Kilspindie, Perthshire, Scotland Genealogy

Parish #363

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

History
KILSPINDIE, a parish, in the county of Perth; containing the villages of Pitrodie and Rait, 2 miles (N. W.) from Errol. This place includes the ancient parish of Rait, which, after the dilapidation of its church, whereof there are still some portions remaining, was united to the parish of Kilspindie, prior to the year 1634. The church, a plain structure erected in 1796, is pleasantly situated on an eminence in the village of Kilspindie, near the confluence of two small rivulets; it contains 350 sittings.

 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.

Conditions 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: Births are intermixed with marriages and other matters until 1712 and intermixed with each other for 1712–1788. Mothers' names are not recorded until 1712. After 1788 there are separate records of births and marriages. Marriages: See the notes for births. Deaths: The record is of deaths and burials. 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 1712–1929 Accounts 1789–1818 Poors' Fund Accounts 1818–1850 Note: Available at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh, record CH2/581.

Roll of Male Heads of Families
An 1836 list 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 Lists.

Pitrodie United Presbyterian Church
History— The congregation of Pitrodie originated in the dissatisfaction felt at an unpopular settlement of a minister in the parish in 1788, together with a difference which had arisen in the Antiburgher session of Errol. The party reclaiming against the settlement obtained supply of sermon from the Associate Burgher Presbytery of Perth 1788. The first church built 1789 and the second in 1816. 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— The extent of pre-1855 records is unknown.

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
Kilspindie 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 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 Family History Library. To find the microfilm numbers, search in the library catalog for the 'Place-names' of Perthshire 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 Perthshire. Look in the library catalog for the 'Place-names' of Perthshire and the subjects of 'Probate Records' and 'Probate Records - Indexes.' Read more about Scotland Probate Records.