Auchterarder, Perthshire, Scotland Genealogy

Parish #329

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

History
AUCHTERARDER, a town, the seat of a presbytery, and a parish, in the county of Perth, 54½ miles (N. W.) from Edinburgh; containing the villages of Borland-Park and Smithyhaugh. This place anciently belonged to the abbey of Inchaffray. The parish includes also the ancient parish of Aberuthven, united to it prior to the Reformation. The church, rebuilt in 1784, and enlarged in 1811, is a plain structure, situated in the town, and containing 930 sittings. There are places of worship for members of the Free Church, and of the Relief and United Secession Synods.

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 Family History Library in Salt Lake City. Some records may also be indexed in other FamilySearch collections for Scotland. Births: There are no birth entries, except a few irregular ones, for 1702–1714 and May 1700–November 1709. Births are intermixed with marriages for June 1677–July 1697. Marriages: There are no marriage entries for June 1675–June 1677, from which date until July 1697 the entries are mixed with the births. There are no entries for July 1697–October 1709. From October 1709 to 1802 the entries for each year are recorded either after or before the entries of births for the same year. There are no entries for December 1802–1831. Source: Key to the Parochial Registers of Scotland, by V. Ben Bloxham, pub. 1970. British 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 and Accounts 1675–1693, 1700–1712, 1759–1890 Cash Book 1849–1867 Register of Mortality 1742–1878 Communion Roll 1849, 1853 Young Communicants 1834–1843 Note: Available at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh, record CH2/20.

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.

Auchterarder South Relief Later United Presbyterian Church
History— When the position of parish minister became vacant in 1776, there was a disagreement among parishioners as to a replacement. Those persons objecting applied for and obtained supply of sermon from the Relief Presbytery of Glasgow and on July 28th 1777 were regularly organized as a congregation. Source: Annals and Statistics of the United Presbyterian Church, by Rev. William MacKelvie, D.D., pub. 1873. Film. More details are given in the source.

Records— Minutes 1848–1907 Managers’ Minutes 1805–1895 Note: Available at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh, record CH3/706.

Auchterarder North Burgher, later United Church, also called Trinity Church
History— In 1811, the General Associate Anti-burgher Synod deposed the Rev. Mr. Imrie of Kinkell from the office of the ministry, on a charge of teaching false doctrines at variance with the standards of the Secession Church (see Kinkell congregation under Tulliallan parish). Source: Annals and Statistics of the United Presbyterian Church, by Rev. William MacKelvie, D.D. pub. 1873. Film. More details are given in the source.

Records— The extent of pre-1855 records is unknown. No records are deposited at the National Archives of Scotland.

Auchterarder Free Church
History— A congregation was formed at the Disruption. The church was built in 1843–1844. The Free Church was the only place of worship for Auchterarder and the populous village of Aberuthven until 1851, when a church was built there. Membership: 1848, 770; 1900, 439. Source: Annals of the Free Church of Scotland, 1843–1900, ed. Rev. William Ewing, D.D., 2 vols, pub. 1914. Film. More details are given in the source.

Records— Minutes 1843–1954 Note: Available at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh, record CH3/705.

Aberuthven Free Church
History— A church was erected in 1851. The charge was sanctioned in 1853. This was the only church in the district, the nearest being 3 miles distant. Membership: 1855, 165; 1900, 124. Source: Annals of the Free Church of Scotland, 1843–1900, ed. Rev. William Ewing, D.D., 2 vols. pub. 1914. Film. More details are given in the source.

Records— The extent of pre-1855 records is unknown. No records are deposited at the National Archives of Scotland. Note: The Statistical Account of Scotland for Perth, dated 1837, states that there were 13 Episcopalians who attended worship services at Muthill, 8 Methodists who attended at Perth, and 2 Catholics who attended at Crieff.

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
Auchterarder 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 Family History 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 Perthshire and the subjects of 'Probate Records' and 'Probate Records - Indexes.' Read more about Scotland Probate Records.