Enzie, Banffshire, Scotland Genealogy

Parish #152

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

History
ENZIE, lately a quoad sacra parish, formed of part of the parishes of Bellie and Rathven, in the county of Banff, 4 miles (N. E.) from Fochabers. The church is a small structure, built in 1785, and enlarged by a gallery at the end in 1815, and by a side gallery in 1822, and now contains 400 sittings; it is nearly equidistant from Rathven church and the church of Bellie, about four miles from each. The Roman Catholics have a place of worship near Achinhalrig, a small hamlet.

Enzie was a quod sacra or chapel of ease  of the parish of Rathven. The chapel was built in 1785 but records only date from 1835. For earlier records see Rathven parish.

Source: New Statistical Account of Scotland (FS Library book 941.B4sa, series 2) Vol. 13.

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 Enzie. 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 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 be indexed in the International Genealogical Index.

Note: No records exist prior to 1835. This parish was earlier part of the parishes of Bellie in Elgin and Rathven in Banff. See those parishes for earlier information.

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 1836–1851 - with accounts, 1851–1897 Enzie Chapel Cash Book 1815–1836 Note: Available at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh, records CH2/387.

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.

Enzie Free Church
History— At the Disruption the people in this village who adhered to the Free Church formed a congregation and met for worship in a shed until their church was opened in 1844. Membership: 1848, 190; 1900, 240. 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— FS Library Film Number Baptismal Register 1844–1860 0304672 X 6901759 Marriage Register 1844–1860 0304672 X 6901760 Note: The X means records have been extracted. Other: Communion Rolls 1842–1902 Session Minutes 1843–1929 Deacons’ Court Minutes 1845–1948 Account Book 1843–1881 Note: Available at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh, records CH3/314.

Preshome, St Gregory's Roman Catholic Church
History:

Unknown

Record:

Note: Available online for a fee, at www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk, Edinburgh, record MP

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

Read more about Scotland Probate Records.