Balquhidder, Perthshire, Scotland Genealogy

Parish #331

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

History
BALQUHIDDER, a parish, in the county of Perth, 9 miles (S. by W.) from Killin; containing the villages of Strathyre and Lochearnhead. This parish, of which the name, descriptive of its situation in the county, is derived from the Gaelic. The church, situated nearly in the centre of the parish, is an ancient edifice, adapted for a congregation of 425 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 http://edina.ac.uk/stat-acc-scot/. Click on ‘Browse scanned pages’ then search the parish reports for your parish of interest. Also available at the

McLauren Stone: The McLauren Stone at Balquhidder Churchyard giving the story of the name.

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 uhidder, as well as the library numbers for any surname indexes available:

The 1901 census of Scotland is indexed on[http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/?gclid=CLKJyYGQ4ZUCFQQCagod1gp0Ww www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk. ]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 the separate 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—
Indexed: 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: Mothers' names are not recorded until May 1710 and omitted April 1724–January 1726. There is a duplicate record for April 1724–1741. Marriages: Marriage entries for 1710–1724 are intermixed with births. There are no entries for January 1724–November 1727, May 1741–December 1754, August 1808–May 1810, or 1818. 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: 

Minutes 1710–1736 Collections and Disbursements 1724–1739 Note: Available at the Stirling Council Archives, Stirling, Scotland, record CH2/469.

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.

Balquhidder Free Church
History— Immediately after the Disruption, services were provided at Lochearnhead for adherents of the Free Church. In 1844 part of Comrie parish was added to Balquhidder parish. In 1845 the charge was sanctioned. Church was erected in 1844. Membership: 1848, 110; 1900, 100. Source: Annals of the Free Church of Scotland, 1843–1900, ed. Rev. William Ewing, D.D., 2 vols, pub. 1914. Film #918572. More details are given in the source.

Records— Declaration of Adherence Signed by Members 1843 Deacons’ Court Minutes 1846–1891 Note: Available at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh, record CH3/1577.

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
Balquhidder was under the probate jurisdiction of the Commissary Court of Dunblane until 1823, and since then has been under the Sheriff's Court of Dunblane. 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 Perthshire and the subject of 'Probate records.' Then click on the link to the records of the Commissariat of Dunblane. The library also has some post-1823 probate records for Perthshire. Look in the library catalog for the 'Place-names' of Perthshire and the subjects of 'Probate Records' and 'Probate Records - Indexes.' Read more about Scotland Probate Records.