Dunipace, Stirlingshire, Scotland Genealogy

Parish #478   

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

History
DUNIPACE, a parish, ecclesiastically united to the parish of Larbert, county of Stirling, 4 miles (W. by N.) from Falkirk containing the villages of Herbertshire, Denovan, and Torwood. This place, of which the name, of Celtic origin, is derived from two artificial mounds, by some writers supposed to signify "the Hills of Peace," and by others, with greater probability, "the Hills of Death," is of remote antiquity. The old church of Dunipace was taken down from apprehension of insecurity, and the present church erected on a site about a mile and a half to the west, in 1834. 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 http://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: The entries are of a tabular form and the information contained in them is strictly confined to names and dates. At March 1805 are three pages of irregular entries dated 1797–1817. Marriages: Blank April 1755–February 1758, and November 1760–January 1784, excluding one entry for 1780. Date of marriages uniformly recorded before 1760; are sometimes omitted after 1784. Deaths: Mortcloth Dues to August 1783; then record is blank until October 1785, after which they are burials. There is one entry for 1837 after April 1793. 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 Kirk 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 1710–1774, 1776–1858 Communicants 1843–1858 Note: Available at the Stirling Council Archives, Stirling, Scotland, record CH2/644.

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.

Dunipace Free Church
History— The minister of Larbert and Dunipace “came out” in 1843, and at once formed a congregation at Dunipace. Worship was conducted in a barn until the church, begun in August 1843, was ready for occupation. School was held in the church for two years. The school was erected in 1845, and the manse in 1847. A new church was built in 1880. A print work in earlier days; and, later, mining, foundry, and paper works, furnished the chief occupations. Membership: 1848, 120; 1900, 259. Source: Annals of the Free Church of Scotland, 1843–1900, ed. Rev. William Ewing, D.D., 2 vols. pub. 1914. Film #. More details may be given in the source including a list of ministers.

Records—                                          FS Library Film Number  Session Minutes 1844–1890                   items 5–7 Deacons’ Court Minutes 1848–1898         items 5–7 Baptismal Register 1843–1938                item 1

See also Larbert parish.

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