Culross Kirk Session Index

Culross Abbey 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.

Lookups available
Reference	Title	Dates	Buy
CH2/77/6	Culross Abbey Church of Scotland - Kirk Session Minutes	1693-1700	Request lookup
CH2/77/7	Culross Abbey Church of Scotland - Kirk Session Minutes	1700-1715	Request lookup
CH2/77/8	Culross Abbey Church of Scotland - Kirk Session Minutes	1715-1727	Request lookup
CH2/77/9	Culross Abbey Church of Scotland - Kirk Session Minutes	1727-1735	Request lookup
CH2/77/10	Culross Abbey Church of Scotland - Kirk Session Minutes	1735-1774	Request lookup
CH2/77/11	Culross Abbey Church of Scotland - Kirk Session Minutes (Scroll, unbound)	1740-1742	Request lookup
CH2/77/12	Culross Abbey Church of Scotland - Kirk Session Minutes (Scroll, unbound)	1749-1757	Request lookup
CH2/77/13	Culross Abbey Church of Scotland - Kirk Session Minutes	1774-1833	Request lookup
CH2/77/14	Culross Abbey Church of Scotland - Kirk Session Minutes	1833-1862	Request lookup
CH2/77/15	Culross Abbey Church of Scotland - Kirk Session Minutes	1862-1915	Request lookup
CH2/77/27	Culross Abbey Church of Scotland - Deaths and funerals	1855-1893	Request lookup
CH2/77/28	Culross Abbey Church of Scotland - Communion roll	1879-1909	Request lookup

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:

£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)

We have indexed these records, and list the cases for this parish below. Just click on the Order images link to order images of the relevant minutes. Please note that as these minutes may need to be filmed specially, it may take up to a week before we can supply them.

Poor law appeals
Name	Year(s)/ minutes	Order images	Deliverance
Widow AITKEN	1855 (1)	Order images	Refused
John ANGUS	1869 (2)	Order images	Refused (poorhouse)
Catherine DRYSDALE	1847 (1)	Order images	Refused, on the understanding that she is to have one shilling and sixpence a week
Catherine DRYSDALE	1856 (1)	Order images	Refused
Elizabeth GUTHRIE	1869 (2)	Order images	Refused
Widow MURRAY	1855 (1)	Order images	Refused
Mary Malcolm PRIDE	1855 (1)	Order images	Refused
Mary Malcom PRYDE	1855 (1)	Order images	Refused
Peter SNEDDON	1878 (1)	Order images	Refused (poorhouse)
Widow Janet WISHART or MERRYLEES	1857 (1)	Order images	Refused

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.

Sheriff Court Filiation and Aliment decrees
Mother name and residence	Defender name	Child birth	Order	Court
Helen BELL North Lodge, Abbey, Culross	John MEIKLEJOHN	21 Dec 1883	Order now	Dunblane SC44/5/8
Mary Bardner BENNET Blairhall, Culross	Henry SMITH	7 Aug 1885 Blairhall, Culross	Order now	Dunfermline SC21/4/5
Margaret HORNE Culross	William TULLIS	20 Jan 1865	Order now	Alloa SC64/7/4
Jessie LIVINGSTONE West Grange, Culross	Robert GIBSON	4 Oct 1880	Order now	Dunblane SC44/5/8
Margaret MADDEN Comrie, Culross	Alexander DALGLEISH	15 Aug 1880	Order now	Dunfermline SC21/4/5
Marjory MCCULLOCH Park of Balgownie, Culross	Archibald ANDERSON	22 Jul 1882	Order now	Dunfermline SC21/4/5
Agnes REID Lowvalleyfield, near Culross	William WILSON	29 Mar 1884	Order now	Dunfermline SC21/4/5
Elizabeth SCOON Culross	William TURCAN	10 Nov 1854	Order now	Dunfermline SC21/4/3
Helen SCOTLAND Culross	William KINLOCH	11 Dec 1871	Order now	Alloa SC64/7/4

School Leaving Certificate Exams

This is an index to the registers of school leaving certificate examination results (NRS Reference ED36). To order a copy of the record for your ancestor, just click on the Order now link.

School leaving certificate examinations
Name	Date of birth	School	Year	Order record
Jeanie W KIRK	18 Jun 1889	Culross Geddes Public School	1908	Order now

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.

