Records -> Fife
Anstruther Wester records
Lookup searches – Access records in Scottish archives for ancestors in this parish (e.g. Kirk Session Records). Available from £1 a name a year.
Poor Law appeals – Indexed Poor Law appeals with the option to order images of records.
Asylum records – Index to the General Register of Lunatics in Asylums
School records – Index to School Leaving Certificate Examination results
Anatomy Registers – Index to the records of the Inspector of Anatomy for Scotland
Birth records with no father’s name – Hit a brick wall with no father named in a birth record? Help is at hand: see our list for this parish below.
Asylum records – Index to the General Register of Lunatics in Asylums
Male Heads of Families – Free transcripts of rolls of male heads of families from the 1830s
Kirk Sessions Index – Free extracts from Kirk Session records
Lookups
The records of the Kirk Session contain a variety of documents which detail many aspects of the daily lives of all types of people throughout Scotland from the 16th century onwards. We are pleased to be able to offer a search service in some of the records available for this parish. We will search for a given name in any of the record sets in the table below, and provide you with transcripts of any matching entries for just £1 per name per year.
We do not currently have any lookups available for this parish.
Board of Supervision poor relief appeals
The Board of Supervision was established under the 1845 Poor Law Act. One of its tasks was to hear appeals by paupers against inadequate poor relief granted by Parochial Boards. These appeals were recorded in the Board of Supervision minutes. Cases were often heard over an extended period. The minutes may contain a variety of information, including about other family members, medical conditions and other circumstances. For more information about these records, see here.
We are pleased to be able to offer to obtain images of the minutes for each appeal, at the following rates:
We are pleased to be able to offer to obtain images of the minutes for each appeal, at the following rates:
- £3 for a single minute
- £6 for up to 3 minutes for a single case
- £9 for any single case with more than 3 minutes (some cases have as many as 8 minutes)
| Name | Address | Year(s)/ minutes | Order images | Deliverance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Christian CULBERT or ROBERTSON | 1849 (1) | Order images | Refused | |
| Colin HENDERSON | Anstruther West | 1845-1846 (2) | Order images | Refused |
| Colin HENDERSON | 1846-1847 (2) | Order images | Refused - see former application No 43 (1845) |
Sheriff Court paternity decrees
Single mothers often took the fathers of their children to court for child support. Such cases were known as filiation and aliment cases. The court could order the father to provide maintenance payments to the mother. If the mother won her case, the court would issue a decree, which would allow the mother to enforce payment of aliment. We have indexed all the records of such cases held by the National Records of Scotland from at least 1855 to 1880, and can provide digital images of the records. To order your copy, simply click on the Order now link in the table below.
We have not yet indexed any Kirk Session records for this parish.
| Mother name and residence | Defender name | Child birth | Order | Court |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ann BELL Anstruther Wester | James FERGUSSON | 20 Jun 1881 Anstruther Wester | Order now | Cupar SC20/4/32 |
| Jane THOMSON School Wynd, Anstruther Wester | William WALLACE | 25 Jun 1885 | Order now | Cupar SC20/4/32 |
School Leaving Certificate Exams
This is an index to the registers of school leaving certificate examination results (NRS Reference ED36). We do not currently have any records for this parish.
Anatomy register
This is an index to the registers of the Inspector of Anatomy for Scotland (NRS Reference MH1/1-MH1/30). We do not currently have any records for this parish.
List of Births with no Father's name 1855-1874
Your research hit a brick wall when you discovered a birth record missing this vital name? Choose Find the Father by any birth below to start breaking down that barrier today with our FREE search service. Where we've already identified the father, click on the Father Found link to order a copy of the record naming the father. For births outwith this period, click here.
