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 =

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 Family History Library.

= 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 census records of Clackmannan 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.

Established Church—Old Parochial Registers
Years Covered                                      FHL Film Number  Births:        1595–1612, 1626–1647, 1666–1700         1040207 item 3                  1700–1799                                             1040208                  1800–1855                                             1040355 items 1–3 Marriages: 1593–1647, 1669–1679, 1685–1695          1040207 item 3                  1700–1798                                             1040208                  1799–1854                                             1040355 items 1–3 Deaths:      1832–1854                                              1040355 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 the International Genealogical Index. 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 #477618. 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 #918572. 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 Ranch, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Records—                                         FHL Film Number  Record of Members, early to 1877         0104150 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 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.

[Return to Clackmannanshire parish list.]