Monikie, Angus, Scotland Genealogy

Parish #311

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

History
MONIKIE, a parish, in the county of Forfar, 3½ miles (W. by N.) from Muirdrum; containing the villages of Craigton, Guildie, and Guildiemuir, and the hamlet of Bankhead. This parish is supposed to have derived its name, of Gaelic origin, from the character of its surface, rising into an elevated tract of upland moss. The church is a substantial structure erected in 1812, and contains 900 sittings. There is a place of worship belonging to the United Associate Synod.

Genuki.org.uk provides some information on this parish. Additional photos and descriptions of this parish are available at Monikie.org.uk.

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

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, 1841-1911, 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: Birth records are intermixed with marriages up to 1717 and then they are blank May 1657–February 1660 and January 1717–June 1719. Mothers’ names are not recorded until 1716. Marriages: Marriages are intermixed with births up to 1717 and then they are blank May 1735–January 1784. Deaths: The death entries of 1612–1717 are contained on one page. Twenty–three entries without particular dates occur on a page headed 1660 and then are blank, except for a few entries, until January 1703. There are Mortcloth Dues from 1703–September 1733; then they are blank until October 1783, when a record of burial is commenced and continued to July 1790. There are Mortcloth Dues 1790–1825. Source: Key to the Parochial Registers of Scotland, by V. Ben Bloxham, pub. 1970. British Book 941 K23b.

Cemetery Records
Memorial Inscriptions and Index of Surnames courtesy of the Monikie Parish Website: Note the index is at the bottom of this page.

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 1783–1807, 1843–1896 Accounts 1783–1851 Burials 1842–1861 Communion Roll 1850–1879 Note: Available at the Dundee City Archive and Record Centre, Dundee, Scotland. Also on microfilm at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh; record CH2/499.

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.

Monikie Free Church
History— The minister of the parish and part of his congregation came out in 1843. The congregation met in a barn of a farm, the minister occupying part of the farmhouse. When Fox Maule came into the estate, he granted a site, and laid the foundation of the church, which with the manse was completed in 1853. Membership: 1848, 93; 1900, 88. 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.

Records— The extent of records is unknown.

Newbigging United Associate Presbyterian Church
History— The congregation of Newbigging originated with four persons in the neighborhood. The Rev. Mr. Black suggested that application should be made for supply of sermon, which was done in 1788, and attended with success. The originators of the movement ceased to take interest in the cause when a church and manse came to be required. A place of worship was erected in 1789. 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.

Records— Minutes 1828–1940 Baptisms 1815–1895 Chartulary 1789–1851 Note: Available at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh, record CH3/612

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