Clackmannanshire, Scotland Genealogy

Background
Clackmannanshire is a small county in the interior of Scotland, bounded on the north and north-west by Perthshire, from which it is separated by the Ochil Hills, on the east by the county of Fife, and on the south and south-west by the river Forth. It is about 10 miles in length and 8 miles in extreme breadth, comprising an area of 52 square miles or 33,280 acres.

It comprises four parishes with part of another. For civil purposes it is associated with the county of Kinross under one sheriff, with a sub-sheriff for each. It contains the towns of Clackmannan and Alloa. For a considerable breadth from the shore of the Forth the surface is level, but towards the north rises rapidly, forming part of the Ochil range of hills. About two-thirs of the land is arable and the remainder is hill pasture. The soil is rich and fertile and crops of every kind of grain are produced, and the higher lands afford good pasturage for sheep and cattle.

The chief minerals are ironstone and coal, both of which are extensively wrought. Silver ore has also been found. Among the manufactures are those of flint and crown glass, steam-engines and all kinds of machinery, woollen manfacture, large potteries, brick and tile works, various distilleries, breweries, and tanneries. Ship-building and the making of ropes and sails are likewise carried on.

The population of the county in 1851 was 19,155.

(Source: Samuel Lewis' Topographical Dictionary of Scotland, 2nd ed., 1851.  Family History Library book 941 E5L.)

Parishes
Here is a list of historic parishes, with their parish numbers, for Clackmannanshire. Click on the parish name to see information about records.

Census
The Scottish government began taking censuses of its population in 1841, and every ten years thereafter. The records must be 100 years old before they are released to the public, so the most recent record available is for the 1901 census. Read more about Census Records.

Many census records have been indexed by surname. Some indexes cover one parish (and will be listed in the Wiki on the parish page) and some indexes are for the county as a whole. The Family History Library has county-wide census indexes for Clackmannan for 1841 and 1881.

Maps


Click on the map at the right to see a larger version, and click again on the larger map. Next, click on the ‘Expand’ button when it appears in the lower right-hand corner of the map. Clackmannanshire is at the bottom of the map, with a couple of detached parishes of Perthshire south of it.

Click here to see an outline map of the parishes of Clackmannanshire.

[Return to county list.]