Inverkeilor, Angus, Scotland Genealogy

Parish #293

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

History
INVEREILLOR, a parish, in the county of Forfar, 6 miles (N. by E.) from Arbroath; containing the hamlets of Leysmill, Chapelton of Boysack, March of Lunanbank, and Millfield. This place, which was perhaps anciently called Conghoillis, derives its present name from its situation near the mouth of a small rivulet designated Keillor, which flows into the bay of Lunan about a mile to the south-east of the village.T he church, erected in 1735, and enlarged by the addition of an aisle in 1799, is a plain structure containing 700 sittings. There is a place of worship for members of 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 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 Family History Library in Salt Lake City. Some records may also be indexed in other FamilySearch collections for Scotland. Births: Pages 1–24 are almost exclusively occupied by irregular entries of whole families recorded in groups, the dates rang 1717–1775. On page 25 a regular record commences with September 1739, and is continued to December 1748. Pages 45–66 contain similar irregularities of whole families recorded together; the dates rang 1720–1784. On page 67 commences a regular record from June 1774. Marriages: The marriage record is one of contracts of marriages, and prior to 1783, they are intermixed with other matters. Deaths: There is only one entry for 1793 on the page after births for March 1789. 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:

Miscellaneous Papers 1790–1893 Note: Available at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh, record CH2/194

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.

Inverkeillor Free Church
History— Dr. John Laird, minister of the parish, with a considerable congregation, adhered to the Free Church at the Disruption. Church and manse were soon erected. The congregation suffered through decline of the rural population. Membership: 1848, 296; 1900 123. 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— FS Library Film Number Session Minutes 1843–1935 1484621 item 8 Deacons Court Minutes 1844–1948 1484622 items 1–2

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
Inverkeilor 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.