Birse, Aberdeenshire, Scotland Genealogy

Parish #175

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

History
BIRSE, a parish, in the district of Kincardine O'Neil, county of Aberdeen, 2½ miles (E. S. E.) from Aboyne. This place was formerly called Press, a word of Gaelic origin, signifying a wood or thicket, and most probably used in reference to the extensive forest and woods in the district. The church, inconveniently situated in the north-western part of the parish, is a neat substantial edifice, erected in 1779, and capable of accommodating between 500 and 600 persons. There is a Roman Catholic chapel near Ballogie.

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 and 1911 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, 1841-1911, 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
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. Some records may also be indexed in other FamilySearch collections for Scotland. Births: The first page contains irregular entries for 1760–1823. There are only two entries dated prior to 1760. Mothers’ names not recorded in the entries until 1814. After 1819 is another record for 1758–1788, containing a number of entries previously omitted. Marriages: The record was regularly kept from the commencement in 1782. 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 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 and Accounts 1698–1707, 1726–1744, 1765–1866 List of Inhabitants 1804–1805, 1812–1825 Ramsay Mortification Minutes and Accounts 1800–1838 Note: Available at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh, record CH2/595.

CH2/595 Records of Birse Kirk Session 1698-1942 National Archives of Scotland Online Catalog

CH2/595/17 List of men in parish of Birse from 17 to 66, supposed to be capable of carrying arms Mar 1797

CH2/595/21 Accounts and discharges 1680-1909

CH2/595/22 Correspondence 1721-1935

CH2/595/23 Miscellaneous papers 1692-1926

CH2/595/25 Printed papers 1801-1908 CH2/595/26 Miscellaneous papers 1645-1823 CH2/595/27 2 sermons 1863-1908  CH2/1305 Records of Strachan Kirk Session 1783-1948

Monumental Inscriptions
The Kirkyard of Birse in Aberdeen has been indexed by the North-East Scotland Family History Society.

FamilySearch Library

Online listing is available through the: Aberdeen and North-East Scotland Family History Society

The FamilySearch Library in Salt Lake City also has a copy FamilySearch Library online Catalog

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.

Roman Catholic Church
History—  The church was located at Ballogie. No further History is available.

Records— Baptisms 1833–1872 Marriages 1833–1866 Note: Now available online for a fee at www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk. RH 21/12.

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
Birse 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 FamilySearch 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. Ancestry.co.uk also has many probate records for Scotland and Scottish people indexed from 1861-1941 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.