Another question re: KS records

[Fogmoose]

What does it mean when a person is referred to as a "Seat Holder" in the parish? For context, in the 1835 Gilcomston minutes the clerk refers to a "list of male heads of families communicants and seat holders".

[Neale1961]

Until the second half of the twentieth century, parishioners could rent their pews in the church, which guaranteed them a particular seat. Seat rent books usually recorded the renter’s name, the sum paid and the position of the seat, thus indicating the person’s standing in the community. Since renting a pew was a privilege, these records do not provide a full list of parishioners, nor do they always include women.

Some congregations did not keep separate seat rent books. In these cases, lists of seat renters might be included in the minute or account books of the kirk session or, in the case of secession churches, in the minutes or accounts of the managers.

Added:
Following legislation in 1834 concerning the calling of ministers to vacant parishes, kirk sessions were required to draw up lists of male heads of families in their congregations. They supply few details other than names and residences but they are nevertheless a useful guide to the whereabouts of families in the decade before the 1841 census.

All this information is directly from Scotlands People
https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/record-guides/kirk-session-records

[Fogmoose]

Thanks, thats very interesting. So most likley someone who rented a "seat" would be a rather well-to-do person I take it? Especially in a big city like Aberdeen? Do the actual seat numbers make any difference? In other words does seat number 10 have more prestige than seat number 155?

[Neale1961]

Thanks, thats very interesting. So most likley someone who rented a "seat" would be a rather well-to-do person I take it? Especially in a big city like Aberdeen? Do the actual seat numbers make any difference? In other words does seat number 10 have more prestige than seat number 155?

Yes the wealthy parishioners would pay for a seat. I don't know the answer to your next question, but it seems possible that the closer to the pulpit, the more "important" you might appear.