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Upcoming family history talks and events in Scotland, 24 - 30 October 2016
Note that there may be a small charge for some of these events, and some may be for members only. We will be publishing lists of upcoming talks and events regularly - if you are organising a talk or event relating to Scottish genealogy or history, please let us know and we will be happy to add your events to our list. Monday, October 24 2016, 7.30 pm Scottish Fire / New Year Celebrations Alastair Walker Venue: Murthly Village Hall West Stormont Historical Society Preceded by AGM Tuesday, October 25 2016, 7.30 pm Dundonald Castle
Venue: West Kilbride Community Centre, Corse Street, West Kilbride, KA23 9AX Wednesday, October 26 2016, 4 pm Not Like the Others: the excavation of an 18th century Inuit sod house Patrick Jolicoeur, University of Glasgow Venue: Lecture Theatre (109), Gregory Building University of Glasgow Wednesday, October 26 2016, 5 pm Traditionalising Empire: Imperial Commodities in Gaelic Popular Culture Dr Domhnall Uilleam Stiùbhart, Sabhal Mòr Ostaig UHI Venue: Ross House, Dornoch University of the Highlands and Islands Centre for History This seminar examines how imperial commodities found a place within the domestic popular culture of the people of the Highlands from the seventeenth century onwards, at first as exotic, fashionable curiosities, then increasingly as household necessities. See the Centre for History website for details and to book a place/VC connection. Wednesday, October 26 2016, 7.30 pm Scott as a Literary Reviewer David McClay Venue: Volunteer Hall, Galashiels Wednesday, October 26 2016, 9.30 am - 4.30 pm Highland Life in the 18th Century
Venue: Am Fasgadh Collection, Highland Folk Museum, Newtonmore Following a highly successful seminar in 2015, which celebrated the museum’s 80th year, we are delighted to invite you to our next seminar, which explores Highland life in the Eighteenth Century. The seminar will be held in the Am Fasgadh collections’ facility, in amongst the museum’s collection, which has recently been acknowledged as a Recognised Collection of National Significance. Our prominent panel of speakers will cover topics exploring aspects of life in the 1700s including Sports and Pastimes, Livestock Improvement and Changes in Vernacular Furniture. A fascinating insight into how our ancestors lived and worked. Early bird tickets £22.50. Students £17.50. Adults £27.50. Click here to order tickets online. Lunch included, as well as a curatorial tour of the collection. Contact: Rachel Chisholm 01540 673551 rachel.chisholm@highlifehighland.com Thursday, October 27 2016 The Loans Smugglers – An Update Francis Wilkins Venue: Blue Room, Town Hall, Ayr Ayrshire Archaeological and Natural History Society Thursday, October 27 2016, 2 pm - 4 pm Find Your Ain Folk Drop in Service
Venue: Community Room, Largs Library, Allanpark Street, Largs North Ayrshire Family History Society Thursday, October 27 2016, 5.15 pm for 5.30 pm Usurpations [and] infringements”: The Earldom of Mar in the 15th Century Ms Katy Jack (University of Stirling) Venue: New Seminar Room, St John’s House, 71 South Street, St Andrews Institute of Scottish Historical Research Thursday, October 27 2016, 6 pm - 7.30 pm Newhailes: Exploring the 1797 Inventory Ian Gow, chief curator emeritus, NTS Venue: Newhailes House, Newhailes Road, Musselburgh, EH21 6RY £8, including complimentary glass of wine. Limited space, book online Thursday, October 27 2016, 7.30 pm - 9.30 pm Hidden Treasures of Glasgow in Pictures David Walker Venue: Glen Halls, Neilston Barrhead & Neilston Historical Association Thursday, October 27 2016, 7.45 pm Drymen & District's Early Postal Service John Mitchell Venue: Drymen Village Hall, Main Street, Drymen, Glasgow, G63 0BP Drymen & District Local History Society Saturday, October 29 2016, 11 am - 2 pm Brochtoberfest
Venue: St Magnus Centre, Kirkwall Everything you ever wanted to know about brochs but were too afraid to ask. Discussion to be led by Martin Carruthers, site director, The Cairns; Kenneth McElroy and Iain Maclean, Caithness Broch Project; Amanda Brend and James Moore, ORCA Saturday, October 29 2016, 2 pm Guided Tour of Chapelton of Elsick Dominic Fairlie Venue: Chapelton of Elsick, near Newtonhill Architectural Heritage Society of Scotland Pioneered by the Duke of Fife, this new but traditional-styled town is nearing completion. Developer Dominic Fairlie will explain its ethos (£12.00 including tea). To book your place please contact the AHSS National Office: nationaloffice@ahss.org.uk | 0131 557 0019 Saturday, October 29 2016, 2 pm Raising Community Flags in Scotland Philip Tibbets Venue: Royal Scots Club, Abercromby Place, Edinburgh The Heraldry Society of Scotland Sunday, October 30 2016 The Great Disruption of 1843 and the Wider Religious Implications Kenneth Mclean Venue: Corn Exchange & Ormiston Institute, Market Square, Melrose, TD6 9PN Borders Family History Society Kenneth McLean will talk about the Disruption nationally and in the Borders looking at the make-up of Scottish religious life and the United Secession, Relief and United Presbyterian churches in the middle decades of the 1800s.