| Child name | Date of birth | Mother name | Order |
|---|---|---|---|
| David ALLISON | 20 March 1874 | Mary ALLISON | Find the father |
| George Laing BARKER | 19 March 1864 | Jannet BARKER | Find the father |
| Robert BELL | 13 June 1857 | Helen BELL | Find the father |
| David ELDER | 16 February 1868 | Ann ELDER | Find the father |
| Wilson John GOLDIE | 14 May 1859 | Margaret GOLDIE | Find the father |
| Anne METHVEN | 15 August 1871 | Elspeth METHVEN | Find the father |
| David Baldy METHVEN | 3 September 1867 | Margaret METHVEN | Find the father |
| Hellen Scott METHVEN | 2 December 1861 | Rachel METHVEN | Father found |
| James Henderson METHVEN | 30 December 1865 | Rachel METHVEN | Father found |
| Robert PATRICK | 3 August 1874 | Agnes Christina PATRICK | Find the father |
| Ellen PEEBLES | 20 December 1855 | Helen PEEBLES | Find the father |
| Johan PEEBLES | 11 April 1859 | Helen PEEBLES | Father found |
| John SMITH | 8 March 1866 | Betsy SMITH | Find the father |
| Henry STEWART | 22 August 1874 | Ann STEWART | Find the father |
| Elizabeth THOMSON | 2 March 1861 | Helen THOMSON | Find the father |
| John Forbes THOMSON | 28 April 1857 | Grace THOMSON | Find the father |
| Catherine WATSON | 9 October 1863 | Helen WATSON | Father found |
| Mary WISHART | 5 December 1864 | Isabella WISHART | Father found |
| Margaret Barron WOOD | 6 October 1870 | Catherine WOOD | Find the father |
General Register of Lunatics
This index shows patients from this parish admitted to asylums. To order a record click on the Order images link.
| Name | Date of death | Order | Asylums | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BIRRELL or PARKER, Ann field worker Born about 1831 Widowed Previous residence: Anstruther Chargeable parish: Anstruther Wester | 13 Jul 1895 | Order image (1) | Fife | 1888 |
| BLACK or MOIR, Jessie housewife, formerly domestic servant Born about 1856 Married Previous residence: Watson Place, Anstruther Wester Chargeable parish: Anstruther Wester | Order image (1) | Fife District Asylum | 1898 | |
| GRAY, Helen Lothian no occupation Born about 1853 Single Previous residence: Kilrenny Chargeable parish: Anstruther Wester | 27 Mar 1879 | Order image (1) | Fife | 1878 |
| METHVEN, Elspeth field worker Born about 1836 Single Previous residence: Kingussie (formerly Dysart Combination Poorhouse Chargeable parish: Anstruther Wester | Order image (1) | Fife District Asylum | 1889 | |
| MOIR or BLACK, Jessie housewife, formerly domestic servant Born about 1856 Married Previous residence: Watson Place, Anstruther Wester Chargeable parish: Anstruther Wester | Order image (1) | Fife District Asylum | 1898 | |
| PARKER or BIRRELL, Ann field worker Born about 1831 Widowed Previous residence: Anstruther Chargeable parish: Anstruther Wester | 13 Jul 1895 | Order image (1) | Fife | 1888 |
| PEEBLES, Joan dressmaker Born about 1860 Single Previous residence: Royal Edinburgh Asylum Chargeable parish: Anstruther Wester | 22 May 1914 | Order images (2) | Edinburgh Royal Asylum Fife District Asylum | 1905 |
| SCOTT, John Irvine printer apprentice Born about 1889 Single Previous residence: The Dairy, Anstruther Wester Chargeable parish: Anstruther Wester | Order image (1) | Fife District Asylum | 1906 | |
| WATSON, Elizabeth Murray domestic servant Born about 1864 Single Previous residence: 5 St Clair Street, Sinclairtown Chargeable parish: Dysart | 11 Oct 1893 | Order images (2) | Fife District Asylum | 1892 |
Rolls of Male Heads of Families
In 1834, the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland passed the Veto Act, removing the absolute right of landowners to appoint ministers to their parish. The Act gave male heads of families who were communicants with the parish the right to veto the appointment of a new minister if a majority of them objected. To this end, the Assembly instructed kirk sessions to draw up rolls of the male heads of families in each parish. We have transcribed the surviving rolls, and are publishing them here. They are significant as they pre-date the earliest nominal census, which took place in 1841.
No Roll of Male Heads of Families has yet been found for this parish
Kirk Session Records Index
Use the name links below to go to the entries for the person you are interested in. We have selected 1832 as an example year for parishes across Scotland. If you would like more information about the existence of Kirk Session minutes for this or another parish or would like to search for particular people in the minutes please contact us.
We have not yet indexed any Kirk Session records for this parish.
