Luss, Dunbartonshire, Scotland Genealogy

Scotland

Dunbartonshire

Luss

Parish #499

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

Luss, Dunbartonshire, Scotland
Type	Quoad Omnia Parish
Parish Number	499
Civil Jurisdictions
Historic County	Dunbartonshire
Council Area	Argyll & Bute
Registration District	Luss
Records begin
Parish registers: 1698
Kirk Sessions: 1711
Ecclesiastical Jurisdictions
Presbytery	Dumbarton
Synod	Glasgow & Ayr
Judicial Jurisdictions
Sheriff Court	Dumbarton
Commissary Court	Glasgow and Edinburgh

History

LUSS, a parish, in the county of Dumbarton, 9 miles (N. N. E.) from Helensburgh. The name of this parish is derived from a Gaelic word signifying a "plant" or "herb," and probably applied from the circumstance of the river of Luss, or rather the valley through which it flows, being once overspread with shrubs. The church, built in 1771, is a plain building in good repair. The members of the Free Church have a place of worship.

For more information about Luss'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 Luss.

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

Record Type	Years Covered	FS Library Film Number
Births:	1698-1854	1041998
Marriages:	1698-1854	1041998
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 also be indexed in other FamilySearch collections for Scotland.
Births: Irregular entries 1802–1817 are on four pages after June 1818.
Marriages: Records are blank June 1723–November 1725, and December 1778–July 1779 and the lower portion of the leaf at 1781 is cut off. There is only one entry for 1810. The fact of marriage is seldom added to the entry of proclamation.
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.

Here is a list of the surviving Kirk session records for this parish:

Minutes 1711–1752, 1789–1799, 1822–1885
Communion Rolls 1849–1898
Note: Available at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh, record CH2/481.

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.

Luss Free Church, later United Free, and then Baudry Church of Scotland

History—
In 1843, a congregation was formed and services carried on at Arnburn. The charge was sanctioned in 1844, in which year the church at Baudry was erected. The manse was built in 1846. Church and manse were renovated in 1883.
Membership: 1848, 113; 1900, 51.
Source: Annals of the Free Church of Scotland, 1843-1900, ed. Rev. William Ewing, D.D., 2 vols. pub. 1914. Film #918572. More details may be given in the source including a list of ministers.

Records—
Minutes 1844–1915
Deacon's Court Minutes 1845–1910
Baptismal Register 1844–1940
Note: Available at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh, record CH3/942.

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

Luss 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 www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk. You must register on the website but use of the index to probate records, called 'Wills & 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 parish list.