Detailed List of the Old Parochial Registers of Scotland , Fife parishes M - W

The Detailed List of the Old Parochial Registers of Scotland, published 1872, provides information about the content of, and the gaps within, the Old Parish Registers (OPRs) of births / baptisms, marriages / proclamations, and deaths / burials.

It has two pieces of information for each parish in Scotland -

1. the number of volumes containing the Old Parish Registers and the dates they embraced. This was further broken down into those volumes in the custody of the Registrar-General (covering periods up to 1819), and those then in the custody of the Local Registrar (covering the period 1820 - 1854).
2. a list of 'Remarks relative to Blanks, Defects, Condition of Registers, etc.'

As an example, for Saline parish:

No.	Parish	No. of Vols.	In the custody of the Registrar-General --------- Dates embraced	No. of Vols.	In the custody of the Local Registrar --------- Dates embraced
455	Saline	1	B. 1746-1819; M. 1747-1819; D. 1747-1810.	1	B. and M. 1820-54

B.  No blanks, but irregular entries occasionally occur.
M.  Blank (exc. one entry) May 1783 - March 1794. No entries Dec. 1798 - Feb. 1800. The Record 1794 - 1817 is, with a few exceptions, one of Proclamations merely.
D.  (Mortcloth Dues.)

Since the publication of the book, all the Old Parish Registers have been taken into the care of the Registrar General in Edinburgh and some more information has been found, particularly in Kirk Session records, which adds to and has been included in the current known OPR records.

The information contained in the Detailed List's tables showing the number of volumes and the embracing dates (1. above) has been superseded by more up-to-date information provided by the Registrar General. This current information is given here. It is also in the 'Church Records' section on each parish page and is available as Coverage of the Old Parish Registers in the "Research Guides" section of the National Records of Scotland website.

The 'Remarks relative to Blanks, Defects, Condition of Registers, etc.' (2. above) for the parishes in Fife is reproduced here in its entirety. Some later information has been provided by the National Records of Scotland. The later information and my editorial additions are given in [square brackets].

The original records have all been made available on microfilm, and the births / baptisms, marriages / proclamations, and deaths / burials are all available on the internet at the ScotlandsPeople website.

B.  = Baptism / Birth;  M.  = Marriage;  D.  =Death.  p. = page; pp. = pages; col. = column

Parishes A - C         Parishes D - L         Parishes M - W (this page)

Markinch

Markinch OPR	Births / baptisms	Proclamations / marriages	Deaths / burials / mortcloths
447/1	1635-1777	1697-1777	1635-1723
447/2	1780-1819	1779-1805
447/3		1649-1686	1649-1819
447/4			1799-1819
447/5	1820-1854
447/6		1834-1854	1820-1854
447/7			1820-1854

(Data supplied by the National Records of Scotland)

B.  and D.  entered in parallel cols. of the same Record till 1647. At pp. 22 - 25 are four cols. of entries of Deaths which bear to be 'Ane roll off thois quho wer killed at Tibbermure 1 Septemb. 1644, and at Kilsyth 15 August 1645'.
B.  blank July 1642 - Sept. 1697, July 1702 - Jan. 1712, Oct. 1777 - Oct. 1780. Mothers' names seldom recorded in entries of B. till 1701. [In vol. 447/1, pages 336 and 337 (B. 1762) have been placed at the end of the Burial entries for 1723.]
M.  blank June 1686 - May 1697, Nov. 1701 - April 1712, Aug. 1777 - March 1779, and March 1805 - 1834.
D.  Deaths prior to 1647. Blank May 1647 - April 1649, after which Mortcloth Dues, exc. 1713 - 1723, when Deaths and Burials are recorded. Blank June 1695 - April 1713, and June 1723 - Aug. 1796.
[Subsequent to publication of the Detailed List, Death records 1799 - 1819, and 1820 - 1854  were added to the OPR series (vols. 447/4 and 447/7.]

