Auchterless, Aberdeenshire, Scotland Genealogy

Scotland Aberdeenshire  Auchterless

Parish #173

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

= History =

AUCHTERLESS, a parish, in the district of Turriff, county of Aberdeen, 7 miles (S. by W.) from Turriff. The name of this place is derived from a Gaelic word signifying, "a cultivated field on the side of a hill," which application of the term is favoured by the general appearance of the surface. The church, a plain edifice, built in 1780, and repaired in 1832, seats 750 persons.

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 indexes through the library.

= Church Records  =

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—
Index: 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 of the records may also be indexed in some FamilySearch collections for Scotland. Births: The record is blank for February 1681–July 1684 and July 1687–April 1692. It is defective for June 1693–March 1694, in consequence of three pages being partially destroyed, after which it is blank until August 1709. There are only two entries for August 1729–January 1732. Mothers’ names not recorded in the entries before 1792. Source: Key to the Parochial Registers of Scotland, by V. Ben Bloxham, pub. 1970. British Book.

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 with Register of Discipline 1706–1961 Accounts 1706–1710 Parochial Board Minutes 1845–1874 Note: Available at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh, record CH2/1334.

Roll of Male Heads of Families
1834 and 1835 lists of male heads of families in this parish can be found here.

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.

Auchterless Free Church
History— Following the Disruption, the adherents to the Free Church cause here steadily grew, in spite of strenuous opposition, until a church was erected in 1862. The charge was sanctioned in 1870. Membership: 1870, 120; 1900, 185. Source: Annals of the Free Church of Scotland, 1843–1900, ed. Rev. William Ewing, D.D., 2 vols. pub. 1914. Film. More details are given in the source.

Records— The extent of records is unknown.

= Civil Registrtion 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 =

Auchterless was under the probate jurisdiction of the Commissary Court of Aberdeen until 1823, and since then has been under the Sheriff's Court of Aberdeen. 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 Aberdeen and the subject of 'Probate records.' Then click on the link to the records of the Commissariat of Aberdeen. Ancestry.co.uk also has many probate records for Scotland and Scottish people indexed from 1861-1941 The library also has some post-1823 probate records for Aberdeen. Look in the library catalog for the 'Place-names' of Aberdeen and the subjects of 'Probate Records' and 'Probate Records - Indexes.' Read more about Scotland Probate Records.&lt;

= References =