Kilmaronock, Dunbartonshire, Scotland Genealogy

Scotland

Dunbartonshire

Kilmaronock

Parish #497

Guide to Kilmaronock ancestry, family history, and genealogy: parish registers, transcripts, census records, birth records, marriage records, and death records.

Kilmaronock, Dunbartonshire, Scotland
Type	Quoad Omnia Parish
Parish Number	497
Civil Jurisdictions
Historic County	Dunbartonshire
Council Area	West Dunbartonshire and Stirling
Registration District	Kilmaronock
Records begin
Parish registers: 1686
Kirk Sessions: None extant
Ecclesiastical Jurisdictions
Presbytery	Dumbarton
Synod	Glasgow & Ayr
Judicial Jurisdictions
Sheriff Court	Dumbarton
Commissary Court	Glasgow and Edinburgh

History

KILMARONOCK, a parish, in the county of Dumbarton, 1 mile (W. by S.) from Drymen. The name of this place signifies "the cell, chapel, or burial-place of St.Marnoch." The parish is beautifully situated on the southern bank of the river Endrick, and on Loch Lomond. The road from Dumbarton to Drymen passes through the parish, as well as the Drymen and Glasgow road. The church was built in 1813, and is in good repair; it contains 400 sittings. There is also a Relief meeting-house.

For more information about Kilmaronock's geography, economy, history, education, and people, see the parish reports in The First and Second Statistical Accounts of Scotland, or the Third Statistical Account for Dunbartonshire 941 B4sa 3rd.

Census Records

Scottish Censuses were taken every 10 years beginning in 1801. Beginning with the 1841 Census, each individual in the nation was enumerated at the location they slept on a particular day. For more information, including which day each census was taken, read about Scottish Census Records.

Click here for a list of the FS Library microfilm numbers for the census records of Kilmaronock.

Below is information for any known surname indexes:

Years	Surname Index
1841
1851	CD-ROM no. 3816
1861
1871
1881	6086556 ( 4 fiche)
1891

Indexes and images for the 1901, 1911, and 1921 censuses of Scotland are found on ScotlandsPeople ($). Registration is required and there is a small access fee per image. All available censuses, 1841-1921, are indexed on this website.

Church Records

The Established Church in Scotland is the Church of Scotland, a Presbyterian denomination of Christianity. Church of Scotland records generally cover the period of time prior to 1855, when Civil Registration began. Unlike in England, Scottish law never mandated that vital events be registered with the established church. For more information, read about Scottish Church Records.

Here are the pre-1855 records that exist for this parish.

Established Church—Old Parochial Registers

Type of Event	Years Covered	FS Library Film Number
Births:	1686-1854	1041996 item 1
Marriages:	1703-1854	1041996 item 1
Deaths:	No entries

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 be indexed in the International Genealogical Index.
Births: Three pages of irregular entries 1770–1800, after record for 1771. Records are defective 1787–1789, inclusive. Irregular entries and families recorded in groups frequently after 1803.
Marriages: Records are blank, excluding five entries 1770–1771, October 1768–March 1777.
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 businessmen of the parish, chosen to serve on the session. It 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.

The National Archives of Scotland has no kirk session records for this parish. They may be held by the local minister.

Nonconformist Church Records

A nonconformist church is any church that is not the established church (the Church of Scotland). For more information, read about Scottish Nonconformity.

Kilmaronock Relief Church, later United Presbyterian

History—
When the church and parish of Kilmaronock became vacant in 1770, the parishioners were much opposed to the patrons’ choice for minister. When he was ordained, the parishioners almost wholly withdrew from the Established church and applied for and obtained supply of sermon from the Relief Presbytery of Glasgow. A first church was built in 1772 and a second in 1853.
Source: Annals and Statistics of the United Presbyterian Church, by Rev. Wm. MacKelvie, D.D., pub. 1873. Film #477618.

Records—
The extent of records is unknown.

Civil Registration Records

Government or civil registration of births, marriages, and deaths is called Statutory Registers in Scotland. The system began 1 January 1855, and each parish had a registrar's office, with large cities having several. Over time, districts merged and split due to changing populations and technological advancements. The system has largely stayed the same over time, with records being created by local registrars and copies sent to the General Register Office in Edinburgh. Initially annual indexes were published, but now these indexes are available online as soon as an event is registered. Many of these records are only available on ScotlandsPeople ($), however the years 1855-1875, 1881, and 1891 are available through FamilySearch(*). For more information, read about Scottish Statutory Registers.

Probate Records

Kilmaronorck was under the jurisdiction of the Commissary Court of Dunbarton until 1823. Unlike England there is no probate in Scotland and wills are confirmed either before the commissary court or later after 1823 the sheriff court of the area where the parish was located - Dunbarton in this case. Confirmations for 1513- 1901 are indexed online at www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk. You must register on the website but use of the index to wills and 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 Dunbarton and the subject of 'Probate records.' Then click on the link to the records of the Commissariat of Dunbarton.

The library also has some post-1823 probate records for Dunbarton. Look in the library catalog for the 'Place-names' of Dunbarton and the subjects of 'Probate Records' and 'Probate Records - Indexes.'

Read more about Scotland Probate Records.

References

Return to the Dunbartonshire Parishes.