Kirkcaldy, Fife, Scotland Genealogy

Parish #442

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

= History =

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 Kirkcaldy. Also available at the Family History Library.

= 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 census records of Kirkcaldy 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—
Index: For an index to these records, see the Scottish Church Records Index on computer at the Family History Library and family history centers. The records may be indexed in the International Genealogical Index. Births: There are no entries January 1630–March 1638; March 1662–November 1673; April 1691–April 1696 and November 1730–January 1732, from which date to 1743 they are entered in parallel columns of the same record with marriages and deaths. This last portion is not carefully kept. There is a separate record of births after 1743 and an index, 1743–1783. Marriages: There are no marriage entries January 1666–November 1673 and August 1688–January 1732. The record, 1733–1739 inclusive is one of persons contracted for marriage and it is not carefully kept during 1732–1743. Deaths: Deaths prior to 1752; after that date deaths and burials. From 1732–1752 entries are recorded in columns of the register of marriages. There is a separate record after 1752. Source: Key to the Parochial Registers of Scotland, by V. Ben Bloxham, pub. 1970. Family HistoryLibrary British Book 941 K23b.

Established Church—Kirk Session Records
The Kirk session was the court of the parish. The session was made up of he 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 various surviving Kirk session records for this parish:

Kirkcaldy Abbotshall
Various Minutes 1650–1660; 1764–1951 Accounts 1710–1731, 1758–1765, 1769–1845 Book of Correspondence 1847–1856 Churchyard Accounts 1838–1953 Note: Available at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh, record CH2/225.

Old Kirkcaldy
Scroll Minutes 1736–1747 Note: Available at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh, record CH/636.

Kirkcaldy, Pathhead
Various Minutes 1840–1926 Accounts 1840–1843 Communion Rolls 1848–1898 Note: Available at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh, record CH/907.

Kirkcaldy, Invertiel
Various Minutes 1835–1844 Baptismal Register 1844–1854 Note: Available at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh, record CH/925.

Kirkcaldy, St. James
Various Minutes 1854–1969 Note: Available at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh, record CH/967.

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.

For a list of the nonconformist churches of Kirkcaldy with their histories and records, click here.

= 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 =

Kirkcaldy was under the probate jurisdiction of the Commissary Court of St. Andrews until 1823, and since then has been under the Sheriff's Court of Fife of Cupar. 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' of Fife and the subject of 'Probate records.' Then click on the link to the records of the Commissariat of St. Andrews.

The library also has some post-1823 probate records for Fife. Look in the library catalog for the 'Place' of Fife and the subjects of 'Probate Records' and 'Probate Records - Indexes.'

Read more about Scotland Probate Records.

[Return to the Fife parish list.]