Clunie, Perthshire, Scotland Genealogy

Parish #339

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

History
CLUNIE, a parish, in the county of Perth, 5 miles (W. by S.) from Blairgowrie. This place, which is of remote antiquity, is distinguished as the scene of a battle between the Caledonians and the Romans under Agricola. The church, erected in 1840, at the expense of the heritors, is a handsome structure in the later English style, with an embattled tower crowned by turrets at the angles, and contains 600 sittings. A place of worship has been erected in connexion with the Free Church.

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, 1841-1901, 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—
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: Births are intermixed with marriages to 1753. Except in 1760–1761 and in a few occasional entries, mothers' names are not recorded until October 1794. Marriages: Prior to 1753 there are generally separate entries of proclamations and of marriages. There are no entries June 1753–November 1794. The fact of marriage is seldom recorded 1794–1816. Deaths: Mortcloth Dues. 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 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:

Accounts 1843–1851 Note: Available at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh, record CH2/547.

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.

Clunie Free Church
History— The minister of Clunie "came out" in 1843. An unsuccessful attempt was made to unite Clunie and Lethendy in one charge. Territorial and county influence was hostile to the Free Church. A decline in the rural population acted adversely on the congregation. Membership: 1848, 280; 1900, 103. 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— The extent of pre-1855 records is unknown. No records are deposited at the National Archives of Scotland.

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