Bourtie, Aberdeenshire, Scotland Genealogy

Parish #176

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

History
BOURTIE, a parish, in the district of Garioch, county of Aberdeen, 1½ mile (S. W.) from Old Meldrum. The church, situated in about the centre of the parish, is a plain structure, containing 300 sittings, built in 1807.

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 and 1911 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, 1841-1911, 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
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
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 records may also be indexed in other FamilySearch collections for Scotland.

Births: With the exception of two entries for 1729 and seven irregular entries dated 1735–1748, the record is blank for November 1728–June 1735. Mothers’ names are not recorded in the entries.

Marriages: There are no entries for August 1717–July 1718. With the exception of two entries for 1821, the record is also blank for November 1722–March 1797 and November 1819–1826.

Deaths: No record survives for before 1852.

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 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: 

Reference Title Date Access status CH2/1146 Records of Meldrum Kirk Session, Later Meldrum and Bourtie 1698-1977 

See: National Archives of Scotland online catalog

Monumental Inscriptions
The Kirkyard of Aboyne in Aberdeen has been indexed by the North-East Scotland Family History Society.

Family History Library

Online listing is available through the: Aberdeen and North-East Scotland Family History Society

Bourtie Churchyard Monumental Inscriptions are available at The Family History Library and the online catalog

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.

No records are known to exist. Check for records in neighboring parishes.

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
Bourtie 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.