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Upcoming family history talks and events in Scotland, 9 - 15 May 2016
Note that there may be a small charge for some of these events, and some may be for members only. We will be publishing lists of upcoming talks and events regularly - if you are organising a talk or event relating to Scottish genealogy or history, please let us know and we will be happy to add your events to our list. Monday, May 9 2016, 7 pm for 7.30 pm James Craig and the New Town Tony Lewis Venue: Drummond Community High School, Bellevue Place, Edinburgh Monday, May 9 2016, 7.30 pm Open Evening
Venue: Luncarty Church Centre West Stormont Historical Society Non-members: adults £3, concessions £2. (Open discussion meetings at Luncarty are free) Monday, May 9 2016, 7.30 pm 1884 Reform Protests in Ayrshire Dr Mark Nixon Venue: John Knox Church Hall, High Street, Stewarton Stewarton and District Historical Society Part of the largest political demonstration in Britain's history - "Our legislators should be chosen for the people by the people" as stated on a banner in Hawick Monday, May 9 2016, 7.30 pm AGM followed by A Local Topic and Refreshments
Venue: Dalkeith Baptist Church, North Wynd, Dalkeith Tuesday, May 10 2016, 7.30 pm Crail Fishing Disaster Alan Runciman Venue: Volunteer House (Vonef Centre) in 69 Crossgate Cupar KY15 5AS Tuesday, May 10 2016, 7.30 pm 1901 Census May & Alisdair Venue: Public Library, Airds Crossing, Fort William Lochaber and North Argyll Family History Group Tuesday, May 10 2016, 7.30 pm Listen Up! A WW1 Experimental Station in Fife Diana Maxwell Venue: Dining Hall, Dollar Academy Tuesday, May 10 2016, 7.30 pm - 9.30 pm The Original Olympics Valerie Reilly Venue: Masonic Halls, Collier Street, Johnstone Wednesday, May 11 2016, 2.30 pm Reconstructing Presbytery: Stirling and Dunblane Presbyteries 1688–1700 Andrew Muirhead Venue: Edinburgh Theological Seminar, The Mound, Edinburgh Scottish Church History Society Wednesday, May 11 2016, 6.00 pm ‘Fair hotchin’ wi conchies’: Dundee war resisters and conscientious objectors 1914-1919
Venue: Lecture Theatre 2, Dalhousie Building, University of Dundee Thursday, May 12 2016, 7.30 pm Members Night and Forum AGM
Venue: The Shawl Gallery, Paisley Museum, High Street, Paisley Renfrewshire Local History Forum Thursday, May 12 2016, 7.30 pm - 9.00 pm AGM
Venue: Johnnie Walker Bond, Strand Street Kilmarnock East Ayrshire Family History Society Friday, May 13 2016, 4.00pm-5.30pm The Female World of Love & Empire: Women, Family & East India Company Politics at the End of the 18th Century Professor Margot Finn, University College London Venue: Gannochy Room, Wolfson Building, - Glasgow University, Glasgow, G12 8QQ University of Glasgow Free tickets can be booked here Saturday, May 14 2016, 2.30pm-4.30pm Bereavement Services & Customs Ian Burnett Venue: Unitarian Church Centre Aberdeen and North East Scotland Family History Society Communion is a sacrament recognised by most Christian denominations in remembrance of the Last Supper. In Scotland it was generally held twice a year. Parishioners were expected to attend, and repeated failure to do so could result in parishioners being removed from parish membership. In preparation for the sacrament, the Kirk Session would distribute communion tokens to would-be communicants. Without these tokens, parishioners were unable to take part in communion. Sometimes records were kept of the distribution of these tokens, but more commonly records were kept of attendance at communion itself. These records are generally referred to as Communion Rolls. Within the Church of Scotland, when people moved and sought to join the parish in their new place of residence, they generally had to produce a certificate (sometimes referred to as a testificate) from their home parish, confirming that they were communicants. To qualify for such certification, they had to have attended communion at least once in the previous three years. At their simplest, communion rolls are just lists of parishioners who attended communion. The earliest surviving rolls are merely lists of names. The oldest we have found is from St Madoes in Perthshire and covers the period 1596 to 1611. We have not found many surviving Church of Scotland communion rolls before the nineteenth century (5 in the 17th century, 7 more before 1750 and only 25 before 1800). They really start to become more common – and more useful – around the middle of the nineteenth century. We have identified around 3000 nineteenth-century communion rolls from the Church of Scotland. By the mid-1800s they were sufficiently widespread that two separate church stationers were producing printed forms to simplify the job of clerks in recording communicants.  Printed Communion Roll [Kinclaven Parish, Church of Scotland, Communion Roll 1880-1894, held privately] By this time, communion rolls were also becoming more detailed. In addition to recording names, they regularly include occupations and addresses, and crucially information on admission to communion and disjunction.