Find the father
Child name	Date of birth	Mother name	Order
John ADAM	21 April 1869	Jane ADAM	Find the father
Alexander ARCHIBALD	25 December 1865	Janet ARCHIBALD	Father found
Christian Blelloch BENNET	9 January 1856	Betsy BENNET	Father found
James BENNET	15 April 1874	Christian BENNET	Find the father
Janet BENNET	26 April 1860	Betsy BENNET	Find the father
John BENNET	27 March 1869	Mary BENNET	Find the father
Margaret BENNET	12 July 1869	Betsy BENNET	Find the father
William BENNET	23 September 1865	Mary Ann BENNET	Find the father
Anne Bain BENNETT	12 October 1862	Sarah BENNETT	Find the father
Isabella BUCHANAN	12 February 1863	Isabella BUCHANAN	Find the father
John BURNET	27 September 1863	Catharine BURNET	Find the father
Margaret BURNET	20 December 1861	Margaret BURNET	Find the father
Lavinia CLARKE	17 June 1859	Marion CLARKE	Find the father
John DAY	11 February 1865	Elizabeth DAY	Find the father
Elizabeth DICK	16 July 1861	Margaret DICK	Find the father
Catherine DRYSDALE	23 April 1873	Agnes DRYSDALE	Find the father
Thomas DRYSDALE	7 January 1864	Agnes DRYSDALE	Find the father
Thomas FORD	13 May 1860	Jane FORD	Find the father
James GIBSON	23 June 1863	Elizabeth GIBSON	Find the father
Jane GIBSON	23 February 1860	Agnes GIBSON	Find the father
Margaret GIBSON	20 May 1864	Isabella GIBSON	Find the father
Mary Low GIBSON	4 August 1855	Agnes Gibson Or SHEARER	Find the father
Elizabeth HARROWER	13 July 1858	Elizabeth HARROWER	Find the father
Margaret HARROWER	23 January 1868	Margaret HARROWER	Find the father
Alexander Marshall HENDERSON	27 October 1863	Margaret HENDERSON	Find the father
Jane HENDERSON	19 May 1867	Margaret HENDERSON	Find the father
Robert HENDERSON	1 June 1872	Agnes HENDERSON	Find the father
Christina Ann HUTCHISON	10 May 1862	Jane HUTCHISON	Find the father
David HUTCHISON	3 January 1868	Jane HUTCHISON	Find the father
Georgina Aitken HUTCHISON	23 June 1864	Jane Aitken HUTCHISON	Find the father
Jane HUTCHISON	18 January 1856	Mary HUTCHISON	Find the father
Laurence HUTCHISON	5 April 1866	Jane HUTCHISON	Find the father
Rachel HUTCHISON	13 May 1860	Jean HUTCHISON	Find the father
David MACKAY	16 March 1860	Marion MACKAY	Find the father
Barbara Murray MARSHALL	24 August 1864	Janet MARSHALL	Find the father
Elizabeth MARSHALL	1 November 1855	Margaret Marshall Or HORNE	Find the father
Ann Dickie MCCULLOCH	23 September 1869	Catherine MCCULLOCH	Find the father
James MCCULLOCH	8 February 1874	Catherine MCCULLOCH	Find the father
Elizabeth MCKAY	19 July 1857	Marion MCKAY	Find the father
Robert MIDDLETON	6 June 1863	Margaret MIDDLETON	Find the father
Robert Young MOYES	17 December 1867	Helen MOYES	Find the father
Anne PATERSON	22 November 1856	Charlotte PATERSON	Find the father
John PATERSON	16 August 1863	Charlotte PATERSON	Find the father
Elizabeth PEDDIE	16 May 1874	Mary PEDDIE	Find the father
Janet PETERSON	1 July 1868	Elspeth PETERSON	Find the father
Wilhelmina ROBERTSON	27 July 1864	Jane ROBERTSON	Find the father
Matilda ROY	24 November 1872	Margaret ROY	Find the father
Elizabeth SCOTLAND	8 February 1864	Elizabeth SCOTLAND	Find the father
Helen SCOTLAND	11 December 1871	Helen SCOTLAND	Father found
Margaret SCOTLAND	26 June 1857	Helen SCOTLAND	Find the father
James SPITTAL	5 December 1862	Jane SPITTAL	Find the father
Christian WALKER	10 December 1861	Mary WALKER	Find the father
William WARDLAW	11 January 1863	Jessie WARDLAW	Find the father
Janet WAUGH	4 March 1871	Janet WAUGH	Find the father
Ann Welden WELDEN	26 March 1860	Ann WELDEN	Find the father
Agnes WESTWOOD	25 May 1855	Elizabeth WESTWOOD	Find the father
James WILKIE	15 December 1857	Elizabeth WILKIE	Find the father
Jane WISHART	7 February 1856	Isabella WISHART	Find the father

General Register of Lunatics

This index shows patients from this parish admitted to asylums. We have not yet identified any patients from this parish.

