Kenmore, Perthshire, Scotland Genealogy

Parish #360

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

History
KENMORE, a parish, in the county of Perth; containing the villages of Acharn, Blairmore, Bridgend, and Stronfernan, 6 miles (S. W. by W.) from Aberfeldy. This place derives its name, in the Gaelic language signifying "a great headland," from the situation of its church on a headland forming the south bank of the river Tay, near its source, and stretching far into the lake of that name. The church, erected in 1761-2, is a spacious cruciform structure, with a tower at the west end, and is beautifully situated, but at an inconvenient distance from many parts of this very extensive parish; it is adapted for a congregation of 636 persons. There are two chapels of ease, one at Ardeonaig, and the other at Lawers for the accommodation of the more distant parishioners; they are under the patronage of the Society for Propagating Christian Knowledge. There is also a place of worship for members of the Free Church; and at Lawers is one for a small congregation of Baptists.

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: Births are intermixed with marriages prior to 1722. Except two or three, there are no entries January 1657–May 1667, June 1673–March 1676, March 1678–January 1687, April 1688–April 1691, and May 1722–December 1728. Births and marriages are then recorded separately until 1741. There are no entries for February 1740–November 1743. Births are again intermixed with marriages for December 1743–1762. There are both separate and intermixed records of births and marriages 1764–December 1780. Marriages: See the notes for births above. There are no entries for December 1741–December 1743, from which date until 1762 they are again intermixed with births. There are only two entries for December 1780–January 1783. From the year 1804 there are separate lists of parties proclaimed at Killin. 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 1723–1762, 1770 Note: Available at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh, record CH2/205.

Ardeonaig and Ardtalnaig
Accounts and Minutes 1795–1843 Note: Available at the Stirling Council Archives, Stirling, Scotland, record CH2/1247.

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.

Kenmore Free Church
History— This congregation was fully organized at the Disruption. Owing to rural depopulation, the size of the congregation decreased. Membership: 1848, 224; 1900, 125. Source: Annals of the Free Church of Scotland, 1843–1900, ed. Rev. William Ewing, D.D. 2 vol’s. pub. 1914. Film #918572. More details are given in the source.

Records— The extent of records is unknown.

Ardeonaig Free Church
History— The ordained missionary of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, who was in charge of the Chapel of Ease at Ardeonaig, and a large part of the congregation there, “came out” in 1843. Membership: 1848, 93; 1900, 35. Source: Annals of the Free Church of Scotland, 1843–1900, ed. Rev. William Ewing, D.D., 2 vols. pub. 1914. Film #918572. More details are given in the source. Records— Notes of Baptisms and Marriages 1847–1852 Various Minutes 1843–1915 Communion Rolls 1846 List of Those Given Tokens for Communion 1847–1863 Sustentation Fund and Other Accounts 1844–1859 Note: Available at the Stirling Council Archives, Stirling, Scotland, record CH3/1243.

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
Kenmore was under the probate jurisdiction of the Commissary Court of Dunkeld until 1823, and since then has been under the Sheriff's Court of Dunblane. 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 catalogfor the 'Place-names' of Perthshire and the subject of 'Probate records.' Then click on the link to the records of the Commissariat of Dunkeld. 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.