There were several ways for an individual to be admitted to communion. They could be admitted as Young Communicants (sometimes referred to as Catechumens). This involved someone, usually the Minister or sometimes an Elder, testing their knowledge of scripture and religious doctrine, often after a series of lessons. The term Young Communicant may in some cases be somewhat misleading – in most cases, Young Communicants would be around 18 to 21, but we have found a few instances of individuals significantly older being admitted for the first time. Indeed some clerks recorded this form of admission as “First Time” or “By Examination”. The other main form of admission is by certificate. On moving to a new parish, church members would present certificates from their previous parish indicating that they were in communion with the church and not subject to scandal for misbehaviour. Some communion rolls only record the fact that an individual was certified, but others record the date and – more usefully – the parish that issued the certificate. This can help identify where an individual came from. Disjunction information can also be very useful. Sometimes clerks would simply record that an individual “Left” or was “Certified”. In some cases, the fact that an individual died was also recorded – in many cases the date or year of death is given. Disjunction information becomes much more useful when the clerk records the place the parishioner moved to. Usually it’s just a parish, but sometimes a full address is given, and other times the clerk will record that the individual emigrated. This can be very useful as sometimes it can be the only confirmation of the identity of a Scottish emigrant to for instance the United States. The completeness of information varies from parish to parish – and over time within the same parish. Even so, communion rolls can prove very useful in tracking individuals. An example is James Wilson, a farm servant. He was recorded with his wife Catherine Methven at Lochton in Abernyte, Perthshire. The communion roll notes that he had been admitted by certificate from Kilspindie in 1881. They were then certificated to Kinnaird in 1882, where they were found living at Kinnaird in the communion roll. They were then again certificated to Longforgan in 1883. The Longforgan communion roll describes James as a ploughman at The Mains and shows that the family were certificated onwards to Perth in 1885. If you look at census records for this couple, they were at Nether Durdie in Kilspindie in 1881 with 9 children. The second youngest, Jemima, aged 2, was born at Longforgan and the youngest, David, just a month old, was born at Kilspindie. By 1891, James was a farmer at Old Gallows Road in Perth (where he’d moved in 1885). Any attempt to track this couple relying solely on census and birth records would have missed their short stay in Kinnaird. Without the communion roll, this sojourn would have likely been unidentifiable. We are working on a project to extract and publish information from Communion Rolls. We have so far transcribed around 50 rolls from Perthshire. You can see an example of the sort of information contained in the communion roll for Kinclaven 1880-1894. (Note that this particular communion roll is held privately, and is not recorded in any archive catalogue.) You can also browse the communion rolls that we have transcribed so far here. Quarter days are the four days used to mark the four quarters of the year. Scottish quarter days, also known as term days, have always been different from English or Irish quarter days. They originally occurred on holy days, although they have now been fixed by the Term and Quarter Days (Scotland) Act 1990 on the 28th days of February, May, August and November. Historically, the quarter days were used for hiring fairs (to hire farm servants), rental contracts, the payment dates for rent, loan interest and salaries and stipends. As such, their names appear in all sorts of historic records, in which the writers and the intended readers would know exactly what they meant. As a modern researcher, it’s therefore very useful to know what they were. The four quarter days traditionally were: Candlemas Candlemas fell on February 2. It marked the Feast of the Presentation, marking the occasion when Mary and Joseph took the infant Jesus to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem 40 days after his birth. In pre-Reformation Scotland, the feast was marked by candlelit processions by mothers who had given birth the previous year. The term is still used today by among others the University of St Andrews, as the name of one of the semesters. It coincides with the Celtic celebration of Imbolc. Whitsunday Whitsun fell on May 15 under the Gregorian Calendar (May 26 under the Julian Calendar before 1599). It commemorates the giving of the law to Moses at Sinai. In respect to genealogy, valuation rolls were in force from Whitsun to the day before the following Whitsun. Whitsun also often coincided with the celebration of the spring communion. Lammas The name Lammas comes from the Anglo-Saxon half-mas, or loaf-mass. It is celebrated on August 1, and marks the first fruits of harvest. It coincides with the Gaelic festival of Lunastal, when in the Highlands it was traditional to make a special cake known as a lunastain. It appears in a celebrated ballad, The Battle of Otterburn, of which the opening verse is: It fell about the Lammas tide, The name is still used in the context of the Lammas Market, held in St Andrews in Fife in August every year, and purportedly the oldest surviving street market in Scotland.
Martinmas Martinmas was November 11. It was originally the feast held to commemorate Martin of Tours, a celebrated 4th century bishop and hermit. St Ninian, an important figure in the Christianisation of Scotland often overshadowed by the better-known St Columba, studied at Marmoûtiers, St Martin’s monastery, and he dedicated one of the earliest churches in Scotland to St Martin. Martinmas is still used as the name of the winter semester at the University of St Andrews, and was historically used by the other ancient universities of Scotland (Aberdeen, Glasgow and Edinburgh). The date is of course now better known as Remembrance Day, marking the end of the First World War. In January 1843, the Conservative government under Sir Robert Peel established a Commission of Enquiry to study the Scottish system of poor relief. There had been growing concerns about the effectiveness of poor relief in Scotland, which at the time was in the hands of the Kirk Sessions of the Church of Scotland. A few months after the Commission was set up, the Church of Scotland split in the Disruption, with around 40% of ministers leaving to form the Free Church. This further eroded the position of the Church of Scotland, and made substantive reform inevitable. The earliest record of poor law in Scotland dates back to 1425 (not 1424 as is sometimes incorrectly stated). Those aged between 14 and 70 who were able to earn a living themselves were forbidden from begging, on pain of branding for a first offence and execution for a second offence: Of thygaris nocht to be thollyt Three years later, the king decreed that officials who failed to implement this act would be fined. In 1535, the system was further formalised. Poor relief was only to be granted to individuals in their parish of birth, and the “headmen” of each parish were to award tokens to eligible paupers, thereby introducing the concept of a licensed beggar. People caught begging outside of their parish of birth were subject to the same harsh penalties as before. An Act for punishment of the strong and idle beggars and relief of the poor and impotent was passed in 1579. This established the basic system of poor relief which was to continue for hundreds of years. Sic as makis thame selffis fuilis and ar bairdis or utheris siclike rynnaris about, being