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Scotland (Counties as in 1851-1901) => Scotland => Aberdeenshire => Topic started by: Nichy on Saturday 29 April 23 07:52 BST (UK)
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Hi, I was just wondering if there is a way to find out exactly which church a baptism or wedding took place in? It says the parish on the records, but I’m interested to know which exact church within the parish that the events took place in. This is in the parish of Glenmuick, Tullich and Glengairn. Thank you
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I think that to begin to answer your question the dates of the events you are interested in would need to be known.
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It is the marriage of John Gray and Christian Farquharson on 25th May 1800, and the baptism of their daughter Helen Gray on 26th May, 1811. Thank you
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(deleted)
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They almost certainly didn't get married in any church building at all. The traditional place for a wedding was in the bride's home or, if she had no parents living or they lived a long way away, the wedding ceremony would have been held in the manse. Only towards the end of the 19th century did weddings in church become popular.
Baptisms could also take place in the parents' home, so unless the parish record says that the witnesses to a baptism were 'the congregation' you can't be sure the child was baptised in church, though if it was on a Sunday it is likely to have been.
There were three kirks in the united parish - see the markers on this map https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=13.7&lat=57.05730&lon=-3.02529&layers=5&b=1&marker=57.05502,-3.06496
As for which church the family regularly attended, that would depend mainly on where they lived, though all three of the kirks of the united parish were fairly close to one another. All three were in use in 1794 and ruinous by 1845 - see https://stataccscot.edina.ac.uk/static/statacc/dist/parish/Aberdeen/Glenmuick.
Glenmuick https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=15.4&lat=57.04313&lon=-3.04481&layers=5&b=1&marker=57.03720,-3.04797 and http://www.geograph.org.uk/gridref/NO3694?centi=NO365947. However this kirk was never rebuilt after a fire in 1798. See https://canmore.org.uk/site/32471/glenmuick-old-parish-church
Tullich https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=15.7&lat=57.06432&lon=-3.01214&layers=5&b=1&marker=57.06455,-2.99927 and http://www.geograph.org.uk/search.php?i=180516948 and https://canmore.org.uk/site/32454/tullich-st-nathalans-kirk
Glengairn https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=16.0&lat=57.06091&lon=-3.06773&layers=5&b=1&marker=57.05502,-3.06496 and https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1464929 and https://canmore.org.uk/site/32457/glengairn-old-parish-church
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Thank you so much for all of this information! It is great and I will have a read through. Is there any way to find out where these people lived in the parish? I don’t think that the census goes back that far? Thank you for the help
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The baptism record may indicate where they lived when the child was baptised, as well as where any witnesses lived - but not all parishes recorded this.
Ruth
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John Gray and Christian Farquharson had five recorded children
John, baptised 4 March 1801
May, 2 June 1802
Helen, 26 May 1811
James, 16 April 1813
Mey, 13 August 1818
There are lots of gaps where one or more additional children might have been born.
If you are in luck one or more of the original baptism records at www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk will tell you where they lived and who the witnesses to the baptisms were.
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Thank you for all of your help. I have got the baptism record for Helen Gray but it doesn't show any other information. I will try and get the baptism records for some of the other children and see if that has any further information. Does anyone know where death records might be found for that time, maybe that would show where they lived. Many thanks
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You will struggle to fnd death records before 1855.
There are no records of deaths or burials before 1855 in any of those three parishes.
I looked at the Monumental Inscriptions indexes at https://www.anesfhs.org.uk/databanks/memorial-inscriptions/miindex but there are no likely-looking ones in either Glenmuick or Tullich, and Glengairn has apparently not yet been done.
And the kirk session records of Glenmuick Tullich and Glengairn do not seem to have survived.
Unless the rental records of the estate where they lived have survived, I can't think of any other source that might tell you where they lived. The Old Statistical Account (OSA) lists seven heritors, i.e. landowners, in the united parishes, and some of the records of their estates may have survived. See screenshot below.
If so, they will be listed in one of the catalogues here https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/research/catalogues-and-indexes - it will be a case of working through the estate names to see if there is a rental roll from 1800-1820 anywhere. It could be a longish job!
The modern spellings of some of the estates mentioned are different from the spellings in the OSA.
Monaltree is now usually Monaltrie; Gairns*le is probably Gairnshiel, and Achalatar could be Achallater or Auchallater.
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Helen Gray baptism record
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The modern day C of S church in Ballater is Glenmuick church.
The old parish church of Glen Gairn was restored at some stage and although I do not know if it still operates, in the 1970s and early 80s at least it was operating throughout the summer months. If I remember correctly the minister from Ballater came and ran the services on a Sunday afternoon. My family had a cottage in Glen Girnoc near Ballater and we used to go there most Sundays. The three main things I remember were being proudly shown the visitor book signed by both the Queen and Queen Mum, a harvest thanksgiving service where the church was so full I and the other children had to sit on the steps below the pulpit, and most memorable of all, the pan drops you were given as you went in, to suck on during the sermon.
Judging by the map earlier in the thread I suspect the restored church was near but not in exactly the same place as the ruins shown.
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Helen's baptism record appears to say John Gray and Christian Farquarson, Balno - which seems likely to be this place:
https://canmore.org.uk/site/154833/balno
Ruth
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Here's Balno on the first edition Ordnance Survey map
https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=16.6&lat=57.08887&lon=-3.12347&layers=5&b=1
and a photograph of the steading https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/442648.
Just a couple of hundred yards west of Balno are the ruins of what is probably the Roman Catholic chapel referred to in the OSA.
The existing Glen Gairn kirk is a bit further up the glen - see https://www.geograph.org.uk/gridref/NJ2901 and https://canmore.org.uk/site/97150/glengairn-parish-church
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Oh wow thank you so much to all of you! It is Balno, i have checked on all of the children's baptism records and they all say Balno. Thank you so much, you are all amazing! I will go and have a read through all of the links that you have sent. Thank you again :)
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I have just found what i think might be a record of Christian Farquharson's birth in 1779, in the Parish of Strathdon and Corgarff. It is the second one up from the bottom. Can anyone decipher what it says after William Farqurharson. There seems to be 2 dots so I presume is the same as the line above - looks a bit like Eding Cafrie? Does anyone know where this is? thank you
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There is an Edinglassie to the north of Lonach Hill and Torrandubh Wood. Just a little to the East of Edinglassie is a Finnylost (which seems to match the "Finilost" also shown in the register. It looks to me as though Edinglassie would actually be in Tarland and Migvie, but it may have been easier to register in Strathdon and Corgarff.
https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=16.7&lat=57.19477&lon=-3.10826&layers=5&b=1
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Thank you so much for your help. It is also not far from Balno where Christian had her children. It looks like it might be the right Christian Farquharson that was born in Edinglassie then. Thanks again