Croy & Dalcross, Inverness-shire, Scotland Genealogy

Scotland Inverness-shire  Croy & Dalcross

Parish # 94 

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

= History =

CROY and DALCROSS, a parish, partly in the county of Nairn, but chiefly in that of Inverness, 7 miles (S. W.) from Nairn. The etymology of the name of Croy is altogether uncertain: the word Dalcross is derived from a Gaelic term signifying "the dale at the end of the ravine," and this description is strikingly applicable to the locality. The remains of Dalcross church have almost disappeared: the present parish church, containing sittings for 527 persons, was built in 1767, and repaired in 1829.

The precise signification of Croy cannot be determined, as the name is also found in Holland, Belgium. The word most analogous to it in the Celtic language is cruadh (hard). Dalcross, Dealganross, is from the Gaelic words, Dal aig ceann Rois, signifying “the dale at the end of the ravine,”

The only event worthy to be recorded, is the battle of Culloden, fought 16th April 1746, on a bleak moor five miles south-west of the church. The particulars have been so often and so minutely, and by Chambers, so faithfully and circumstantially narrated, that hardly anything farther can be said.

The population in 1801 was 1601; in 1811 it was 1456; in 1821 it was 1536; and in1831 it was 1664.

From 1640 to 1789, the parish records were kept with singular care. The collections for the poor, and texts of Scripture, regularly entered. The names and residences of the various delinquents, with inquisitorial minuteness, are all recorded, from 1640 to 1720, a period looked on by many as the golden age of the church.

This account was written September 1841.

Source: The New Statistical Account of Scotland Croy &amp; Dalcross, Family History Library book, series 2 vol. 14.

 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 you are interested in. 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 Register—
Index: For an index to these records, see the Scottish Church Records Index available on computers at the Family History Library and family history centers. The records may also be indexed in the International Genealogical Index. Births: Records are irregular and defective December 1782–February 1785. There are seven pages of irregular entries, 1812–1854, at the end of record for 1854 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: 

Minutes 1640–1690, 1718–1775, 1824–1906 Note: Available at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh, record CH2/76.

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.

Croy Free Church
History— The adherents of the Free Church in the parish of Croy at first worshiped at Cawdor; and a proposal to divide their parish between Cawdor and Petty was seriously considered. This was departed from; as was also a plan for building a wooden church on a site for which the proprietor of Cantray would grant only a short lease. At length, in 1851, a suitable site was secured. Source: Annals of the Free Church of Scotland, 1843–1900, ed. Rev. William Ewing, D.D., 2 vols. pub. 1914. Film #.

Records— No known pre-1855 records.

= 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 =

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

= References =

Return to Inverness-shire parish list