Dornock, Dumfriesshire, Scotland Genealogy

Scotland Dumfriesshire  Dornock

Parish #819

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

= History =

DORNOCK, a parish, in the county of Dumfries including the village of Lowthertown, 2 miles (E. by S.) from Annan. The name of this place is usually derived from the Celtic words tor or dor, signifying an oak or wood, and nock, a knowe or hill, and is said to have been applied in consequence of the forests of oak once growing here. The village of Dornock is pleasantly situated upon a gentle eminence about a mile from the coast, and commands a fine view of the Frith. The church, built in 1797, is a plain unadorned structure, containing 300 sittings: in the churchyard are some ancient and very curious tombstones.

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 edina.($) Click on ‘Browse scanned pages’ then search the parish reports for Dornock. 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.

Click here for a list of the Family History Library microfilm numbers for the

Below is information for any known surname indexes:

The 1901 census of Scotland is indexed on scotlandspeople.($) 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—
Index: 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 of these records may be indexed and searchable on familysearch.org Births: These are intermixed with marriages and deaths until 1783. There are only three entries for September 1792–February 1794. Marriages: There are no entries March 1783–August 1796. Marriages are intermixed with births and deaths until 1783. There are no entries August 1798–November 1801; two entries between December 1801–November 1805, August 1811–November 1813 and one entry November 1814–1820. Deaths: Only burials are recorded until 1783. Deaths are intermixed with births and marriages until 1783. There are no entries 1783–October 1798, then only two entries of deaths, dated 1798, and one burial entry for 1802 (for 1818). 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: 

There are none available.

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.

There are 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 =

Dornock was under the probate jurisdiction of the Commissary Court of Dumfries until 1823, and since then has been under the Sheriff's Court of Dumfries. Probate records for 1513- 1901 are indexed online at scotlandspeople.($) 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 Dumfries and the subject of 'Probate records.' Then click on the link to the records of the Commissariat of Dumfries. The library also has some post-1823 probate records for Dumfries. Look in the library catalog for the 'Place-names' of Dumfries and the subjects of 'Probate Records' and 'Probate Records - Indexes.'

Read more about Scotland Probate Records.

= References =

Return to the Dumfriesshire parish list.