apprehendit, salbe put in the kingis waird and yrnis salang as they have ony guidis of thair awin to leif on If they had no means of sustenance, their ears were to be nailed to the tron or any other tree, and they were then to be banished. The penalty for repeat offenders was death. As for able-bodied beggars: all personis being abone the aige of xiiij and within the aige of lxx yeiris that heirefter ar declarit and sett furth be this act and ordour to be vagabundis, strang and ydle beggaris, quhilkis salhappyne at ony tyme heirefter, efter the first day of Januar nixtocum, to be takin wandering and misordering thame selffis contrarie to the effect and meaning of thir presentis salbe apprehendit; and upoun thair apprehensioun be brocht befoir the provest and baillies within burgh, and in every parochyne to landwart befoir him that salbe constitutit justice be the kingis commissioun or be the lordis of regalities within the samyne to this effect, and be thame to be committit in waird in the commoun presoun, stokkis or irnis within thair jurisdictioun, thair to be keipit unlettin to libertie or upoun band or souirtie quhill thai be put to the knawlege of ane assyse, quhilk salbe done within sex dayis thairefter. And gif they happyne to be convict, to be adjuget to be scurget and brunt throw the ear with ane hett yrne So “strong and idle” beggars were to be captured, imprisoned or put in stocks or irons, and brought before a court within 6 days. Upon conviction, they were to be burnt through the ear with a hot iron. The law puts in this caveat: exceptit sum honest and responsall man will, of his charitie, be contentit then presentlie to act him self befoir the juge to tak and keip the offendour in his service for ane haill yeir nixt following, undir the pane of xx libris to the use of the puyr of the toun or parochyne, and to bring the offendour to the heid court of the jurisdictioun at the yeiris end, or then gude pruif of his death, the clerk taking for the said act xij d. onlie. And gif the offendour depart and leif the service within the yeir aganis his will that ressavis him in service, then being apprehendit, he salbe of new presentit to the juge and be him commandit to be scurgit and brunt throw the ear as is befoirsaid; quhilk punishment, being anys ressavit, he sall not suffer the lyk agane for the space of lx dayis thairefter, bot gif at the end of the saidis lx dayis he be found to be fallin agane in his ydill and vagabund trade of lyf, then, being apprehendit of new, he salbe adjuget and suffer the panes of deid as a theif. In other words, the convicted idle beggar would be spared this punishment if someone offered him a job for a year. If he were to leave such employment without his master’s approval, he would be burned through the ear, but if convicted a second time, he would be put to death as a thief. The law then moves on to detail who should be subject to punishment. Not just beggars, per se, but also: all ydle personis ganging about in ony cuntrie of this realme using subtill, crafty and unlauchfull playis, as juglarie fast and lowis, and sic utheris, the idle people calling thame selffis Egyptianis, or ony utheris that fenyeis thame selffis to have knawlege of prophecie, charmeing or utheris abusit sciences, quhairby they persuaid the people that they can tell thair weardis deathis and fortunes and sic uther fantasticall imaginationes So people claiming to use witchcraft, self-styled “Egyptians” (i.e. Gypsies or Romanies), those claiming to have the gift of prophecy, charms, or fotune-telling. Other people to be punished include those with no visible means of support, minstrels, singers and storytellers not officially approved, labourers who have left their masters, those carrying forged begging licences, those claiming to be itinerant scholars, and those claiming to have been shipwrecked without affidavits: utheris nouthir having land nor maister, nor useing ony lauchfull merchandice, craft or occupatioun quhairby they may wyn thair leavingis, and can gif na rekning how they lauchfullie get thair leving, and all menstrallis, sangstaris and tailtellaris not avowit in speciall service be sum of the lordis of parliament or greit barronis or be the heid burrowis and cieties for thair commoun menstralis, all commoun lauboraris, being personis able in body, leving ydillie and fleing laubour, all counterfaittaris of licences to beg, or useing the same knawing thame to be counterfaittit, all vagabund scolaris of the universities of Sanctandrois, Glasgw and Abirdene not licencit be the rectour and deane of facultie of the universitie to ask almous, all schipmene and marinaris allegeing thame selffis to be schipbrokin, without they have sufficient testimoniallis Those hindering the implementation of the law would be subject to the same penalties. Having established the penalties, the Act requires all poor people to return to their parish of birth or habitual residence within 40 days of this act. Parishes were to be responsible for supporting their native-born paupers or those who had been habitually resident there for seven years, and were to draw up rolls of the poor. Aged paupers could be put to work, and punished if they refused. Children of beggars aged between 5 and 14 could be taken into service until the age of 24 for boys or 18 for girls, and could be punished if they absconded. An Act of 1597 on “Strang beggaris, vagaboundis and Egiptians” explicitly transferred responsibility for poor relief to Kirk Sessions. The 1649 Act anent the poore introduced a stent or assessment on the heritors of each parish to pay for poor relief. The 1672 Act for establishing correction-houses for idle beggars and vagabonds ordered the opening of correction-houses for receaving and intertaining of the beggars, vagabonds and idle persones within their burghs, and such as shall be sent to them out of the shires and bounds aftir specified in Edinburgh, Haddington, Duns, Jedburgh, Selkirk, Peebles, Glasgow, Dumfries, Kirkcudbright, Ayr, Dumbarton, Rothesay, Paisley, Stirling, Culross, Perth, Montrose, Aberdeen, Inverness, Elgin, Inveraray, St Andrews, Cupar, Kirkcaldy, Dunfermline, Banff, Dundee, Dornoch, Wick and Kirkwall. By the time the Commission of Enquiry was set up, it was clear that provision was inadequate. The Commission’s exhaustive report (nearly 6000 pages in total, including evidence; even the index is 300 pages long!) made a series of recommendations:
in every such Parish as aforesaid in which the Funds requisite for the Relief of the Poor shall be provided without Assessment the Parochial Board shall consist of the Persons who, if this Act had not been passed, would have been entitled to administer the Laws for the Relief of the Poor in such Parish; and in every such Parish as aforesaid in which it shall have been resolved, as herein-after provided, to raise the Funds requisite for the Relief of the Poor by Assessment, the Parochial Board shall consist of the Owners of Lands and Heritages of the yearly Value of Twenty Pounds and upwards, and of the Provost and Bailies of any Royal Burgh, if any, in such Parish, and of the Kirk Session of such Parish, and of such Number of elected Members, to be elected in manner after mentioned, as shall be fixed by the Board of Supervision This meant that where a mandatory assessment was used to raise funds for poor relief, the Kirk Session no longer controlled the system, although it was still entitled to appoint up to six members of the Parochial Board. When the Act entered into force, 230 of 880 parishes were subject to statutory assessment. Within a year, that almost doubled to 448 (compared to 432 using voluntary contributions). By 1853, 680 parishes were using statutory assessments, compared to just 202 relying on voluntary contributions. The number of parishes relying on voluntary contributions continued to decline steadily, with only 108 doing so in 1865, and just 51 by 1890.
