Banchory Devenick, Kincardineshire, Scotland Genealogy

Parish #251

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

History
BANCHORY-DEVENICK, a parish, partly within, and partly without, the city of Aberdeen, district and county of Aberdeen, but mostly in the county of Kincardine; including the villages of Downies, Findon, and Portlethen. The cognomen of Devenick, or Davenick, applied to this place, is derived from a celebrated saint of the name of Davenicus, who flourished about the year 887, and who, at one time, ministered in the district. The church, which contains 900 sitting, was built in 1822, on the site of a former edifice, the bell of which is marked "1597." At Portlethen is a chapel, containing 300 sittings. Two places of worship in connexion with the Free Church have been erected.

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 FS Library microfilm numbers for the as well as the library numbers for any surname indexes available:

The 1901 and 1911 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 FamilySearch Library in Salt Lake City. Some records may also be indexed in other FamilySearch collections for Scotland. Births: There are no entries April 1713–June 1715. After June 1773 there are twelve pages of irregular entries 1770–1818. Except for February 1718–March 1728, mothers’ names are not recorded until March 1771. Marriages: There are no entries December 1770–August 1778. 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 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 and Accounts 1708–1742, 1773–1935 Note: Available at the Scottish National Archives, Edinburgh, record CH2/1219.

Monumental Inscriptions
The Kirkyard of Aboyne in Aberdeen has been indexed by the North-East Scotland Family History Society.

FamilySearch Library

Online listing is available through the: Aberdeen and North-East Scotland Family History Society

A booklet of these Monumental Inscriptions is available through

The kirkyard of Portlethen : (parish of Banchory-Devenick) Online listing is available through the: Aberdeen and North-East Scotland Family History Society

A booklet of these MI's is available through

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.

There are no known nonconformist groups.

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 onScotland Civil Registration for more information and to access the records.

Probate Records
Banchory Devenick was under the probate jurisdiction of the Commissary Court of St. Andrews until 1823, and since then has been under the Sheriff's Court of Stonehaven. 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 Kincardine and the subject of 'Probate records.' Then click on the link to the records of the Commissariat of St. Andrews. The library also has some post-1823 probate records for [County]. Look in the library catalog for the 'Place-names' of Kincardine and the subjects of 'Probate Records' and 'Probate Records - Indexes.

Read more about Scotland Probate Records.