Daviot, Aberdeenshire, Scotland Genealogy

Parish #187

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

History
DAVIOT, a parish, in the district of Garioch, county of Aberdeen, 4 miles (N. W.) from Old Meldrum. This parish is supposed to derive its name from the Gaelic term dabhoch, which signifies a piece of land sufficient for the pasture of a certain number of cows. The parish was formerly in the diocese of Aberdeen, and is said to have been given by Malcolm Canmore to the bishop; the present church was built in 1798, and accommodates 400 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 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—
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: The record is defective 1750–1756. There are only a few entries for May 1781–April 1783. It is defective again for 1797. Mothers’ names are very seldom recorded on the entries. Marriages: The record is blank July 1785–September 1813 and November 1819–June 1821. Deaths: There are only three entries for the dates given above. Source: Key to the Parochial Registers of Scotland, by V. Ben Bloxham, pub. 1970. British Book. Monumental Inscriptions: FHL Book 941.25/D3 V3s.

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 1731–1747, 1756–1804, 1812–1819, 1854–1915 Accounts 1731–1748, 1756–1862 Scroll Baptisms 1829–1841 Young Communicants 1829–1873 Note: Available at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh, record CH2/549

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.

Daviot Free Church
History—  Shortly after the Disruption, a church was built for the purpose of accommodating the adherents of the Free Church in the parishes of Daviot and Dores. A minister was settled in Daviot in August 1844. A new church was built in 1859. Membership: 1848, 23; 1900, 15. 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 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
Daviot 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;