Collace, Perthshire, Scotland Genealogy

Parish #340

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

History
COLLACE, a parish, in the county of Perth; including the villages of Kinrossie and Saucher, 7 miles (N. E.) from Perth. Collace is chiefly celebrated as having been the residence of the well-known Macbeth, Thane of Glammis, who erected his castle on the hill of Dunsinnan, a lofty and insulated eminence in the parish. The church, built in 1813, is a handsome structure, with a square tower, surmounted by minarets, and contains 400 sittings; it is situated on an elevated ground, surrounded with venerable trees, and is much admired for its commanding locality. A place of worship has been erected in connexion with the Free Church.

 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 Family History 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—
Indexed: 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: There are no birth entries September 1714–September 1720. Except in a very few entries, mothers' names are not recorded until July 1762. Marriages: There are no marriage entries January 1753–June 1762 and July 1775–September 1776. The fact and date of marriage are uniformly recorded and generally the name of the celebrator is added. Deaths: Mortcloth Dues mixed with other matters. 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 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 1713–1739, 1762–1770, 1776–1783, 1787–1798, 1800–1826, 1847–1849 Cash Entries 1775–1804 Seat Lists 1792–1810 Note: Available at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh, record CH2/421.

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 Lists.

Collace Free Church
History— Dr. Andrew A. Bonar, minister of the parish, "came out" at the Disruption. The church was erected in 1843 that year. Membership: 1848, 343; 1900, 83. 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.

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