Kilmallie, Argyllshire, Scotland Genealogy

Scotland Argyllshire  Kilmallie

Parish #520

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

= History =

KILMALIE, a parish, partly in the district and county of Argyll, and partly in the county of Inverness; containing the village of Fort-William, and the quoad sacra district of Ballichulish. The wide district comprehending the present parishes of Kilmalie and Kilmonivaig anciently formed one parish, under the appellation of Lochaber; but the two places were separated about the middle of the seventeenth century. The parish of Kilmalie is supposed to have derived its name from the dedication of its church to the Virgin Mary. The church is a neat plain structure, erected in 1783 and contains 1000 sittings. A church has been erected at Fort-William, where are also an episcopal and a Roman Catholic chapel; and there are two churches in the quoad sacra district of Ballichulish. 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 Kilmallie. 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 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 =

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 Records—
Index: For an index to these records, see the Scottish Church Records Index on computer at the Family History Library and family history centers. Some records may be indexed in the International Genealogical Index.  Births: One family 1769–1790 is recorded on January 1784. The regular register is blank November 1800–September 1804; except for entries on a scroll, 1799–1810, and irregular entries of five families, 1775–1810. Two records appear April 1817–February 1823, one of them having been kept at Fort William. One page contains entries April 1813–August 1814 after March 1820. Marriages: There is a record for November 1783–April 1789, Maryburgh and December 1783–September 1790, Northern District of Kilmalie. The latter is blank February 1785–June 1789. No marriages appear September 1790–February 1811. Source: Key to the Parochial Registers of Scotland, by V. Ben Bloxham, pub. 1970. British book 941 K23b.

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 1836–1893 Poor fund accounts 1837–1861 Note: Available at the Scottish National Archives, Edinburgh, record CH2/719.

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.

(north) Ballachulish Free Church
History— The minister of the Parliamentary Church of Ballachulish and Ardgower, with his congregation, left the Established Church in 1843. The district served by the church then included both sides of Loch Leven and extended inland to Glencoe. A site for a church was given to the congregation, at Cuilchenna in Onich, and the building was begun in 1845. Membership: 1855, 160 (including adherents); 1900, 33. Source: Annals of the Free Church of Scotland, 1843–1900, ed. Rev. William Ewing, D.D., 2 vols. pub. 1914. Film #918572. More details may be given in the source including ministers.

Records— Extent of pre-1855 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 =

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

Read more about Scotland Probate Records.

= References =

Return to the Argyllshire Parish List