Clackmannan, Clackmannanshire, Scotland Genealogy

Parish #466

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

History
CLACKMANNAN, the county town, and a parish, in the county of Clackmannan, 2 miles (E. S. E.) from Alloa; containing the villages of Newtonshaw and Kennet. This place, of which the name, in the Gaelic language, signifies the church town of Annan, anciently belonged to the Annandale family. The parish is bounded on the south-west by the river Forth. The church, erected about the year 1820, is a handsome structure, with a tower of lofty elevation, and contains 1300 sittings; and an additional church was erected, in the north-west district of the parish, which contains 620 sittings. There is a place of worship in the town for members of the Relief Synod.

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 [parish]. 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.

Go to the FamilySearch Catalog to see a list of microfilm numbers for the 1841-1891.

Here is a list of surname indexes available at the library:

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.

Established Church—Old Parochial Registers
Years Covered                                      FS Library Film Number  Births:        1595–1612, 1626–1647, 1666–1700          item 3                  1700–1799                                                               1800–1855                                              items 1–3 Marriages: 1593–1647, 1669–1679, 1685–1695           item 3                  1700–1798                                                               1799–1854                                              items 1–3 Deaths:      1832–1854                                               items 1–3

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. Some records may be indexed on FamilySearch Records. Births: There are no records for November 1599–May 1609 except two pages for September–December 1601 and February–April 1603. There are no records for May 1612–June 1626. Marriages: The first five pages are imperfect. The record is blank for July 1604–June 1609. There is one imperfect page at 1610. The records are again blank for August 1626–April 1631. The record previous to 1647 is chiefly proclamations. Many of the pages for 1621–1679 are imperfect. Source: Key to the Parochial Registers of Scotland, By V. Ben Bloxham, pub. 1970. British Book 941 K23

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 1627–1653, 1656–1690, 1696–1816, 1832–1910 Accounts 1656–1690, 1696–1728 Scroll Minutes 1781, 1820–1831 Scroll Baptisms and Proclamations 1824–1825 Note: Available at the Stirling Council Archives, Stirling, Scotland, record CH2/1242.

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.

The Statistical Account of Clackmannan for c.1795 states there were 59 Burghers and 51 Antiburghers within the parish, but as they had no chapels, they would have attended services elsewhere, possibly in Alloa. This was still the case by the Statistical Account of 1841.

Clackmannan Relief Church
History— After the unpopular settlement of a new minister in the parish church, several parishioners withdrew from the Established Church and applied for and obtained regular supply of sermon from the Relief Presbytery of Edinburgh. Membership: 1791, 180. This is from the Statistical Account of c.1795. Source: Annals and Statistics of the United Presbyterian Church, by Rev. William MacKelvie, D.D., pub. 1873. Film. More details are given in the source.

Records— The extent of records is unknown.

Clackmannan Free Church
History— This congregation was formed immediately after the Disruption of 1843 by a few persons who adhered to the Free Church. Membership: 1848, 110; 1900, 133. 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— Deacons' Court Minutes 1845–1873 Note: Available at the Stirling Council Archives, Stirling, Scotland, record CH3/1517.

Clackmannan Branch, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Records—                                         FS Library Film Number  Record of Members, early to 1877          item 4

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
Clackmannan was under the probate jurisdiction of the Commissary Court of Stirling until 1823. From then it was under the jurisdiction of the Sheriff’s Court of Alloa. 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 Catalog/frameset_fhlc.asp library catalog for the 'Place' of Clackmannan and the subject of 'Probate records.' Then click on the link to the records of the Commissariat of Stirling.

The library also has some post-1823 probate records for Clackmannan. Look in the Catalog/frameset_fhlc.asp library catalog for the 'Place' of Clackmannan and the subjects of 'Probate Records' and 'Probate Records - Indexes.'

Read more about Scotland Probate Records.