Ordiquhill, Banffshire, Scotland Genealogy

Ordiquhill (#163)

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

History
ORDIQUHILL, a parish, in the county of Banff, 11 miles (E. N. E.) from Keith; containing the village of Corncairn. This place, which is situated within seven miles of the North Sea, derives its name, signifying in the Gaelic language "a hollow near an eminence," from the nature of its surface, and its position with respect to the mountainous elevation of Knockhill. The church, erected in 1805, at the extremity of the parish, affords accommodation to a congregation of 500.

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 indexes through the library.

Church Records
The Established Church of Scotland was Presbyterian. Read more about church records.

The Established Church of Scotland was Presbyterian. Read more about church records.

Established Church—Old Parochial Registers
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 records may be indexed in the International Genealogical Index. Births: There are no entries August 1716–October 1717, April 1719–July 1720, and October 1735–January 1737. There are irregular entries 1746–1752. There are 10 pages of irregular entries dated 1766–1822 entered after 1819. A transcript of the portion prior to 1743 was made by the same authority in 1803 arranged in chronological order. Marriages: There are no entries, except one for 1737, November 1726–May 1741, July 1746–July 1749, June 1755–November 1759 and August 1795–April 1803. There is no entry for 1792 or 1818. There is a duplicate of marriages 1743–1817. Deaths: Burials; there are no entries December 1756–January 1784. 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: 1710–1770, 1771–1800, 1800–1841, 1842–1896. Note: Available at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh, records CH2/291.

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 List

No records are available.

Civil Registration'
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 Vital Records for more information and to access the records.

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

Read more about Scotland Probate Records.