Monimail

Monimail OPR	Births / baptisms	Proclamations / marriages	Deaths / burials / mortcloths
448/1	1656-1725	1656-1725	1677-1720
448/2	1725-1819	1725-1819	1738-1819
448/3	1820-1854	1820-1854	1820-1854

(Data supplied by the National Records of Scotland)

B.  and M.  intermixed till 1687. Records prior to 1725 very much wasted. Blank Feb. 1657 - Sept. 1658, July 1679 - July 1682, July 1684 - Nov. 1686, Aug. 1689 - Aug. 1690, Aug. 1696 - Jan. 1698. After May 1747, entries of children of Seceders, 1738 - 1748. Duplicate of Record of B. 1725 - 1749. Page of irregular entries 1799 - 1810, at June 1806; also entries 1823 - 1854, on four pp. at end of 1814. Mothers' names seldom recorded till 1666, and occasionally omitted till about 1682.
M.  Prior to 1687 intermixed with B. Blank Dec. 1687 - Aug. 1690. No entries June 1696 - Nov. 1697. Blank Nov. 1754 - July 1761. Record before 1725 much injured by damp.
D.  Four entries for 1685. Regular Record commences Oct. 1697. Blank April 1720 - Jan, 1738, June 1751 - Jan. 1753, and (exc. three entries) Oct. 1754 - March 1784. Only two entries Aug. 1786 - Jan. 1817.

Moonzie

Moonzie OPR	Births / baptisms	Proclamations / marriages	Deaths / burials / mortcloths
449/1	1713-1819	1741-1819
449/2	1820-1854	1820-1854	1821-1854

(Data supplied by the National Records of Scotland)

B.  No entry Sept. 1782 - June 1784. Duplicate of Record 1799 - 1820.
M.  No entries for 1770, 1774, 1782, or 1785. Blank Oct. 1794 - Nov. 1799. No entries for 1801, 1813, or 1818. The fact of Marriage is frequently omitted after 1770.

Newburgh

Newburgh OPR	Births / baptisms	Proclamations / marriages	Deaths / burials / mortcloths
450/1	1654-1819	1654-1819
450/2	1820-1854	1820-1854

(Data supplied by the National Records of Scotland)

B.  and M.  intermixed till Dec. 1785. Blank July 1690 - May 1702, exc. one entry of B. 1692, seven entries for 1697 - 1698, and two entries of Contracts of M. 1697 - 1698. After 1750, occasional entries of children baptized by Mr Alexander Moncrieff, Minister of the Associate Congregation at Abernethy. Separate Records of B. and M. after Jan. 1786.

Newburn

Newburn OPR	Births / baptisms	Proclamations / marriages	Deaths / burials / mortcloths
451/1	1628-1678	1628-1678	1630-1669
451/2	1678-1819	1678-1819	1760-1819
451/3	1820-1854	1820-1854	1820-1854

(Data supplied by the National Records of Scotland)

B.  and M.  intermixed from 1645 till Nov. 1704. No entries of B. Aug. 1690 - Aug. 1692, nor of M. Oct. 1689 - Sept. 1692. Separate Records of B. and M. from May 1705. Mothers' names not recorded till 1678. No entry of M. for 1731. Blank Nov. 1754 - Oct. 1756. No entry for 1775. Blank (exc. one entry) Aug. 1777 - Jan 1783. No entry for 1790.
D.  (Deaths and Burials) blank Feb. 1638 - Feb. 1643. No entry March 1650 - Aug. 1655. Blank (exc. one entry for 1669) March 1658 - Jan. 1760.

Pittenweem

Pittenweem OPR	Births / baptisms	Proclamations / marriages	Deaths / burials / mortcloths
452/1	1611-1745	1692-1745	1685-1690
452/2	1750-1819	1750-1819	1782-1819
452/3		1612-1652
452/4	1820-1854	1820-1854	1820-1854
452/5		Accounts for marriages  1650-1662

(Data supplied by the National Records of Scotland)

