Auchinleck, Ayrshire, Scotland Genealogy

 Parish #577 

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

= History =

Auchinleck is said to derive from two Gaelic words meaning “The field of the flagstone”. Auchinleck, Ayr, and Galston are the villiages close to Auchinleck parish. There is a great amount of “freestone” in the parish, which may be where it’s name derives from. Sir James Boswell, Bart., the Marquis of Bute; Mr. Limond of Dalblair were major land owners. The land was primarily used for, barley, bear, beans, oats, potatoes, turnips, sheep, cattle, cheese. The populatin in 1791 was 775. The population in1831 wa 1662. Previous to the appointment of the previous schoolmaster, the registers were not regularly kept, and they go no further back than the beginning of the last century. The number of individuals in the parish connected with the Antiburghers is about 86. The number of persons connected with the United Secession is 235. There are three or four who profess to be Independent, and one or two thought to be Roman Catholic, the rest of the parish belong to the Church, about 417.

This account was written in 1837.

source: New Statistical Account of Scotland (FHL book 941 B4sa, series 2 vol.5)

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 Auchinleck. 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 and 1911 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, 1841-1911, 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 the Scottish Church Records Index on computer at the Family History Library and family history centers. Some records may be indexed in FamilySearch Records. Births: Births are intermixed with marriages until February 1739, blank except one incomplete entry, June 1727–April 1729. Mothers' names are not recorded until November 1752. Twenty irregular entries dated 1806–1815 are on the page after marriages for June 1807. Marriages:Marriages are intermixed with births until February 1739, blank February 1739–December 1752, December 1757–November 1759, July 1760–February 1781, August 1793–1802, and July 1807–February 1821. Deaths: Burials, blank December 1757–February 1780 and December 1788–August 1828. The record ends 1833. 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 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:  There are no known pre-1855 records. 

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.

Auchinleck Original Secession Presbyterian Church
History— This congregation originated with a praying society which met in Wallacetown, a sequestered spot on the water of Glenmuir and on the north side of Airsmoss, where the Reverend Richard Cameron fell with eight of his adherents, in a skirmish with the King's troops on the 20th of July 1680. This society had existed from the times of the Solemn League and Covenant, and had things in common with many others in Ayrshire, Nithsdale, Annandale, and Galloway. It had been under the inspection of the Reverend Mr. Hepburn of Urr. These societies, in four different papers, in which they designated themselves "The Societies of the South and West," publicly declared their adherence to the Testimony emitted by the Associate Presbytery in April 1738. The Society of Wallacetown obtained a disjunction from the congregation of Kilmaurs, and was formed into a separate congregation. The station at Wallacetown was then abandoned, and a place of worship was built at Rigg, a retired spot about half a mile south-east of the village of Auchinleck, from which village the congregation took its name. Source: Annals and Statistics of the United Presbyterian Church, by Rev. William MacKelvie, D.D., pub. 1873. Film #477618. More details may be given in the source including a list of ministers.  Records—                               FHL Film Number  Baptisms 1837–1860 0304670 item 3 Other: Session Minutes 1837–1840 Lists of Members, 1811, 1827, 1837–1848 Note: Available at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh, record CH3/29.

= Civil Registrtion 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 =

Auchinleck was under the probate jurisdiction of the Commissary Court of Glasgow until 1823, and since then has been under the Sheriff's Court of [Court name]. 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 Ayr and the subject of 'Probate records.' Then click on the link to the records of the Commissariat of Glasgow. The library also has some post-1823 probate records for Ayr. Look in the library catalog for the 'Place-names' of Ayr and the subjects of 'Probate Records' and 'Probate Records - Indexes.'

Read more about Scotland Probate Records.

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