Lunan, Angus, Scotland Genealogy

Parish #305

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

History
LUNAN, a parish, in the county of Forfar, 7½ miles (N. by E.) from Arbroath. The name of this place is derived from two Gaelic words signifying "the river of the lakes," supposed to have been applied from the circumstance of the river Lunan rising in a lake near Forfar, and running through two other lakes in its course to the bay of Lunan, in the German Ocean, here. In ancient times the parish was called Lônan, Lôunan, and Inverlunan. The late church, which was very ancient, was wholly taken down, and a new church erected upon its site in the year 1844; it is situated in the south-eastern portion of the parish.

 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 up to 1783. There are no entries May 1668–August 1669 and they are blank January 1673–February 1686, December 1689–March 1691, and June 1713–July 1716. Mothers' names are not recorded in entries 1686–1734. Marriages: Marriages are intermixed with births up to 1783 and there are no entries November 1818–December 1821. Deaths: Mortcloth Dues up to 1781 and only four entries April 1752–October 1773. There is one entry after December 1779. A record of deaths and burials, contained on one page, commences on October 1783, and terminates June 1788. 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 and Accounts 1654–1713, 1742–1764, 1769–1953 Collections 1743–1782 Poor Funds 1769–1782 Disbursements 1744–1782 Note: Available at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh, record CH3/253

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.

No known nonconformist groups.

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
Lunan 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 [http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/?gclid=CLKJyYGQ4ZUCFQQCagod1gp0Ww 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.