Kinnethmont, Aberdeenshire, Scotland Genealogy

Parish #212

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

History
KINNETHMONT, a parish, in the district of Alford, county of Aberdeen, 2 miles (N.) from Clatt. This place is supposed by some to have taken its name, formerly Kennethmont, from one of the Kenneths, kings of Scotland, having been interred in the churchyard, which is an eminence similar to a mount. Others, regarding its present orthography of Kinnethmont as more correct, derive it from two Gaelic words signifying "head" and "moss," which express the proximity of the high ground of the church site to a mossy tract in the vicinity. The church, a neat and commodious structure, was built in 1812, and is capable of accommodating 600 persons. The members of the Free Church have a place of worship.

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—
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. Some records may also be indexed in other FamilySearch collections for Scotland. Births: Leaf July 1729–January 1730, and also 30th June 1740–February 1741, wanting. There is, however, a duplicate of the record 29th June 1740–November 1759, which exhibits no blank. The records are defective for 1760 and there are two fragments of leaves 1760 and 1762. Mothers’ names not recorded. Marriages: The record 1740–1768 is mixed with other matters. They are blank except four entries, November 1805–June 1812, there is no entry for 1814 and only one entry December 1815–May 1818. There is a duplicate of births and marriages 1821–1836. 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 1768–1871 Cash Book 1762–1873 Note: Available at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh, record CH2/1057.

Seat Rent Book 1846–1863 Note: Available at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh, record CH2/1199.

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.

Kennethmont Free Church
History— One elder and a considerable part of the congregation of the parish church “came out” at the Disruption, and formed the Free Church congregation. Church and manse were forthwith erected. In course of time, numbers of the Congregationalists joined the Free Church. Membership: 1848, 250; 1900, 115. 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 1843–1921 Note: Available at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh, record CH3/1069.

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