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.

Margaret Reid deceased

Name:

Date: 18/07/1832

Case type: Session Business

Occupation:

Address:

Role: mortcloth fees

Details: ' The session having taken into consideration the dues at present payable for the use of the mortcloths agreed to reduce the same for the present from 5/. to 4/. for the best cloth and for the second cloth from 3/. to 2/. The six pence formerly payable to the Beadle to be continued.'

Other names:

Name:

Date: 18/07/1832

Case type: Official

Occupation: Minister

Address:

Role: Sederunt

Name: Rev John Balfour

Date: 12/02/1832

Case type: Official

Occupation: Minister

Address:

Role: Sederunt

Name: Janet Drysdale

Date: 12/02/1832

Case type: Fornication

Occupation:

Address:

Role: Compeared

Other names: Janet Drysdale; John Smith

Name: Rev A B Duncan

Date: 11/08/1832

Case type: Official

Occupation: Minister

Address:

Role: Sederunt

Name: Rev A B Duncan

Date: 05/11/1832

Case type: Official

Occupation: Minister

Address:

Role: Sederunt

Name: Rev A B Duncan

Date: 03/12/1832

Case type: Official

Occupation: Minister

Address:

Role: Sederunt

Name: James Harrower

Date: 11/08/1832

Case type: child in fornication

Occupation:

Address:

Role: compeared father

Details: 'Compeared James Harrower, at present residing at Windyhill in the Parish of Tullyallan and confessed that he had been guilty of fornication with Margaret Reid deceased and that he wished to be taken to discipline in order to get the child born to him by her baptized. The Session agreed to allow him to remain under the scandal for some time in consideration that this is the second time he has been guilty with the same woman'

Other names: James Harrower; Margaret Reid deceased

Name: James Harrower

Date: 03/12/1832

Case type: child in fornication

Occupation:

Address:

Role: Compeared

Details: 'Compeared James Harrower mentioned in a former minute and was rebuked for the sin of fornication, as stated in said minute, with Margaret Reid, and was absolved from the scandal.'

Other names: James Harrower; Margaret Reid

Name: Mr John Hutchison

Date: 18/07/1832

Case type: Official

Occupation: elder

Address:

Role: Sederunt

Name: Mr John Hutchison

Date: 11/08/1832

Case type: Official

Occupation: elder

Address:

Role: Sederunt

Name: Mr John Hutchison

Date: 05/11/1832

Case type: Official

Occupation: elder

Address:

Role: Sederunt

Details: 'The session considering that the meeting of the Synod is now past unanimously made choice of Mr John Hutchison one of their number as ruling Elder to represent them in the Synod of Fife and Presbytery of Dunfermline during the current half year.'

Name: Mr John Hutchison

Date: 03/12/1832

Case type: Official

Occupation: elder

Address:

Role: Sederunt

Name: Mr John Kilgour

Date: 12/02/1832

Case type: Official

Occupation: elder

Address:

Role: Sederunt

Name: Mr John Kilgour

Date: 11/08/1832

Case type: Official

Occupation: elder

Address:

Role: Sederunt

Name: Mr John Kilgour

Date: 05/11/1832

Case type: Official

Occupation: elder

Address:

Role: Sederunt

Name: Margaret Reid deceased

Date: 11/08/1832

Case type: child in fornication

Occupation:

Address:

Role: mention as mother

Other names: James Harrower; Margaret Reid deceased

Name: Margaret Reid

Date: 03/12/1832

Case type: child in fornication

Occupation:

Address:

Role: mention as party

Other names: James Harrower; Margaret Reid

Name: Mr Reuben Reid

Date: 18/07/1832

Case type: Official

Occupation: elder

Address:

Role: Sederunt

Name: Mr Reuben Reid

Date: 03/12/1832

Case type: Official

Occupation: elder

Address:

Role: Sederunt

Name: Mr Thomas Sands

Date: 03/12/1832

Case type: Official

Occupation: elder

Address:

Role: Sederunt

Name: Mr Thos Sands

Date: 12/02/1832

Case type: Official

Occupation: elder

Address:

Role: Sederunt

Name: Mr Thos Sands

Date: 18/07/1832

Case type: Official

Occupation: elder

Address:

Role: Sederunt

Name: Mr Thos Sands

Date: 05/11/1832

Case type: Official

Occupation: elder

Address:

Role: Sederunt

Name: John Smith

Date: 12/02/1832

Case type: Fornication

Occupation:

Address:

Role: mention as party

Other names: Janet Drysdale; John Smith