Looking for a Scottish Ancestor?

Kells parish 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.

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.

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
CH2/202/1Kells Parish Church - Minutes
1693-1703
1703-1730 (Cash, mortcloth, etc.)		1693-1730Request lookup
CH2/202/2Kells Parish Church - Minutes1731-1773Request lookup
CH2/202/3Kells Parish Church - Accounts1773-1812Request lookup
CH2/202/4Kells Parish Church - Minutes and accounts
Minutes 1826-1828; accounts1813-1835 (includes Poor's Funds, 1813-1817 and 1826-1835)		1813-1835Request lookup
CH2/202/5Kells Parish Church - Minutes1855-1872Request lookup
CH2/202/6Kells Parish Church - Minutes1873-1911Request lookup
CH2/202/13Kells Parish Church - Proclamation register1876-1958Request 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
  • £10 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
NameAddressYear(s)/
minutes		Order imagesDeliverance
Gordon BROWN 1870 (1)Order imagesRefused (poorhouse)
Widow Mary BROWN 1848 (1)Order imagesRefused
Widow Helen FERGUSON 1852 (3)Order imagesGround of complaint removed
Janet HASTINGS 1846 (1)Order imagesRefused
Walter HUNTER Rowantree Balmaclellan1846 (2)Order imagesRefused
Margaret MACWHIRTER 1854 (2)Order imagesRefused
Margaret MCWHIRTER 1852 (1)Order imagesRefused - not in receipt of relief
Janet MILLAR 1847 (3)Order imagesGround of complaint removed
Teresa MULLEN or GALLACHER 1873 (2)Order imagesRefused (poorhouse)
Agnes PATERSON 1847 (3)Order imagesGround of complaint removed
Widow Jane ROBERTSON 1876 (1)Order imagesRefused
Widow Mary TAIT 1871 (1)Order imagesRefused
Robert TAIT 1867 (1)Order imagesRefused
Francis TINNEY 1874 (1)Order imagesRefused (poorhouse)
David TUDHOPE 1872 (1)Order imagesRefused

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. For births outwith this period, click here.