For genealogists, the implications are clear: after 1845, records of the poor will mostly be found among local government records, mostly held in local council archives around the country. That said, there are significant post-1845 poor records found among the Kirk Session records, not least because as we have seen, in many cases responsibility for poor relief remained with Kirk Sessions long after the Poor Law was enacted. However, the records of the Board of Supervision, being a national body, are held at the National Records of Scotland. One of the responsibilities of the Board of Supervision was to hear appeals against inadequate relief. These appeals are an excellent source for family history – they will tell you much about the individuals, as well as their families. They often include medical reports, information on the earnings of applicants and their families, names and details of children and the like. Before 1845, records of poor relief are more often with Kirk Session records. We saw in a previous post how it was possible to trace individual paupers in for instance Kirk Session accounts and other church records. Some of these records can provide excellent detail - we've seen examples of church poor relief records giving names, relationships, occupations, details of payment in kind, poor children being lodged out with other families and so on. They can be therefore be an excellent source for family historians, and should not be neglected. We are currently working on a national index to a particular set of Poor Law records from 1845 to 1894, which we plan to release later this year. The Church of Scotland is a Presbyterian church. Although the term Presbyterian is now often associated with a stern, austere form of Christianity, strictly speaking the term refers to the Church's hierarchical organisational structure. The supreme body of the Church of Scotland is the General Assembly, which meets annually in Edinburgh. The next level down from the General Assembly are the Synods, which are organised on a territorial basis. Synods are further subdivided into Presbyteries (whence the word Presbyterian). Finally, presbyteries are in turn divided into parishes. The parish is the basic unit of church governance.
Each parish had its own governing body, known as the Kirk Session. Each Kirk Session was convened by a Moderator, who in practice was the parish minister. The Session also had a Session Clerk who, in addition to his (until relatively recently, all members of the Kirk Sessions were men) duties as minute taker and record keeper, also had a significant role as an intermediary between the minister and the congregation. Parish schoolmasters often served as Session Clerks to supplement their meagre teaching incomes. The other members of the Kirk Session were the elders, generally chosen by the congregation. Elders were ordained for life, or until they resigned their position (usually through ill health, but occasionally elders were effectively forced out by scandal). Perhaps the best way to understand the role of Kirk Sessions is to consider them as a combination of court and management body. In some parishes – particularly larger urban parishes – the administrative functions of the Session were hived off to a separate management committee, responsible for such matters as maintaining the church buildings, secular business and the like. Before 1845, and to some extent afterwards, Kirk Sessions were also responsible for provision of support to local paupers – often including members of other denominations – and Kirk Session records contain a great deal of information about payments to poor people. These records can be particularly informative where a dispute arose as to which parish was responsible for supporting paupers. Parishes would often make interim payments to poor people, and then claim the money back from the responsible parish. We will consider Sessions' role in poor relief in a future post. But perhaps the most useful role of the Kirk Session was its quasi-judicial role. Kirk Sessions were notoriously inquisitive about what were considered sexual improprieties – particularly children born outwith marriage – and records of their interrogations of unmarried mothers are among the most interesting and useful of the Kirk Session records (see for instance here, here and here). Even if your ancestors were not cited to compear before the Session for sexual misdemeanours, they may have been cited as witnesses, or for other “scandals”, such as Sabbath breaking and irregular marriage. Other records produced by the Kirk Session include Communion Rolls (see here for an example from Kinclaven), accounts (which can include payments for mortcloth hire, which can serve as a substitute where no burial or death registers survive), testificates (the system used when parishioners moved from one parish to another, certifying that they were members of the Church), registers of marriages and baptisms (which continued after the introduction of civil registration of births and marriages in 1855, and as we have seen, can sometimes contain important information not included in the statutory registers), as well as many other records. Kirk Session records are a fantastic resource for genealogists and family historians. Unfortunately, unlike birth, marriage and death records, they have for the most part not been indexed, and are therefore much harder to access, particularly if you don’t live in Scotland. That is why we have started offering a lookup service, to make them accessible to Scottish genealogists around the world. To see which records we are currently able to lookup, browse our parish pages starting here. If we haven’t yet listed the available records for your parish, let us know and we will be glad to do so.
