Kintore, Aberdeenshire, Scotland Genealogy

Parish #213

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

History
KINTORE, a royal burgh and a parish, in the district of Garioch, county of Aberdeen, 4 miles (S. S. E.) from Inverury, and 12 (N. W. by W.) from Aberdeen; containing the village of Port-Elphinstone. The name of Kintore signifies in Gaelic "the head of the forest." This place was formerly remarkable for its castle, said to have been built by Robert Bruce for a hunting-seat, and which was the occasional residence of several of the Scottish kings. The town, situated on the bank of the river Don, was once of some consequence, being the place of meeting of the great northern road by Aberdeen, and the roads leading to some of the principal passes of the Grampian mountains. The church, situated in the town, was built in 1819, and contains accommodation for 700 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 and Marriages: These Records appear to have been carefully kept; but Mothers’ names not recorded in entries of births until 1776. Deaths: Except a few entries of Mortcloth Dues June 1765–November 1766, no record until December 1783, when burials are recorded on occasional pages of Baptismal Register to December 1793. Then blank until January 1822. Morthcloth Dues 1822–34. There is only one entry January 1834–1845, when burials are resumed. 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 1713–1891, with accounts, 1761–1844 Note: Available at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh, record CH2/223.

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.

Kintore Free Church
History—  The minister and about half the members of the parish church “came out” in1843. They worshiped at first in the Farmers’ Hall. The church, which was forthwith erected, had to be placed in a low position, within flood mark of the river. A new church in a satisfactory site was built in 1847. Granite quarries gave employment to a number of men. Membership: 1848, 300; 1900, 202. 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— FS Library Film Number Session Minutes 1843–1903 item 6 Deacon’s Court Minutes 1844–1884  item 1–2 Baptismal Register 1843–1929  item 1-2 Marriage Register 1843–1928  item 1-2

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
Kintore 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.