entries relating to the funeral expenses of paupers. Source: Key to the Parochial Registers of Scotland, by V. Ben Bloxham, pub. 1970. 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 1661–1667, 1670–1674, 2 August 1675, 17 March 1676, 1682–1707, 1844–1873 Note: Available at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh, record CH2/971

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.

There are no known records.

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
Clatt was under the probate jurisdiction of the Commissary Court of Aberdeen until 1823, and since then has been under the Sheriff's Court of Aberdeen. Probate records for 1513- 1901 are indexed online at scotlandspeople.($) You must register on the website but use of the index to probate records, called 'Wills &amp; Testaments,' is free. You may then purchase a copy of the document or, if the document is before 1823, it will be on microfilm at the Family History Library. To find the microfilm numbers, search in the library catalog for the 'Place-names' of Aberdeen and the subject of 'Probate records.' Then click on the link to the records of the Commissariat of Aberdeen. Ancestry.co.uk also has many probate records for Scotland and Scottish people indexed from 1861-1941 ($) The library also has some post-1823 probate records for Aberdeen. Look in the library catalog for the 'Place-names' of Aberdeen and the subjects of 'Probate Records' and 'Probate Records - Indexes.' Read more about Scotland Probate Records.&lt;