Carmichael, Lanarkshire, Scotland Genealogy

Carmichael (#630)

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

History
CARMICHAEL, a parish, in the Upper ward of the county of Lanark, 5 miles (S. E.) from Lanark. This place derives its name from St. Michael, to whom its first church was dedicated. This parish is bounded on the north by the Clyde river, from its confluence with Douglas water to Mill-hill, and intersected by the roads from Carlisle to Stirling, and Edinburgh to Ayr. The church, a cruciform building, erected in 1750, is in good repair, and accommodates between 400 and 500 persons.

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 Carmichael. 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 Scotland Census Records.

Click here for a list of the Family History Library (FHL) microfilm numbers for the

Below is information for any known surname indexes:

All available censuses, 1841-1901, are also indexed on www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk. To use it, you must register and pay a small access fee. 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 with their Family History Library call numbers.

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 be indexed in the[https://familysearch.org/search/collection/list#page=1&region=EUROPE International Genealogical Index. ] Births: Births are intermixed with marriages until May 1713. There are no entries except two, April 1714–March 1717. Mothers’ names are not recorded until 1775. Marriages: Marriages are intermixed with births until May 1713. They are recorded on occasional pages of the register of births, 1716–1790. There are no entries October 1713–May 1716 and June 1790–January 1792, from which date there is a separate record. From June 1710–November 1797 the register is one of persons who gave their names for proclamation or who were proclaimed in order to marriage. There are also transcribed entries of sums collected at marriages and of proclamation fees, 1777–1819. Deaths: There are no entries February 1768–August 1773, from which date to 1819 only transcribed entries of Mortcloth Dues. There are no entries March 1819–1821. 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 1694–1784, 1816–1843, 1863–1894 Accounts 1710–1852 Note: Available at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh, record CH2/57.

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.

There are no known churches for this 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
Carmichael was under the probate jurisdiction of the Commissary Court of Lanark until 1823, and since then has been under the Sheriff's Court of Glasgow. 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 Lanark and the subject of 'Probate records.' Then click on the link to the records of the Commissariat of Lanark. The library also has some post-1823 probate records for Lanark. Look in the library catalog for the 'Place-names' of Lanark and the subjects of 'Probate Records' and 'Probate Records - Indexes.'

Read more about Scotland Probate Records.