Kilfinichen and Kilvickeon, Argyl, Scotland

Parish #542

History
The numerous parishes into which the island of Mull was divided were, during the the Reformation, united into one. Donessan is the nearest town. There are over 120 miles of sea coast in this parish. The major land owners were: The Duke of Argyle; Dugald Maclachlan Esq. of Killimore; Colonel Robert Macdonald of Inniskenneh; Murdoch Maclaine Esq. of Lochbury; and Archibald J. Campbell, Esq. of Kilpatrick. The land was primarily used for, potatoes, oats, barley, turnip, rye grass, black cattle, and sheep. The population in 1791 was 3002. The population in 1841 was 4102. There were no parish register records of any kind kept before 1780. There are 2 church buildings in the parish. All of the residents belong to the Established Church with the exception of forty who are Baptists or Independents. This account was written in 1843.

source:New Statistical Account of Scotland (FHL book 941 B4sa, series 2 vol. 7) also available online at http://edina.ac.uk/stat-acc-scot/. Browse the scanned pages under 'For non-subscribers,' then search for the parish report.

Established Church—Old Parochial Registers
There are no entries for Kilfinichen

Condition of Original Records—
Index: For an index to these records, see the Scottish Church Records Index on computer at the Family History Library and family history centers. Some records may be indexed in the International Genealogical Index. Births and Marriages: These records are intermixed throughout. They appear to have been carefully kept and were kept under the single parish name of Kilfinichen. Source: Key to the Parochial Registers of Scotland, by V. Ben Bloxham, pub. 1970. British book 941 K23b. Note: From the Statistical Account of Scotland, for Kilfinichen and Kilviceon for 1842: “There was no register of any kind kept in the parish until the year 1780, when the then incumbent commenced one, but that only extended to marriages and baptisms. There being no less than thirteen burial places in the parish, and at a great distance from each other, and from the incumbents’ residence, deaths were not recorded.” Apparently the earliest registers have been lost.

Established Church—Kirk Session Records
Minutes 1842–1916 Note: Available at the Scottish National Archives, Edinburgh, record CH2/687.

Ross and Brolas Free Church
History— The southern part of the Island of Mull was, from the Disruption, in charge of the minister of Iona. A church was built at Torosay in 1845. An unsuccessful application was made in 1849 to have Kilfinichan, Brolas and Torosay sanctioned as a united charge. In 1890 Ross was disjoined from Iona, and united with Brolas as one charge. Membership: 189, 157 (including adherents); 1900, 39. 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 ministers.

Records— Extent of pre-1855 records is unknown.

Iona Free Church
History— The minister of the united charge of Iona and Ross of Mull left the Established Church at the Disruption. He suffered hardship from lack of a proper dwelling until 1847. In the years succeeding the Disruption the population of Iona was seriously diminished. In 1890, in consideration of the difficulty of working the two districts together on opposite sides of the Sound, the historical associations of Iona, and its importance as a resort for summer visitors, Iona was sanctioned as a separate charge. Ross and Brolas then became a new charge for the southern district of the Island of Mull. The church was built in 1845 and the manse in 1894. Membership: 1848, 40; 1900, 16. 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 ministers.

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