Little Dunkeld, Perthshire, Scotland Genealogy

Parish #373

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

History
DUNKELD, LITTLE, a parish, in the county of Perth, adjoining Dunkeld, and containing the village of Inver. This parish, which includes the ancient parish of Laganallachy, and is bounded on the north-east by the Tay. The parish church, situated near the south bank of the Tay, was built in 1798, and is a neat plain structure containing 820 sittings. The church of Laganallachy, in the district of Strathbran, has about 450 sittings; and divine service is performed there one Sunday in the month, wholly in the Gaelic language. There is a Roman Catholic chapel attached to Murthly Castle.

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 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 FamilySearch Library in Salt Lake City. Some records may also be indexed in other FamilySearch collections for Scotland. Births: Birth registers are irregular. The entries are out of the order of time, frequently through out. There is an index for the period of1759–1773, after the record for 1819. Marriages: This record is mainly proclamations. Marriage record prior to November 1806 is intermixed with other matters. 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:

Heads of Families 1836–1842 Note: Available at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh, record CH2/107.

Roll of Male Heads of Families
1836, 1837 and 1838 lists 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.

Dalguise and Strathbraan
History— Immediately after the Disruption, supply was provided for this district and the church at Dalguise was erected. In 1844 the church at Strathbraan was built. In 1845 Dalguise and Strathbraan were sanctioned as a united charge. A school which was erected at Strathbraan was eventually handed over to the School Board in 1872. Membership: 1848, 197; 1900, 134. 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— The extent of pre-1855 records is unknown. No records deposited at the National Archives of Scotland.

Murthly Castle Catholic Chapel Drummond-Stewart Family
History—  This church was founded in 1840, consecrated in 1846 to St. Anthony, and closed in 1871. It was served from Perth until 1870 and from Crieff until it closed.

Records— Baptisms 1843–1861 Note: Available at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh, record RH21/40 Also: Baptisms 1856–1869 Marriages 1857–1866 Note: Available online for a fee, at www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk, Edinburgh, record MP

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
Little Dunkeld was under the probate jurisdiction of the Commissary Court of Dunblane 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 FamilySearch 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 Dunblane. The library also has some post-1823 probate records for Perthshire. Look in the library catalog for the 'Place-names' of Pethshire and the subjects of 'Probate Records' and 'Probate Records - Indexes.' Read more about Scotland Probate Records.