Find the father
Child nameDate of birthMother nameOrder
Grace BELL6 January 1864Mary BELLFind the father
Jessie BENNETT2 October 1871Maryanne Logan BENNETTFind the father
John BURGESS18 February 1868Sarah BURGESSFind the father
Isabella BYERS17 July 1859Jannet BYERSFind the father
John BYERS30 April 1860Margaret BYERSFind the father
Mary BYERS15 February 1855Janet BYERSFind the father
William BYERS8 May 1856Margaret BYERSFind the father
Annie CARTER16 July 1871Margaret CARTERFind the father
Jane CLACHERTY14 October 1861Elizabeth CLACHERTYFind the father
Agnes CLEMENT25 February 1855Grace CLEMENTFind the father
Mary CLONEY15 February 1867Agnes CLONEYFind the father
Thomas John CLONEY23 October 1870Agnes CLONEYFind the father
William COATES19 November 1863Lillias COATESFind the father
Margaret Hamilton CORSON19 October 1863Elisabeth CORSONFind the father
William CORSON25 April 1866Elizabeth CORSONFind the father
Mary COUPLAND11 September 1861Mary COUPLANDFind the father
John DARGAVEL5 August 1869Catherine DARGAVELFind the father
Joseph DICKSON12 December 1859Mary DICKSONFind the father
Mary DOUGLAS24 December 1859Agnes DOUGLASFind the father
Robert DUNN20 June 1858Margaret DUNNFind the father
Xaveria DUNN2 November 1861Margaret DUNNFind the father
Robert FERGUSON26 May 1870Jane FERGUSONFind the father
John FERGUSSON19 July 1871Annie FERGUSSONFind the father
William GALLACHAR5 September 1859Jane GALLACHARFind the father
James GALLACHER4 May 1867Isabella GALLACHERFind the father
Hugh GALLOCHAR10 May 1865Isabella GALLOCHARFind the father
John GALLOCHAR29 March 1862Isabella GALLOCHARFind the father
Joseph GALLOCHER24 August 1857Isabella GALLOCHERFind the father
Margret GEDDES7 November 1865Mary GEDDESFind the father
William GILFILLAN10 August 1857Jesse GILFILLANFind the father
Robina GLENDINNING13 April 1865Jane GLENDINNINGFind the father
William GOOD6 March 1857Catherine GOODFind the father
Agnes Elizabeth GORDON21 August 1871Mary GORDONFind the father
Helen GORDON23 May 1871Annie GORDONFind the father
Jessie GRIERSON25 December 1857Agnes GRIERSONFind the father
Jessie HANING13 October 1869Jessie HANINGFind the father
Jane Haining HARLEY19 August 1873Catherine HARLEYFind the father
Christina HOPE23 August 1860Margaret HOPEFind the father
Alexander HOUSTOUN21 March 1859Jane HOUSTOUNFind the father
Catherine HOUSTOUN15 September 1867Jane HOUSTOUNFind the father
Elizabeth HOUSTOUN15 September 1867Jane HOUSTOUNFind the father
Mary Mundell HOUSTOUN16 May 1865Jane HOUSTOUNFind the father
Robert HOUSTOUN21 March 1859Jane HOUSTOUNFind the father
Robert HOUSTOUN3 June 1863Jane HOUSTOUNFind the father
Robert JOHNSTONE23 December 1860Victoria JOHNSTONEFind the father
John MCCORMICK16 August 1862Jesse MCCORMICKFind the father
Thomas MCGILL1 August 1861Elizabeth MCGILLFind the father
Janet MCMICHAEL19 May 1863Janet MCMICHAELFind the father
Sarah MCMILLAN13 December 1862Jane MCMILLANFind the father
James MCMINN4 June 1868Mary MCMINNFind the father
Sarah MCMORRINE8 November 1868Elisabeth MCMORRINEFind the father
Alexander MCNAIRN23 February 1866Sarah MCNAIRNFind the father
James MCSKIMMING23 June 1856Susan MCSKIMMINGFind the father
Catherine MCTAGART16 October 1855Hellen MCTAGARTFind the father
David MCTAGGART4 April 1858Ellen MCTAGGARTFind the father
Jane MCTAGGART7 February 1867Sarah MCTAGGARTFind the father
Jesse MCVITIE22 June 1862Jesse MCVITIEFind the father
Mary MCVITIE4 January 1865Jessie MCVITIEFind the father
Alexander James Hamilton Mcmillan MCWHIRTER20 April 1860Margaret MCWHIRTERFind the father
Georgina MITCHELL6 March 1872Grace MITCHELLFind the father
Agnes MURRAY20 June 1857Anne MURRAYFind the father
John MURRAY9 January 1855Mary MURRAYFind the father
Mary MURRAY29 November 1863Mary MURRAYFind the father
William Milligan MURRAY17 August 1873Mary MURRAYFind the father
Barbara NAIRN16 February 1861Sarah NAIRNFind the father
John NEISH4 January 1868Ann NEISHFind the father
Jane ONEALE11 November 1868Sarah ONEALEFind the father
Alfred PATTERSON10 June 1862Jane Watson PATTERSONFind the father
Agnes ROXBURGH23 November 1865Elizabeth ROXBURGHFind the father
Grace SEATON18 January 1867Margaret SEATONFind the father
John SOLEY22 July 1858Maria SOLEYFind the father
Walter SOLEY20 December 1861Maria SOLEYFind the father
Farquhar Sinclair SOLLEY3 November 1863Maria SOLLEYFind the father
John STEEL2 October 1874Isabella STEELFind the father
Jane STEVENSON19 February 1860Jane STEVENSONFind the father
Elizabeth WHIGHAM11 October 1861Mary WHIGHAMFind the father
Frances WHIGHAM22 October 1872Margaret WHIGHAMFind the father
James WHIGHAM15 December 1867Fanny WHIGHAMFind the father
John WHIGHAM11 January 1861Margaret WHIGHAMFind the father
John WHIGHAM16 November 1863Margaret WHIGHAMFind the father
Susanna WHIGHAM19 October 1867Margaret WHIGHAMFind the father
Elizabeth WHIGHUM4 February 1859Mary WHIGHUMFind the father
James WHIGHUM31 January 1858Margaret WHIGHUMFind the father
Catherine WRIGHT7 February 1866Mary Ann WRIGHTFind the father
Isabella WRIGHT2 August 1862Mary Ann WRIGHTFind the father
Margaret WRIGHT22 January 1856Marion WRIGHTFind the father
Mary Walmesly WRIGHT8 April 1864Marion WRIGHTFind the father

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 1832 [NRS Reference CH2/202/4]

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.

William Boan

John Byres

Bailie Candlish

Mary Dalziel

'old' Mccartney

old Mccartney

Stevenson

Wylie

Name: William Boan

Date: 22/11/1832

Case type: Distribution

Occupation:

Address:

Role: recipient

Details: 2/6 per week, to William Boan since July'

Other names: William Boan

Name: John Byres

Date: 24/01/1832

Case type: Distribution

Occupation:

Address:

Role: recipient

Cash amount: £6 15s

Details: 'a Donation to John Byres'

Other names: John Byres

Name: Bailie Candlish

Date: 14/05/1832

Case type: Distribution

Occupation:

Address:

Role: recipient

Cash amount: 16s 6

Details: 'paid to Baillie Candlish for putting communion Tables &c'

Other names: Bailie Candlish

Name: Mary Dalziel

Date: 22/11/1832

Case type: Distribution

Occupation:

Address:

Role: recipient

Other names: Mary Dalziel

Name: 'old' Mccartney

Date: 14/05/1832

Case type: Distribution

Occupation:

Address:

Role: board; Account Paid by Session

Details: 'old McCartney's board'

Other names: 'old' Mccartney

Name: old Mccartney

Date: 22/11/1832

Case type: Distribution

Occupation:

Address:

Role: board; Account Paid by Session

Details: 'old McCartney's board 3/6 per week since last division'

Other names: old Mccartney

Name: Stevenson

Date: 22/11/1832

Case type: Distribution

Occupation:

Address:

Role: board; Account Paid by Session

Details: 'Stevenson's board two quarters 1/6 per week for 27 weeks'

Other names: Stevenson

Name: Wylie

Date: 14/05/1832

Case type: Distribution

Occupation:

Address:

Role: recipient

Details: 'Laid out since last Division including Wylie in full'

Other names: Wylie