On 31 May 1834, the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, meeting in Edinburgh, enacted the Overtures and Interim Acts on the Calling of Ministers. This was the latest instalment in a long-running dispute within the Church about who should appoint the minister when a parish fell vacant. The right of patronage – the right of patrons, usually nobles or major landowners, to appoint ministers – had been controversial since the Reformation. An Act of the Scottish Parliament in 1690 vested patronage in the heritors and elders of each parish. They were given the right to propose a candidate, with the whole congregation then given the right to accept or reject the proposal.
In 1711, the British Parliament passed the Church Patronage (Scotland) Act, which restored the rights of the original patrons. The Church was strongly opposed to this, and made an annual protest to Parliament every year until 1784. Two factions emerged, the Moderates, who reluctantly accepted the Patronage Act, and the Evangelicals, who opposed it in principle. In 1730, the General Assembly passed an Act removing the right of objectors to have their objections officially recorded. The Evangelicals viewed this as an attempt to silence them. Two years later, the General Assembly granted the right of patronage to heritors and elders where a patron failed to nominate a candidate within six months. Some in the Church – notably Ebenezer Erskine – wanted this right to be transferred to the Heads of Families within a congregation. But the fact that objections could no longer even be recorded led to a schism in the Church, known as the Original Secession. A hundred years later, in 1834, the General Assembly passed the Overtures and Interim Acts on the Calling of Ministers, more commonly known as the Veto Act. The Veto Act was a victory for the Evangelical party, preventing a patron from presenting a minister if a majority of the heads of households objected to the candidate. This led to a series of court actions by patrons, and eventually led to the Veto Act being declared ultra vires in the House of Lords. For many this was the final straw, and the main consequence of the annulment of the Veto Act was the Great Disruption of 1843, with about 40% of ministers walking out of the Church of Scotland, founding the Free Church of Scotland and leaving the Church of Scotland as a minority church. Aside from the consequences for genealogy research of the Disruption itself – less than half of Scots were now members of the Church of Scotland, so researchers often have to look elsewhere than the Old Parish Registers to find their ancestors – the Veto Act is also relevant for family historians. The Act required all parishes to draw up rolls of "male heads of families, being members of the congregation, and in full communion with the Church" within two months, and to insert these rolls into the Kirk Session records. While not all of these rolls of heads of families survive, hundreds of them do, and they provide a very useful record of inhabitants all over Scotland in the years before the first nominal census of 1841. We have transcribed them (more than 150,000 names), and made them available on our website free of charge. The table below gives a complete list of them, with links to the individual parishes.
Upcoming family history talks and events in Scotland, 28 March - 3 April 2016
Note that there may be a small charge for some of these events, and some may be for members only. We will be publishing lists of upcoming talks and events regularly - if you are organising a talk or event relating to Scottish genealogy or history, please let us know and we will be happy to add your events to our list. 
Monday, March 28 2016, 7.30 pm Glasgow Humane Society George Parsonage Venue: Caldwell Halls, 16 Campsie Road, Torrance, G64 4BN Torrance Heritage and History Group Monday, March 28 2016, 7.30 pm Perthshire monasteries and their local communities Prof Richard Oram Venue: Bankfoot Church Centre West Stormont Historical Society Non-members: adults £3, concessions £2. (Open discussion meetings at Luncarty are free) Monday, March 28 2016, 7.30 pm - 9.30 pm Finlaggan, Islay – excavation at the center of the Lordship of the Isles Dr David Caldwell Venue: Alloa Town Hall (Tommy Downs Room) Clackmannanshire Field Studies Society Speaker Society of Antiquaries Scotland, Fife Cultural Trust Thursday, March 31 2016, 7.30 pm Clyde Upper Reaches : Imports & Exports Iain Quinn Venue: Glen Halls, Neilston Barrhead & Neilston Historical Association Thursday, March 31 2016, 7.30 pm Blackfriars Monastery Dig Bob Will, Guard Archaeology Venue: Smith Museum and Art Gallery Stirling Local History Society Thursday, March 31 2016, 7.30 pm Glasgow's Bridges Tom Marchmont Venue: FCCS Office, Soutbank Marina, Kirkintilloch Thursday, March 31 2016, 8 pm Ayrshire's Railway Heritage Alasdair Wham Venue: Chapel Hall, Our Lady of Perpetual Succour, 2 Crummock Street, Beith, Ayrshire Beith Historical Society
Upcoming family history talks and events in Scotland, 21 - 27 March 2016
Note that there may be a small charge for some of these events, and some may be for members only. We will be publishing lists of upcoming talks and events regularly - if you are organising a talk or event relating to Scottish genealogy or history, please let us know and we will be happy to add your events to our list. 
