Anwoth, Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland Genealogy

Parish #855

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

History
ANWOTH, a parish, in the stewartry of Kirkcudbright; containing part of the burgh of barony of Gatehouse. This parish is bounded on the south by Wigton bay, on the south-east by the bay of Fleet, and on the east by the river Fleet. The church, erected in 1826 is a neat structure, with a tower at the west end surmounted by a spire, and contains 400 sittings. There is a small place of worship for Burghers.

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 Anwoth. 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 Scotland 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 indexes through the library.

Church Records
The Established Church of Scotland was Presbyterian. Read more about Scotland 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 recorded in the same register with marriages. The entries of marriages for each year usually succeed those of the births for the same year. There are no entries June 1760–April 1770, but at that part there are two pages of irregular entries, dated 1761–1834. There are a few entries February 1777–March 1788. After March 1788 the whole record is irregular as to dates. Marriages: Marriages are recorded in the same register with births, the entries of marriages for each year usually succeeding those of births for the same year. There are no entries February 1761–April 1770 and after October 1776 there are only five entries, dated respectively, 1777, 1798, 1803, 1811 and 1827. Deaths: There are three entries dated 1763–1760 and a few entries of funeral expenses for 1789–1792. Source: Key to the Parochial Registers of Scotland, by V. Ben Bloxham, pub. 1970. FS Library book

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 1747–1752, 1770–1836, 1843–1932 Note: Available at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh, record CH2/14.

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. Any members of dissenting churches would have attended in neighboring parishes and towns, such as Gatehouse–on–Fleet.

Cemetery Records
Coutesy of the Kirkcudbrightshire Community with a contact person of Jim Bell:


 * Old Churchyard Monumental Inscriptions
 * New Churchyard Monumental Inscriptions

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
Anwoth was under the probate jurisdiction of the Commissary Court of Kirkcudbright until 1823, and since then has been under the Sheriff's Court of Kirkcudbright. 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 Kirkcudbright and the subject of 'Probate records.' Then click on the link to the records of the Commissariat of Kirkcudbright. The library also has some post-1823 probate records for Kirkcudbright. Look in the library catalog for the 'Place-names' of Kirkcudbright and the subjects of 'Probate Records' and 'Probate Records - Indexes.'

Read more about Scotland Probate Records.

See also Girthon Parish