Old Luce, Wigtownshire, Scotland Genealogy

Parish #894

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

History
LUCE, OLD, or Glenluce, a parish, in the county of Wigton; 10 miles (E. by S.) from Stranraer. This parish anciently included New Luce, the two places together forming the parish of Leuce or Glenluce, which was divided in 1646 into two parts, one called New, and the other Old. The parish is ten miles long and eight miles broad, and contains 40,350 acres. It is bounded on the north by New Luce; on the south by the Bay of Luce. The church, erected in 1814, is a commodious edifice, and situated close to the village. The members of the United Secession 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 Old Luce. 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.

Click to go to the FamilySearch Library Catalog entry for the census records of Old Luce. The FamilySearch Library also has a surname index for the census of Old Luce as well as a surname index for the  census of the whole of Wigtonshire.

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 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 FamilySearch Library in Salt Lake City. Some records may also be indexed in other FamilySearch collections for Scotland. Births: This record has been carefully kept. The pages throughout are subscribed by the session–clerk. Marriages: This record has also been carefully kept. The entries contain both proclamation and marriage with the name of the officiating minister and, prior to 1780 the names of two witnesses to the marriage are given. Pages have been certified by session clerk. Deaths: The record is titled Bills of Mortality. The entries state the age of the deceased. There is a separate record of deaths of children 1732–December 1729 and 1840–1841. 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 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 1724–61, 1821–1962 Accounts 1822–1960 Poors’ Fund Accounts 1724–79 Heritors’ Minutes 1740 Note: Available at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh, record CH2/1417.

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.

Glen Luce Free Church
History— From July 1843 supply was arranged for Old and New Luce. The charge was sanctioned in 1847. The church was built in 1844, the school about 1849, and the manse in 1897. In 1877, the school, no longer needed for educational purposes, was converted into three dwelling houses. Membership: 1848, 100; 1900, 168. Source: Annals of the Free Church of Scotland, 1843–1900, ed. Rev. William Ewing, D.D., 2 vols. pub. 1914. Film #918572. More details may be given in the source

Records— Minutes 1845–1911 Communion Roll 1849–1866 Deacons’ Court Minutes 1849–1911 Collections 1844–1860 Accounts 1846–1854 Other post–1855 records Note: Available at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh, record CH3/1407.

Glen Luce Associate Congregation
History–– This congregation originated in the dissatisfaction felt by a number of the parishioners with the doctrine taught by the parochial incumbent. They applied for and obtained supply of sermon from the Associate Burgher Presbytery of Kilmarnock, 1808. Church built 1818. Source: Amma;s and Statistics of the United Presbyterian Church, by Rev. William MacKelvie, D.D., pub. 1873. Film #477618. More details may be given in the source

Records—  Minutes 1823–1962 Note: Available at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh, record CH3/1408.

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
Old Luce was under the probate jurisdiction of the Commissary Court of Wigtown until 1823, and since then has been under the Sheriff's Court of Wigtown. 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 FamilySearch Library. To find the microfilm numbers, search in the library catalog for the 'Place-names' of Wigtown and the subject of 'Probate records.' Then click on the link to the records of the Commissariat of Wigtown. The library also has some post-1823 probate records for Wigtown. Look in the library catalog for the 'Place-names' of Wigtown and the subjects of 'Probate Records' and 'Probate Records - Indexes.'

Read more about Scotland Probate Records.