Nesting, Shetland, Scotland Genealogy

Scotland

Shetland

Nesting

Parish #7

Guide to Nesting, Lunnasting, and Whalsay & Skerries ancestry, family history, and genealogy: parish registers, transcripts, census records, birth records, marriage records, and death records.

Nesting, Shetland, Scotland
Type	Civil Parish
Parish Number	6
Civil Jurisdictions
Historic County	Shetland
Council Area	Shetland Islands
Registration District	Nesting and Whalsay & Skerries
Records begin
Parish registers: 1760
Kirk Sessions: 1852
Ecclesiastical Jurisdictions
Presbytery	Burravoe
Synod	Shetland
Judicial Jurisdictions
Sheriff Court	Lerwick
Commissary Court	Orkney & Shetland

History

NESTING, LUNASTING, and WHALSAY, a parish, in the Shetland Isles. This parish consists of the three districts or ancient parishes of Nesting, Lunasting, and Whalsay, with the small islands of Skerries on the north-east. The church of Nesting was built in 1792, and is in decent repair; that of Whalsay has been new-roofed, but is deficient in accommodation; and the church of Lunasting, which, with that of Whalsay, is visited by the minister eleven times in the year, has been recently repaired, and is well seated. A church at Skerries, situated at the distance of sixteen miles from the Mainland, is visited only once yearly.

For more information about Nesting, Lunnasting, and Whalsay & Skerries'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 Shetland 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.

Here is a list of the FS Library microfilm numbers for the census records of Nesting, as well as the library numbers for any surname indexes available:

Years	Familyu History Library Film Numbers	Surname Indexes
1841	1042618	none
1851	1041487	none
1861	0103913	none
1871	0104101	none
1881	0203394	6086700 (2 fiche)
1891	0208608	none

1804 477622 Item 13

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

Record Type	Years Covered	FS Library Film Number
Births:	1783-1854 - Nesting	0919491
	1781-1854 - Lunnasting	0919491
	1787-1854 - Whalsay & Skerries	0919491
Marriages:	1828-1854 - Nesting	0919491
	1795-1854 - Lunnasting	0919491
	1787-1854 - Whalsay & Skerries	0919491
Deaths:	1787-1854 - Nesting	0919491
	1787-1824 - Whalsay & Skerries	0919491

Condition of Original Registers—

Indexed: For an index to these records, see the Scottish Church Records Index availabel on computers at the FamilySearch Library and FamilySearch centers. Some records may also be indexed in other FamilySearch collections for Scotland.
Births: Nesting registers proceed continuously as a narrative without the entries being distinguished from each other by any break. Dates are irregular 1808 to the end of the record. The whole record previous to 1828 is contained on eleven pages.
Marriages: Nesting has no records prior to 1828. Whalsay and Skerries have one page of entries, 1845–1747, on first page of death register.
Source: Key to the Parochial Registers of Scotland, by V. Ben Bloxham, pub. 1970. British Book941 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:

No pre-1855 records.

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.

Nesting Congregational Church

History—
A church was formed here about 1842. They met in the Wesleyan Methodist Chapel at Vassa. This congregation may have joined with that of Lerwick in 1864.
Sources: A History of Scottish Congregationalism, by Harry Escott, pub. 1960; FS Library Book 941 K2es and The Scottish Congregational Ministry, by Rev. William D. McNaughton, pub. 1993. FS Library Book 941 K2mwd. More details are given in the sources including ministers.

Records—
The extent of records is unknown. For information write to:
The United Reformed Church, Scottish Synod Office
PO Box 189
240 Cathedral Street
Glasgow G1 2BX
Scotland

Lunnasting Baptist Church

History—
Early converts were baptized by Sinclair Thomson of Dunrossness. A congregation was formed about 1836 and a chapel was built in 1847. For many years it had no pastor but was served jointly with Sandsting.
Source: History of the Baptists in Scotland, by Rev. George Yuille, pub. 1926. FS Library Book 941 K2hi. More details are given in the source including ministers.

Records—
No known early records. See Sandsting and Dunrossness.

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

Nestin was under the probate jurisdiction of the Commissary Court of Orkney & Shetland until 1823, and since then has been under the Sheriff's Court of Lerwick. 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 Shetland and the subject of 'Probate records.' Then click on the link to the records of the Commissariat of Orkney & Shetland.
The library also has some post-1823 probate records for Shetland. Look in the library catalog for the 'Place-names' of Shetland and the subjects of 'Probate Records' and 'Probate Records - Indexes.'

Read more about Scotland Probate Records.

References

Return to Shetland parish list.

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