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Monday, March 21 2016, 7.30 pm Frae a’ the Airts Bill Black Venue: Morison Memorial Church, Dumbarton Road, Clydebank Clydebank Local History Society Monday, March 21 2016, 7.30 pm 100 Years of the Usher Hall Ruth Boreham Venue: Millennium Room, Cramond Kirk Hall Preceded by AGM Monday, March 21 2016, 7.30 pm Family History on the Internet Ronnie Scott Venue: Kelvinside Academy, Glasgow Glasgow & West of Scotland Family History Society Monday, March 21 2016, 7-9 pm Tranent Old Graveyard
Venue: Augustine Church, George IV Bridge, Edinburgh Monday, March 21 2016, 8 pm A Scottish Doctor in Russia John Gooding Venue: Dreghorn Loan Hall, Colinton, EH13 0DE Colinton Local History Society Tuesday, March 22 2016, 6 pm The Grants of Inverquharity Castle: The Early Castle Restores - a dialogue with archive illustrations Alisoun Grant, castle restorer in conversationwith Simon Green, architectural historian Venue: Dalhousie Building, Old Hawkhill, University of Dundee, DD1 4EN Architectural Heritage Society of Scotland Tuesday, March 22 2016, 6 pm The Grants of Inverquharity Castle: Keys to the Castle, award-winning documentary film introduced by its director Darren Hercher, documentary photographer, film director and producer Venue: Dalhousie Building, Old Hawkhill, University of Dundee, DD1 4EN Architectural Heritage Society of Scotland Tuesday, March 22 2016, 7 pm Angus Castles David Orr Venue: Carmyllie Church Hall, Carmyllie, Arbroath, DD11 2QZ Preceded by AGM Wednesday, March 23 2016, 2.00 pm - 4.00 pm Member’s Afternoon & AGM
Venue: Kincardine Community Centre - Hepburn Room Kincardine-on-Forth Local History Group A relaxed and informal opportunity for members to show slides from their own collections Wednesday, March 23 2016, 2.30 pm Becoming Atheist; how the Scots lost religion in the 20th Century Professor Callum G Brown, University of Glasgow Venue: Edinburgh Theological Seminar, The Mound, Edinburgh Scottish Church History Society Wednesday, March 23 2016, 7.00 pm The two Andrew Morays and the Wars of Independence Dr Iain MacInnes, University of the Highlands and Islands Venue: Highland Archive Centre, Bught Park, Inverness Highland Family History Society Preceded by AGM Wednesday, March 23 2016, 7.30 pm Jacobite Relics: Myths and Realities George Dalgleish Venue: Volunteer Hall, Galashiels Thursday, March 24 2016, 2.00 pm Perth – A comprehensive guide for locals and visitors Dr John Hulbert Venue: Sandeman Room, AK Bell Library Thursday, March 24 2016, 6 pm Glasgow’s Nineteenth Century Monument(al) History Rachael Purse Venue: GCHT, 54 Bell Street, Glasgow GCHT Statues & Monuments Officer Rachael Purse will discuss her research from the Council funded project she has been managing; to record and research all of Glasgow’s statues and monuments. She will delve into Glasgow’s industrial past and examine its monumental legacy. Thursday, March 24 2016, 7 pm for 7.30 pm Audacious Imaginings Colin Mackay Venue: Adelaides, 209 Bath Street, at the corner of Pitt Street, Glasgow Architectural Heritage Society of Scotland Colin MacKay, award-winning journalist with BBC Scotland, will explore the considerable contribution of the Victorian railway to style and elegance, in public buildings and permanent way alike. Thursday, March 24 2016, 7.30 pm The Loans Smugglers—an Update Frances Wilkins Venue: Town Hall, Ayr Ayrshire Archaeological and Natural History Society Followed by AGM Thursday, March 24 2016, 7.45 pm Defending the Clyde, 1914-45 Geoffrey Stell Venue: Drymen Village Hall, Main Street, Drymen, Glasgow, G63 0BP Drymen & District Local History Society Geoffrey is a buildings historian and worked for many years for the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS). At a time when we are aware of World War I and II anniversaries this talk will highlight the strategic role of the Clyde. Saturday, March 26 2016, 2.00 pm Livery Colours - Playing the Fool (it's all said in jest) John Malden, FHSS Venue: Royal Scots Club, Abercromby Place, Edinburgh The Heraldry Society of Scotland Sunday, March 27 2016, 2.00 pm How to Get the Best out of FamilySearch and Family Tree Karen Allan Venue: Corn Exchange & Ormiston Institute, Market Square, Melrose, TD6 9PN Borders Family History Society FamilySearch is a really useful website which is free to use but there are many search features. Which one is best for you ? Karen will explain how to use the site more effectively.
Upcoming family history talks and events in Scotland, 14 - 20 March 2016
Note that there may be a small charge for some of these events, and some may be for members only. We will be publishing lists of upcoming talks and events regularly - if you are organising a talk or event relating to Scottish genealogy or history, please let us know and we will be happy to add your events to our list. 
