Dollar, Clackmannanshire, Scotland Genealogy

Parish #467

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

History
DOLLAR, a town and parish, in the county of Clackmannan; 7 miles (N. E.) from Alloa. This place, of which the name, in the Gaelic language, is descriptive either of a vale at the base of a hill, or of a secluded plain. The church, built in 1775, being insufficient for the increased population, and also in a dilapidated condition, a new church was erected in 1842. It is a handsome structure in the later English style, with a square embattled tower, and contains 600 sittings. There is a place of worship for members of the United Original Secession.

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 Clackmannan. 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 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.

Established Church—Old Parochial Registers
Years Covered                       FS Library Film Number  Births:       1701–1819                             1040355 items 4–5                  1819–1855                             1040209 items 1–3 Marriages: 1700–1708 - proclamations      1040355 items 4–5                  1708–1736, 1766–1800           1040209 items 1–3                  1800–1855                             1040209 items 1–3 Deaths:      1770–1854                             1040209 items 1–3

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 be indexed inFamilySearch Records. Births: Mothers' names are not recorded until July 1742. Marriages: The fact of a completed marriage is seldom added to the entries until after 1800. Deaths: Deaths and burials are both recorded. Source: Key to the Parochial Registers of Scotland, By V. Ben Bloxham, pub. 1970. British Book 941 K23.

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 1742–1863 Accounts 1699–1736, 1742–1789, 1826–1845 Note: Available at the Stirling Council Archives, Stirling, Scotland, record CH2/763.

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.

At the time of the Statistical Account of 1795, there were 17 seceder families within the parish, but no chapels. At the time of the New Statistical Account of 1841, there were several Episcopalians residing in the parish, who attended public worship in the Established Church except for special occasions when they generally went to Alloa. There was also one family each who professed to be Methodist and Baptist.

Dollar Original Secession Congregation
History— The church was in existence in 1841, but it isn’t known when it began. It became a Free Church congregation in 1852. See below. Membership: 1841, 140. This is from the Statistical Account of 1841.

Records— Congregational Minutes 1827–1852 Note: Available at the Stirling Council Archives, Stirling, Scotland, record CH3/811.

Dollar and Muckhart and Shelterhall Free Church
History— Only a few people in Dollar adhered to the Free Church in 1843. The minister of Muckhart and many of his people 'came out.' They built a church at Shelterhall between the two places. In 1852, the Original Secession congregation at Dollar became a Free Church and a probationer was put in charge. Several Shelterhall members joined the Dollar congregation, which in 1856 obtained an ordained minister. The Shelterhall congregation was discontinued in 1864 when the minister retired, most of the members having joined the Dollar congregation. Membership: 1848, 222; 1900, 226. Source: Annals of the Free Church of Scotland, 1843–1900, ed. Rev. William Ewing, D.D., 2 vols. pub. 1914. Film #918572. More details are given in the source including a list of ministers.

Records— Minutes 1843–1864 (Shelterhall) 1852–1866 (Dollar) 1866–1940 Deacons' Court Minutes 1844–1866 (Shelterhall) Scroll Deacons' Court Minutes 1853–1862 (Shelterhall) Deacons' Court Minutes 1853–1910 Note: Available at the Stirling Council Archives, Stirling, Scotland, record CH3/810.

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
Dollar was under the probate jurisdiction of the Commissary Court of Stirling until 1823. From then it was under the jurisdiction of the Sheriff’s Court of Alloa. 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 Catalog/frameset_fhlc.asp library catalog for the 'Place' of Clackmannan and the subject of 'Probate records.' Then click on the link to the records of the Commissariat of Stirling.

The library also has some post-1823 probate records for Clackmannan. Look in the Catalog/frameset_fhlc.asp library catalog for the 'Place' of Clackmannan and the subjects of 'Probate Records' and 'Probate Records - Indexes.'

Read more about Scotland Probate Records.