Comrie, Perthshire, Scotland Genealogy

Parish #341

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

History
COMRIE, a parish, in the county of Perth; including the villages of Dalginross, St. Fillan's, and Ross, 6½ miles (W.) from Crieff. The name is derived from a Gaelic term signifying "Confluence," used in this instance in reference to the junction of the rivers Earn, Ruchill, and Lednock near the site of the church of Comrie. The church, erected in 1804, is conveniently situated in the village; it is a handsome and commodious edifice, with a spire, and contains 1250 sittings. At Dundurn is an ancient chapel which can contain 400 persons. The members of the Free Church and United Associate Synod have places of worship.

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 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 FamilySearch Library in Salt Lake City. Some records may also be indexed in other FamilySearch collections for Scotland. Births: There are only two birth entries November 1712–November 1714 and none for August 1715–November 1716. There is a duplicate of the portion for September 1743–March 1748. There are irregular entries dated 1741–1768 found one page after the record for October 1737, and similar entries dated 1756–1771 are on three pages after the record for December 1767. Marriages: Marriages prior to 1710 are mixed with other matters. There are no entries April 1710–April 1747 and March 1752–1769. Except 1747–1749, the fact of marriage is recorded regularly. 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 1787–1967 Accounts 1780–1861 Baptisms 1855–1870 Note: Available at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh, record CH2/688.

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.

Comrie Associate United Presbyterian Church
History─ In March 1739, the Associate Presbytery was formed into an association with the Seceders. The persons assembling at Comrie met in the open air until 1752 when they took possession of a place of worship they had erected. Source: Annals and Statistics of the United Presbyterian Church, by Rev. William MacKelvie, D.D. pub. 1873. Film #477618. More details are given in the source.

Records— Baptisms 1791–1826 Minutes 1791–1826, 1839–1924 Managers’ Minutes and Accounts 1832–1924 Note: Available at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh, record CH3/608.

Comrie Free Church
History— The minister of Comrie and many of his people adhered to the Free Church at the Disruption. Church and manse were forthwith erected. In 1857, a small church was built at St. Filans. Membership: 1848, 613; 1900, 398. 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— Minutes 1843–1954 Subscriptions and Accounts for New School 1846–1851 Note: Available at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh, record CH3/607.

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
Comrie was under the probate jurisdiction of the Commissary Court of Dunblane 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 FamilySearch Library. To find the microfilm numbers, search in the library [https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog catalog for the 'Place' of Perthshire and the subject of 'Probate records.' Then click on the link to the records of the Commissariat of Dunblane. 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.