Monday, March 14 2016, 6.00 pm - 7.00 pm Living and dying at Auldhame, East Lothian Dr Anne Crone, Project Manager, AOC Archaeology Venue: Auditorium, National Museums Scotland, Chambers Street Society of Antiquaries of Scotland Excavations on the headland at Auldhame have uncovered a millennium of burial activity, from the 7th century to the 17th century AD. The earliest phase saw the establishment of a monastic settlement probably associated with the Anglian saint, Balthere. A grave with Hiberno-Norse connections signaled the end of this settlement, possibly violently, and the site subsequently became a parish church and graveyard, finally ending up as a family burial aisle or mortuary chapel for Adam Otterburn, four times provost of Edinburgh. Monday, March 14 2016, 7 pm The Old Turkey Red Textile Industry in West Dunbartonshire Katy West, Glasgow Venue: Newton Lounge Cumbrae Historical Society Monday, March 14 2016, 7.30 pm The Innocent Railway Jim Waugh Venue: Dalkeith Baptist Church, North Wynd, Dalkeith Monday, March 14 2016, 7.30 pm Open Evening
Venue: Luncarty Church Centre West Stormont Historical Society Non-members: adults £3, concessions £2. (Open discussion meetings at Luncarty are free) Monday, March 14 2016, 7.30 pm Reflections on 45 Years of Making Pots Archie McCall Venue: Partick Burgh Hall, room 1, 3-9a Burgh Hall Street, Glasgow, G11 5LN Monday, March 14 2016, 7.30 pm - 9.30 pm Underground with Jules Verne in Scotland and Iceland Julian Ward Venue: Alloa Town Hall (Tommy Downs Room) Clackmannanshire Field Studies Society Tuesday, March 15 2016, 7.30 pm Great Wall of China Dr Raymond Shaw Venue: West Kilbride Community Centre, Corse Street, West Kilbride, KA23 9AX Under the reign of Emperor Qin, China was united. In about 217BC in an attempt to keep out the invaders from the north he ordered the different regions to build a wall from the coast in the east to the Gobi desert in the west, some 21,196 kilometres long. Hear the fascinating stories of the materials used, life in the forts, and its use as a supply route along difficult terrain, and the rebuilding in subsequent dynasties. Tuesday, March 15 2016, 7.30 pm History of Brewing in Scotland Forbes Gibb Venue: Kilmarnock College, Holehouse Rd, Kilmarnock Kilmarnock & District History Group Tuesday, March 15 2016, 7.30 pm The Archaeology of Leith Fort
Venue: Leith Community Education Centre in the New Kirkgate Tuesday, March 15 2016, 7.30 pm - 8.30 pm Living and dying at Auldhame, East Lothian Dr Anne Crone, Project Manager, AOC Archaeology Venue: Regent Building Lecture Theatre, Regent Walk, Aberdeen, AB24 3FX Society of Antiquaries of Scotland Excavations on the headland at Auldhame have uncovered a millennium of burial activity, from the 7th century to the 17th century AD. The earliest phase saw the establishment of a monastic settlement probably associated with the Anglian saint, Balthere. A grave with Hiberno-Norse connections signaled the end of this settlement, possibly violently, and the site subsequently became a parish church and graveyard, finally ending up as a family burial aisle or mortuary chapel for Adam Otterburn, four times provost of Edinburgh. Wednesday, March 16 2016, 7.00 pm St Mary's Cathedral and Giles Gilbert Scott Dr Eleanor Harris Venue: Augustine Church, George IV Bridge, Edinburgh Wednesday, March 16 2016, 7.30 pm The Celtic Monastry of Old Melrose - St Cuthbert's First Monastic Homey Dr Margaret Collin Venue: Selkirk Parish Church Hall Selkirkshire Antiquarian Society Wednesday, March 16 2016, 7.30 pm The Glory of Stained Glass Ros Mitchell Venue: Falkirk Old and St Modan's Parish Church Wednesday, March 16 2016, 7.30 pm The Flemish in Scotland John Irvine Venue: Acredale House, Mid Street, Bathgate West Lothian History and Amenity Society Wednesday, March 16 2016, 7.30 pm Local Lawyers in Early Modern Scotland John Finlay Venue: Supper Room, Town House, Haddington East Lothian Antiquarian & Field Naturalists' Society John Finlay, Professor of Scots Law, Glasgow University, will introduce us to local lawyers in early modern Scotland. Thursday, March 17 2016 Pilgrims and Fife Nick Cooke Elie & Earlsferry History Society Nick Cooke of Scottish Pilgrim Routes Federation presents developments of the Fife Routes Thursday, March 17 2016, 2.30pm Simply a Jacobite Heroine Margaret, Lady Nairne 1673-1747 Dr Nicola Cowmeadow Venue: Moulin Hall, Moulin North Perthshire Family History Group £3 for visitors Thursday, March 17 2016, 7 pm Ayrshire Place Names Ian McVey Venue: Rothesay House, Cumnock Thursday, March 17 2016, 7.30 pm Broken sword: The excavation of a ritual deposit of Bronze Age metalwork on the Isle of Coll Natasha Ferguson and Trevor Cowie, National Museums of Scotland Venue: Lecture Theatre 2, Boyd Orr Building, University of Glasgow University Avenue Glasgow Archaeological Society Thursday, March 17 2016, 7.30 pm My Early Working Life on the Highland Railways John MacDonald, Rogart Heritage Society Venue: Brora Community Centre Also AGM Thursday, March 17 2016, 7.30 pm Evidence of Prehistoric People In & Around Kirkcaldy Steve Liscoe Venue: Kirkcaldy Old Kirk, Kirk Wynd Thursday, March 17 2016, 7.30 pm Glasgow City Archives – Family History Dr Irene O'Brien Venue: Paisley Museum, High Street, Paisley Renfrewshire Family History Society Thursday, March 17 2016, 7.30 pm Skibo and The Great War Victoria Connor Venue: Council Chamber, Carnegie Building, Dornoch Thursday, March 17 2016, 7.30 pm Place-names of the original John Muir Way: a journey through time Liz Curtis Venue: Haddington Town House Friday, March 18 2016, 7.30 pm New Life for an Old Place, Falkland Palace Estate Trust Ninian Stuart, Chairman, Falkland Palace Estate Trust Venue: Aytoun Hall, High Street, Auchterarder Auchterarder and District Local History Association Saturday, March 19 2016, 2.00 pm Family Search Brian McKechnie, Patron Services Manager LDS Venue: Manchester Central Library Anglo-Scottish Family History Society Saturday, March 19 2016, 2.00pm-4.30pm Characters Associated With Taranty Ha Albert Thomson Venue: Unitarian Church Centre Aberdeen and North East Scotland Family History Society Preceded by AGM |
Old ScottishGenealogy and Family History - A mix of our news, curious and intriguing discoveries. Research hints and resources to grow your family tree in Scotland from our team. 
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