Moy & Dalarossie, Inverness-shire, Scotland Genealogy

Parish #105 

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

History
MOY and DALROSSIE, a parish, partly in the county of Nairn, but chiefly in the county of Inverness, 12 miles (S. E.) from Inverness. This place comprises the ancient parishes of Moy and Dalrossie, which appear to have been united at a distant period not precisely ascertained. The former of these parishes is supposed to have derived its name from the Gaelic term Magh, signifying "a meadow or plain," which is its character; but the name of the latter is of doubtful origin. By some writers it is thought to have been derived from the Gaelic Dalfergussie, signifying "the valley of Fergus," of which, however, there is no corroborative evidence. No village has been formed within the parish. The church of Moy, situated on the margin of the loch, near the northern extremity of the parish, was erected in 1765, and thoroughly repaired in 1829; it is a neat plain structure containing 360 sittings. The church of Dalrossie, at a distance of nine miles from that of Moy, and on the bank of the Findhorn, is a very ancient structure of small pebbles, containing 380 sittings. The members of the Free Church have a place of worship.

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

The are no records written or traditional that indicate when these two parishes were united. The name Moy comes from the word Magh meaning a plain, which reflects the topography around the church. The name Dalarrossie is thought to come from the Gaelic word Dalferghai meaning Fergus’s Dale.

It is noted that the nearest market town is Inverness, a distance of about twelve miles from Moy. There are no towns or villages in the parish.

The parish had one eminent literary individual, Sir James Mackintosh, Knight.

There were eleven landowners in the parish, most with very small holdings. The Mackintosh of Mackintosh; Mackintosh of Holm; Mackintosh of Killachy; Macbean of Tormatin; Mackintosh of Aberarder; Earl of Moray; mackintosh of Dalmagivie; Mackintosh of Balnespuk; Macqueen of Corrybrough; the Earl of Cawdor; and Mackintosh of Raigmore.

Little of the parish is under cultivation with much of the hill pastures used for grazing sheep.

The earliest census in the parish was conducted in 1755 and the population amounted to 1,693. The last government census taken in 1831 indicates were only 1,098 individuals living in the parish.

There are Presbytery records dating as far back as 1680, part of the session (parochial) records were destroyed in a schoolhouse fire. As noted, birth records were being kept in 1836.

This account was written Janurary 1836.

Source: The New Statistical Account of Scotland, for Moy &amp; Dalarossie Family History Library book, series 2, vol 14.

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 you are interested in. 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 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—
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. The records may be indexed in FamilySearch Records. Births: After birth record for 1819, eight pages of irregular entries for 1788–1819, with one for 1830 and one for 1836. The older records are stated to have been destroyed by fire. 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 1742–1971 Note: Available at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh, record CH2/684.

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.

Moy Free Church
History— Thomas MacLauchlan, minister of the parish, "came out" in 1843. On the first Sabbath after the Disruption Assembly the people met in a wood and "every man of any consequence in the parish" was present. After the removal of the minister in 1844, the minister of Daviot preached occasionally in Moy. This arrangement continued, except during short periods when the Highland Committee provided a probationer, until a minister was settled in 1862. Membership: 1859, 600; 1900, about 300. Source: Annals of the Free Church of Scotland, 1843–1900, ed. Rev. William Ewing, D.D., 2 vols. pub. 1914. Film #. This record contains a list of ministers.

Records— The extent of records is unknown.

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
Moy &amp; Dalarossie was under the probate jurisdiction of the Commissary Court of Inverness until 1823, and since then has been under the Sheriff's Court of Inverness. 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 Inverness-shire and the subject of 'Probate records.' Then click on the link to the records of the Commissariat of Inverness. The library also has some post-1823 probate records for Inverness-shire. Look in the library catalog for the 'Place-names' of Inverness-shire and the subjects of 'Probate Records' and 'Probate Records - Indexes.' Read more about Scotland Probate Records.