Newburgh, Fife, Scotland Genealogy

Parish #450

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

History
NEWBURGH, a parish, sea-port, burgh, and market town, in the district of Cupar, county of Fife, 11 miles (S. E.) from Perth, and 40 (N.) from Edinburgh. This parish derives its name from a town built here long before the separation of the district from the parish of Abdie, or Lindores, of which, previously to the year 1622, the lands formed a part. The town is advantageously situated upon the river Tay, which is divided by the island of Mugdrum into two channels, called respectively the North and South Deep, the latter being the principal roadway for ships approaching the port. The church, erected in 1833, and situated in the centre of the town, is a spacious and handsome structure in the later English style, and forms a conspicuous feature in the view; it is adapted for a congregation of 1000 persons. There are places of worship for the United Associate Synod, and for very small congregations of Baptists, Independents, and Wesleyans.

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 Newburgh. 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 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 FamilySearch Library in Salt Lake City. The records may be indexed in the International Genealogical index.

Births:Births are intermixed with marriages until December 1785. There are no entries July 1690–May 1702, except for one 1692 and seven for 1697–1698. After 1750, occasional entries were made of children baptized by the minister of the Associate Congregation at Abernethy. There are separate records after January 1786. Marriages:There are no entries July 1690–May 1702, except for two entries of contracts of marriage 1697–1698. Source:Key to the Parochial Registers of Scotland, by V. Ben Bloxham, pub. 1970. FamilySearch Library British Book

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 surviving Kirk session records for this parish:

Minutes 1652–1697, 1702–1773, 1849–1923 Accounts 1728–1751, 1812–1731 Treasurer’s Accounts 1832–1847 Note: Available at St. Andrews University Library, St. Andrews, Fife, Scotland, record CH2/277.

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.

The Statistical Account of 1836 states that there were 1008 dissenters in the parish. It also states that out of a population of 2868, about a third belonged to the United Associate congregation. Two hundred and four persons belonged to no religious group.

Newburgh (United) Associate Congregation
History— In 1740, a number of persons in the parish, who had been waiting for their minister to alien himself with the founders of the Secession church, withdrew from the Established church and, along with several persons resident in the parish of Abdie, formally acceded to the Associate Presbytery and connected themselves with the Secession congregation of Abernethy. In 1785, when an unpopular minister was settled in the parish of Newburgh, a number of parishioners applied for and obtained supply of sermon from the Associate Burgher Presbytery of Perth. This made two separate groups of seceders in Newburgh. The first group continued to worship in Abernethy until the union of the two great branches of the Secession in 1820, when most of them became connected with the congregation of Newburgh and contributed to its increase. A church was built in 1785 and enlarged in 1837 and again in 1850, with seating for 850. Source: Annals and Statistics of the United Presbyterian Church, by Rev. William MacKelvie, D.D., pub. 1873. Film. More details may be given in the source.

Records—                                                   FS Library Film Number  Baptisms 1785–1812, 1821–1849                    item 22 Marriages 1785, 1821–1845, 1850–1864           item 22

Newburgh Relief or Second United Presbyterian Church
History— In 1841, a minority of the members of the Newburgh Associate congregation objected to the use of the church for secular purposes and as a result withdrew themselves and formed a Relief Church congregation. When formally organized in April 1842, there were 102 members. They worshiped in the Town Hall until they built a church in 1850, with seating for 400. In 1847, this congregation united with an Associate congregation to form a second United Presbyterian church in the parish. Then in 1873, when they objected to a proposal to unite with the first United Presbyterian congregation, they became an Independent congregation. They formally joined the Evangelical Union in 1893. Source: Annals and Statistics of the United Presbyterian Church, by Rev. William MacKelvie, D.D., pub. 1873. Film. More details may be given in the source.

Records— The extent of pre-1855 records is unknown.

Newburgh Congregational Church
History— A church was formed in Newburgh in 1778. After the death of its minister in 1804, the congregation dissolved. Another church formed in 1841 and lasted until the 1870s. (See also The History of the Relief Church above.) Source: A History of Scottish Congregationalism, by Harry Escott, pub. 1960. FS Library book 941 K2es. The source includes a list of ministers.

Records— The extent of pre-1855 records is unknown. For information write to: The United Reformed Church, Scottish Synod Office PO Box 189 240 Cathedral Street Glasgow G1 2BX Scotland

Newburgh Baptist Church
History— A Scottish Baptist Church was founded in 1808, and while little is known of its early history, it survived and grew and is still in existence today, though it is no longer of the Scottish form.

Records— The extent of pre-1855 records is unknown. For information write to: The Baptist Union of Scotland 12 Aytoun Road Glasgow G41 5RT Scotland

Newburgh Methodist Church
History— A Methodist church was formed in Newburgh before 1836, but nothing is known of its history or records. Attendance was always small.

See also Abdie parish.

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
Newburgh 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 at 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 FamilySearch 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.