Kinclaven, Perthshire, Scotland Genealogy

Parish #365

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

History
KINCLAVEN, a parish, in the county of Perth, 5 miles (S. by W.) from Blairgowrie. This place, of which the name, of Celtic origin, is descriptive of the situation of its church, is bounded on the north by the river Tay. The church, inconveniently situated at the eastern extremity of the parish, contains 320 sittings. The church is in a very indifferent state of repair; and it is expected that another will be built on a more convenient site. There is a place of worship for members of the United Secession.

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: Entries out of chronological order are a frequent occurrence after 1740. Mothers' names are recorded from April 1744. Marriages: There are no entries for August 1734–October 1741, one for August 1749–June 1755, none for July 1756–January 1762 and December 1766–March 1755, and only one for December 1799–March 1803. 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:

There are no known pre-1855 records.

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.

Kinclaven United Presbyterian Church
History— This congregation originated in 1733 in the secession from the Established Church of its minister, one of the founders of the Secession Church. He was joined in his secession not only by the whole parish but by a number of persons residing in neighboring parishes, particularly that of Cargill, where a portion of that congregation withdrew from the Established Church and placed themselves under the Kinclaven minister. They continued to worship in the parish church until forcibly ejected from it by virtue of a Sheriff's warrant. They worshiped in the open air in summer, as they could not get ground to build a church, and in the winter they met in a barn. This arrangement continued until 1744 when they took possession of a place to worship which they erected for themselves in “The Muir” of Kinclaven. Source: Annals and Statistics of the United Presbyterian Church, by Rev. William MacKelvie, D.D., pub. 1873. Film #477618. More details are given in the source.

Records— FHL Film Number Baptisms and Marriages 1747–1788 0889485 item 9 X Note: The X means records have been extracted. Other: Minutes 1747–1766, 1770–1780; 1789–1889 Note: Available at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh, record CH3/502.

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
Kinclaven 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 [https://familysearch.org/catalog-search catalog for the 'Place-names' 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-names' of Perthshire and the subjects of 'Probate Records' and 'Probate Records - Indexes.' Read more about Scotland Probate Records.

Helpful Websites

 * Kinclaven One Place Study