Saline, Fife, Scotland Genealogy

Parish #455

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

History
SALINE, a parish, in the district of Dunfermline, county of Fife, 6 miles (N.W.) from Dunfermline. This place is supposed to have derived its name, signifying in the Gaelic language "a hill or mountain," from the hills within its limits, of which one is of considerable height. The church is a plain structure situated in the village.

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 Saline. 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 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—
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: There are no blanks, but irregular entries occasionally occur. Marriages: There are no entries, except for one May 1783–March 1794; December 1798–February 1800. The record 1794–1817 is with a few exceptions, one of proclamations. Deaths: Mortcloth Dues Source: Key to the Parochial Registers of Scotland, by V. Ben Bloxham, pub. 1970. FHL British Book 941 K23b.

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 1704–1714, 1848–1941 Minutes and Accounts 1747–1847 Note: Available at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh, record CH2/321.

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.

Saline Free Church
History— This congregation was organized in August 1843 at the request of Free Church residents in the district. The church was erected and opened in June 1844. Membership: 1848, 243; 1900, 158. 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—                                          FHL Film Number  Baptisms 1843–1883                            1068234 item 12 Marriages 1844–1865                                  "           " Burials 1844–1866                                      "           " Session Minutes 1843–1869                  1886474 Deacon’s Court Minutes 1844–1875             " Account Book 1843–1858                           " Communion Rolls 1848–1866                      "

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
Saline was under the probate jurisdiction of the Commissary Court of Stirling until 1823, and since then has been under the Sheriff's Court of Fife at Cupar. 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 Fife and the subject of 'Probate records.' Then click on the link to the records of the Commissariat of Stirling.

The library also has some post-1823 probate records for Fife. Look in the library catalog for the 'Place' of Fife and the subjects of 'Probate Records' and 'Probate Records - Indexes.'

Read more about Scotland Probate Records.