Cumbernauld, Dunbartonshire, Scotland Genealogy

Scotland

Dunbartonshire

Cumbernauld

Parish #495

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

Cumbernauld, Dunbartonshire, Scotland
Type	Quoad Omnia Parish
Parish Number	495
Civil Jurisdictions
Historic County	Dunbartonshire (exclave in Stirlingshire and Lanarkshire)
Council Area	North Lanarkshire
Registration District	Cumbernauld
Records begin
Parish registers: 1688
Kirk Sessions: 1727
Ecclesiastical Jurisdictions
Presbytery	Glasgow
Synod	Glasgow & Ayr
Judicial Jurisdictions
Sheriff Court	Dumbarton
Commissary Court	Glasgow

History

CUMBERNAULD, a parish, in the county of Dumbarton; including the village of Condorat, 10 miles (W. S. W.) from Falkirk. This place derives its name from a Celtic term signifying a confluence of streams, in reference to the junction of several small streams just below the village. The church is situated in the village, in the centre of the parish, and is an old, inconvenient, and uncomfortable building; it contains 650 sittings, but is much too small for the population. There are also places of worship for members of the Free Church and United Secession.

This parish was disjoined from that of Kirkintilloch in 1649. It was originally called Easter Lenzie and Kirkintilloch was originally called Wester Lenzie.

For more information about Cumbernauld'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 Cumbernauld.

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.

Established Church—Old Parochial Registers

Pre-1855 records for this parish:

Type of Event	Years Covered	FS Library Film Number
Births:	1688-1854	1041984
Marriages:	1689-1854	1041984
Deaths:	1798-1800	1041984

See also the Kirk Session records below.

Condition of Original Registers

Index: For an index to these records, see ScotlandsPeople ($), 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 also be indexed in other FamilySearch collections for Scotland.
Births: Early pages were injured by dampness and entries are partly illegible. There are only two entries for December 1699–January 1701. The record is blank July 1710–July 1727, except for five irregular entries 1714–1727. Mother's names are omitted 1727–1734 inclusive. Except for 13 irregular entries, the record is blank July 1752–January 1761. The page for 1778–1779 is imperfect. A portion for 1782–1792 is found after the record for 1819.
Marriages: Leaves prior to 1710, very much wasted, and most of the entries partially illegible. No entries December 1695–August 1696, nor October 1701—November 1702. Records are blank August 1710–October 1727. There is an imperfect leaf at May 1736. Records are blank June 1752–January 1761 and excluding one entry for 1769, March1768– December 1783; also, excluding one entry December 1791–October 1798, and June 1800–January1802.
Deaths: Burial records terminate, May 1800. The New Statistical Account for 1839 states a burial register was well kept from 1817, but perhaps it has been lost. According to the Account, 1823–1831 the average number of burials was under 49. In 1831 there were 74 burials. The number in 1832 was equally high, but those years were not the norm.
Source: Key to the Parochial Registers of Scotland, by V. Ben Bloxham, pub. 1970. FS Catalog 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.

Lenzie Easter

Minutes 1666–1688, 1697–1700
Note: Available at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh, records CH2/237.

Cumbernauld

Minutes 1727–1748, 1784–1860
Burials 1817–1854
Communion Rolls 1835–1839
Note: Available at the Stirling Council Archives, Stirling, Scotland, record CH2/79.

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.

In 1831, the population of the parish was 3080 or 700 families. One hundred-eighty families belonged to the Secession Church.

Cumbernauld First Original Associate Secession Church, later Free Church

History—
Many of the parishioners of Cumbernauld and Kilsyth parishes withdrew from the Established church and acceded to the Associate Presbytery in 1737. They were included for a time in the congregation at Falkirk. In 1743, they were disjoined from Falkirk and formed into a separate congregation in Cumbernauld. First church built that year; second church in 1825. The minister and the majority of the congregation adhered to the Associate Burgher Synod at the Breach in 1747. At the division caused by, The Old Light Controversy in 1799, the minister and congregation withdrew and formed part of the Original Burgher Synod. The congregation joined the Church of Scotland in 1839 and was designated as The East Church of Cumbernauld. The minister and congregation adhered to the Free Church at the Disruption in 1843. Lying off the railway lines, and having no local industry, the population declined.
Membership: 1848, 264; 1900, 168.
Source: Annals and Statistics of the United Presbyterian Church, by Rev. William MacKelvie, D.D., pub. 1873. FS Library film 477618(+++); also Annals of the Free Church of Scotland, 1843-1900, ed. Rev. William Ewing, D.D., 2 vols., pub. 1914. FS Library film 918572(+++). More details may be given in the sources including lists of ministers.

Records—
Minutes 1839–1876
Note: Available at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh, record CH3/632.

Cumbernauld Second General Associate Anti-burgher Church

History—
This congregation was formed by the minority of the first congregation adhering to the General Associate Anti-burgher Synod, while the majority adhered to the Associate Burgher Synod at the Breach in 1747 (see history above). For some time after the Breach they were regarded as a mission station and had only occasional supply of sermon, the people attending services at other times at Dennyloanhead. The station was organized as a congregation in 1758–1759. Church built in 1762. New church built in 1860. It is assumed this congregation became United Presbyterian.
Source: Annals and Statistics of The United Presbyterian Church, by Rev. William MacKelvie, D.D., pub. 1873. Film #477618. More details may be given in the source including a list of ministers.

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

Cumbernauld was under the probate jurisdiction of the Commissary Court of Dunbarton until 1823, and since then has been under the Sheriff's Court of Dunbarton. Probate records for 1513-1901 are indexed online at ScotlandsPeople ($). Registration is required, but use of the index to probate records, called 'Wills & Testaments,' is free. Copies of documents may be purchased, 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 parish list.

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