Monfieth, Angus, Scotland Genealogy

Parish #310

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

History
MONIFIETH, a parish, in the county of Forfar; including the hamlets of Barnhill and Drumsturdy-Muir, 6 miles (E. by N.) from Dundee. The name of this place, written in ancient records Moniefuith, Monefuit, and Monefut, is of Celtic origin, signifying "the moss of the stag," and is supposed to be descriptive of the state of a portion of the parish in former times, in connexion with the sport here carried on. The church, built in 1813, is situated at the southern extremity of the parish, on the brink of the Tay, and contains sittings for 1100 persons. A chapel, with accommodation for 720 persons, was erected in 1826 at Broughty-Ferry, and the district attached to it was in 1834 formed into a quoad sacra parish. There are also in the village places of worship for the United Associate Synod and 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: Birth records are intermixed with marriages and other matters up to 1649. After July 1708 there are four pages containing births of children of strangers 1676–1708 and the record is blank July 1708–February 1710. Mothers’ names are not recorded until January 1770. Marriages: After July 1678 there is a record of marriages of strangers 1676–1682 on one page. The records are blank July 1708–March 1710, and December 1755–May 1770. Deaths: The death record is blank December 1665–August 1668, and August 1670–February 1676. Before July 1676 there is a record of burials of strangers 1676–1705 on three pages and it is blank again May 1708–January 1717. Burials recorded from about 1748 but are blank December 1804–1833. 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 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 1678–1706, 1710–1943 Accounts 1769–1804 Note: Available at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh, record CH2/270.

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.

Broughty Ferry United Presbyterian Church
History— The United Associate Presbytery of Forfar began preaching at Broughty Ferry in 1837, and a congregation was organized June 1838. They rented a place of worship until 1847 when they built one for themselves. Source: Annals and Statistics of the United Presbyterian Church, by Rev. William MacKelvie, D.D., pub. 1873. Film #. More details may be given in the source.

Records— Minutes 1837–1925 Note: Available at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh, record CH3/509.

Broughty Ferry East Free Church
History— In response to a memorial presented to the Presbytery by local Free Church members, this congregation was organized in December 1861. Public worship was held in a hall. This was burned down, and another temporary place of worship was erected. The charge was sanctioned in 1863. The church was built in 1865 and the manse in 1877. Membership: 1866, 205; 1900, 394. Source: Annals of the Free Church of Scotland, 1843–1900, ed. Rev. William Ewing, D.D., 2 vols. pub. 1914. Film #. More details may be given in the source.

Records— There are no known pre-1855 records.

Broughty Ferry West Free Church
History— The minister of the “quoad sacra” church of Broughty Ferry and many of the congregation came out at the Disruption. The minister was absent owing to illness, and signed the Deed of Demission on his deathbed. A church was built and opened in March 1844. In 1856 the church was enlarged and again in 1890. The East Free and Monifieth South Free Churches were offshoots from this congregation. Membership: 1848, 250; 1900, 714. Source: Annals of the Free Church of Scotland, 1843–1900, ed. Rev. William Ewing, D.D., 2 vols. pub. 1914. Film #. More details may be given in the source.

Records— Various Minutes 1844–1962 Note: Available at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh, record CH3/508

Monifieth Free Church
History— The minister of Monifieth, with two elders and many of his congregation, came out in 1843. For some time public worship was conducted in a tent, as no site for a building could be obtained. At last, in 1846 a church was erected in 1846–1847. A manse was also provided. Membership: 1848, 254; 1900, 136. Source: Annals of the Free Church of Scotland, 1843–1900, ed. Rev. William Ewing, D.D., 2 vols. pub. 1914. Film #. More details may be given in the source.

Records— Minutes 1843–1851, 1865–1920 Communion Roll 1844–1845 Note: Available at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh, record CH3/1180

Broughty Ferry Congregational Church
History— A preaching station was located at Broughty Ferry from 1813 to 1824, served from Dundee. See that parish.

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
Monifieth 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 Dundee. 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 Angus 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 Angus. Look in the library catalog for the 'Place-names' of angus and the subjects of 'Probate Records' and 'Probate Records - Indexes.' Read more about Scotland Probate Records.