Boyndie, Banffshire, Scotland Genealogy

Parish #149

History
The ancient names of the parish was Inverboindies, i.e. the mouth of the Boindie; the old church, now in ruins, being situated near the point at which the small stream of that name falls into the sea. Boindie seems to be merely a diminutive from Boyn, the name of a larger stream forming the western boundary of the parish. The word Boyn, besides, ancientlly gave name to two feudal territories, one named the thandedom, the other the forest of Boyn, The thanedom included the chief part of this parish with certain parts of Fordyce and Banff. The forest of Boyn lay both to the east and west of the Forester's seat at Tarbriech, on the shank of the Binnhill near Cullen, comprehending a large district on the south and east of the parish of Fordyce, marching with the thanedom, besides Blairmand in this parish. The word Bouin in Gaelic is understood to signify a stream, and thus with aa, a ford, gives name to the parish of Boyne, at which there is a stream and a ford. Probably our name Boyn, which, in the reign of Robert Bruce, was spelt Bouyn, has the same origin.

The parish is bounded by the parishes of Marnoch, Banff, and the sea; on the north, from 2 to 3 miles, and bounded by the sea; on the west from 4 to 5 miles, and is bounded by the civil parish of Fordyce and by Ordiquhill. The burn of Boindie forms the march towards the south and east, except in reference to the lands of Baldavie, which cross the said water, southward; (the hills of Boindie are here supposed to be in Banff, which is doubtful) the burn of Boyn, towards Fordyce; and a streamlet falling into the latter, towards Ordiquhill By survey, the parish contains about 5000 acres, Scots measure.

Supposedly it was understood that the grey rat was first imported into this part of the county from a vessel wrecked on the reef. Three or four of these ferocious creatures were found in the act of killing the sixth of a litter of young pigs; the former five had been killed and devoured. They were considered very dangerous to young children.

Source: New Statistical Account of Scotland (FHL book 941.B4sa, series 2) Vol. 13.

Also available online at http://edina.ac.uk/stat-acc-scot/. Browse the scanned pages under ‘For non-subscribers,’ then search for the parish report.

Condition of Original Registers—
Index: For an index to these records, see the Scottish Church Records Index available on computers at the Family History Library and family history centers. The records may be indexed in the International Genealogical Index.

 Births:   The record was regularly kept, except 1785–1787 where numerous imperfect entries occur.

 Marriages:   No entries November 1725–May 1734 and July 1736–July 1827, except seven entries for the years 1777, 1778, and 1786.

 Source:   Key to the Parochial Registers of Scotland, by Ben Bloxham, pub. 1970. British Book 941 K23b.

Established Church–Kirk Session Records
Minutes 1698–1706

Accounts 1842–1917

 Note:  Available at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh, records CH2/1507.

Boyndie Free Church
History—

The minister and many of his parish left the Established Church in 1843. A year later they built a church in Whitehills, far from the center of the parish. Because of the inconvenient location, some parishioners joined Ordiquhill and Ord, and some the Portsoy congregation.

 Membership:  1848, 130; 1900, 138.

 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.

Records—

No pre-1855 records of value are known to exist.

Return to the Banffshire parish list.