Crossmichael, Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland Genealogy

Crossmichael #863

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

History
CROSSMICHAEL, a parish, in the stewartry of Kirkcudbright containing the village of Clarebrand, 3½ miles (N.) from Castle-Douglas. This place, which is of remote antiquity, derives its name, in old documents Corse-Michael, from the dedication of its church, which was granted to the abbey of Sweetheart, in the year 1275, by Dervorgille, wife of Allan, Lord of Galloway, and mother of John Baliol, King of Scotland. The parish is situated nearly in the centre of the stewartry, and is bounded on the east by the river Urr, and on the west by the Dee. The church, situated in the western portion of the parish, is a plain structure erected in 1751; it has been frequently repaired, and contains 650 sittings. There is a place of worship for members of the Relief Synod.

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 Crossmichael. Also available at the

Condition of Original Registers—

 * Births: There are five irregular entries for 1735–1748 entered after the record for July 1761. There are no entries, except four, February 1777–September 1779.
 * Marriages: Marriages are intermixed with births. There is only one or two entries recorded for January 1806–1821. Deaths: Deaths are intermixed with births and marriages. There is only one entry 1816, prior to 1820 and five entries after that date. Source: Key to the Parochial Registers of Scotland, by V. Ben Bloxham, pub. 1970. FS Library 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 1735–1801, 1846–1849 Account Book 1769–1784 Note: Available at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh, record CH2/388.

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.

There are no known nonconformist groups.

Note: In 1844 there were 2 families who were members of the Secession church, 6 who were Cameronians, 4 who were Roman Catholic, and a number of persons who had joined the new Free Presbyterian Church. Members of these dissenting groups would have attended church in neighboring parishes or towns, such as Castle Douglas.

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
Crossmichael was under the probate jurisdiction of the Commissary Court of Kirkcudbright until 1823, and since then has been under the Sheriff's Court of Kirkcudbright. 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 FamilySearch Library. To find the microfilm numbers, search in the library catalog for the 'Place-names' of Kirkcudbright and the subject of 'Probate records.' Then click on the link to the records of the Commissariat of Kirkcudbright. The library also has some post-1823 probate records for Kirkcudbright. Look in the library catalog for the 'Place-names' of Kirkcudbright and the subjects of 'Probate Records' and 'Probate Records - Indexes.' Refer to the Scotland Probate Records Article. for further details about Probate records.