Kirkconnel, Dumfriesshire, Scotland Genealogy

Parish #834

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

History
KIRKCONNEL, a parish, in the county of Dumfries, 4 miles (N. W. by W.) from Sanquhar. St. Connel, to whom the church was dedicated, appears to have given the name to the parish. The church, a plain structure bearing the date 1729, was enlarged and repaired in the 19th century.

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 edina.($) Click on ‘Browse scanned pages’ then search the parish reports for Kirkconnel. Also available at the

The Kirkconnel Parish Heritage Society has a wonderful website containing information about the history of the parish, including photos. They also have an excellent database of records and photos. Visit their wonderful website at kirkconnel.($) There is a "Big Database" of historical photographs.

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 microfilm numbers for the

Below is information for any known surname indexes:

The 1901 census of Scotland is indexed on scotlandspeople.($) 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 indexes through the library.

Cemeteries
The Kirkconnel Parish Heritage Society has produced a CD that contains both inscriptions and photographs of all the tombstones in the old churchyard of the Kirkconnel parish church. They are beginning work on the new cemetery as well. For information about how to purchase a copy of this CD, visit the society's [http://www.kirkconnel.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=23&Itemid=75? website].

The St. Conal's cemetery (photos and some inscriptions) may be found at:

rootsweb ($).

Church Records
The Kirkconnel Parish Heritage Society has provided some wonderful information about the history of the parish and photos of the church (established church). Follow this link to go directly to their page for the parish church website.

The Established Church of Scotland was Presbyterian. Read more about Scotland 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: There are no birth entries January 1778–June 1786, except a few for 1783. Records are incomplete June 1787–1801. After 1801 there are several entries of an earlier date. After the 1819 entries there is a draft or duplicate of entries dated 1792–1819 and after 1820 there are irregular entries 1785–1854. Marriages: There are only two entries 1825 and 1827 prior to July 1829. Deaths: Mortcloth Dues which are not a continuous record. 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                            1731–1735, 1742–1776, 1795–1967 Treasurers Accounts           1822–1900 Baptismal Register             1855–1926 Note: Available at the Scottish National Archives, Edinburgh, record CH2/1274.

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.

No known nonconformist groups.

Kirkconnel, St Conal Roman Catholic Church
History-

Kirkconnel Parish Heritage Society has posted this account:

kirkconnel.org

Records-

Note: Available online for a fee, at scotlandspeople,($) Edinburgh, record MP

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
Kirkconnel was under the probate jurisdiction of the Commissary Court of Dumfries until 1823, and since then has been under the Sheriff's Court of Dumfries. Probate records for 1513- 1901 are indexed online at scotlandspeople.($) 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 catalogfor the 'Place-names' of Dumfries and the subject of 'Probate records.' Then click on the link to the records of the Commissariat of Dumfries. The library also has some post-1823 probate records for Dumfries. Look in the library catalog for the 'Place-names' of Dumfries and the subjects of 'Probate Records' and 'Probate Records - Indexes.'

Read more about Scotland Probate Records.

Societies
Kirkconnel has a parish heritage society which is an excellent resource for anyone with family from Kirkconnel. They have a lot of projects that they have done and are doing to preserve the history of the parish and its residents. They have a seachable database on their website. Visit their website at http://www.kirkconnel.org for current information about their activities and to search their database.