B.  The entries on the lower half of the first three leaves of the Record either partially or entirely illegible through damp. Blank 1615 - Nov. 1628. From latter date to 1639 mothers' names not recorded. Blank Nov. 1655 - Jan. 1685. Three leaves at 1688 - 1690 imperfect. Blank (exc. four irregular entries) Aug. 1690 - May 1692. Portion 1732 - 1742 has also been injured by damp and moths. Five leaves imperfect at 1742 - 1745. Entries for 1746 on pp. 92, 94, 95 of Record. Blank (exc. one entry) Sept. 1746 - Aug. 1750. Portion of leaf cut off at April 1789. Irregular entries of occasional occurrence.
M.  After 11 entries (Feb. to May 1612), Record blank until Dec. 1619. Leaves from 1619 - 1621 partially destroyed by mice, and from 1728 - 1740 injured by damp. From 1619 - 1652 separate entries of Contracts and of Marriages mixed up with other matters. Blank Dec. 1652 - Oct. 1692. From June 1704 the entries generally bear the dates of the Contract, the Proclamation, and the Marriage of the parties. Blank Nov. 1746 - July 1750, and (exc. four entries 1770, and three entries 1777 - 1778) March 1766 - March 1779. Record of 1750 - 1759 incl. in parallel cols. with the Baptisms for the same period.
D.  (Burials.) Record prior to 1690 in parallel cols. with Baptisms for same period. Blank Dec. 1690 - March 1782, after which Deaths. Blank also (exc. one entry) Feb. 1791 - Jan. 1793, and (exc. four entries) July 1807 - Feb. 1811.
[The early portion of the B. and M. Register for Anstruther Wester contains entries for the neighbouring parishes of Abercrombie or St Monance, Kilrenny, and Pittenweem.]
[Subsequent to publication of the Detailed List, records were found within other Church of Scotland records (CH2/833/1) which contain Marriages 1650 - 1662. These are now included in the OPR Records as 452/5.]
[Vol. 452/4 contains an index to B. 1838 - 1854 (surname followed by forename of child); an index to M. 1838 - 1854 (both parties' surnames, bridegroom's first); and an index to D. 1832 - 1854 (surname followed by Christian name).]

St. Andrews and St. Leonards

St Andrews OPR	Births / baptisms	Proclamations / marriages	Deaths / burials / mortcloths
453/1	1627-1680
453/2	1680-1738
453/3	1739-1803
453/4	1803-1819
453/5		1638-1659
453/6		1659-1670
453/7		1670-1679
453/8		1679-1698
453/9		1698-1706
453/10		1706-1719
453/11		1719-1729
453/12		1729-1740
453/13		1740-1750
453/14		1750-1762
453/15		1763-1771
453/16		1770-1819
453/17			1732-1819
453/19	1820-1854
453/20		1820-1854
453/21			1820-1854
Register of Neglected Entries	1844-1845

(Data supplied by the National Records of Scotland)

St. Andrews: B.  With the exception that it is defective Dec. 1737 - April 1740, Record carefully kept throughout; the portion prior to 1680, in particular, being beautifully written. After Record for June 1712, three pp. of entries of children baptized by an Episcopal Minister 1712 - 1741; and at the beginning of vol. 2, two pp. of irregular entries of children baptized by Seceders 1738 - 1757. After Record for 1819 there are 17 slips of paper containing the dates of Births of children born bet. 1803 and 1844.
M.  Record of Contracts and Marriages prior to 1770 mixed up with other matters. Blank 1685 - 1694. Separate Record after 1770. Irregular Marriages occasionally recorded.
D.  Greater part of first leaf destroyed. Prior to Feb. 1735 the entries record not only the date of Death and Burial, but generally also the hour of both. After Feb. 1735 the date of Death only recorded.

St Leonards OPR	Births / baptisms	Proclamations / marriages	Deaths / burials / mortcloths
453/18	1667-1819	1668-1819
453/22	1820-1854	1820-1855

(Data supplied by the National Records of Scotland)

St. Leonards: B.  blank Aug. 1695 - June 1696. Only one entry May 1799 - May 1800.
M.  blank Jan. 1677 - April 1678, and March 1690 - Nov. 1691. Only one entry Nov. 1692 - Aug. 1694, and one April 1695 - Aug. 1696. No entry for 1717. Blank March 1739 - June 1740. No entry for 1769. Blank Sept. 1797 - Nov. 1800. No entry for 1821.

St. Monance

St Monans  OPR	Births / baptisms	Proclamations / marriages	Deaths / burials / mortcloths
454/1	1628-1691	1628-1690	1674-1681; 1691-1704
454/2	1707-1819	1707-1819	1736-1817
454/3	1820-1854	1820-1854	1827-1854

(Data supplied by the National Records of Scotland)

B.  Three entries for 1682 and one for 1690 on first leaf. Margin of Record 1747 - 1773 injured by want of care, and a number of entries thereby rendered imperfect. Entries occasionally occur a few years out of the order of time. At 1817, six irregular entries dated 1807 - 1848. Duplicate of Record 1719 - 1747.
M.  blank (exc. a few entries of Proclamation fees, etc.) Aug. 1691 - May 1707, and Nov. 1756 - March 1758. Occasional entries of Irregular and Clandestine Marriages. Duplicate of Record 1712 - 1740, and 1746 - 1747.
D.  Only Mortcloth Dues prior to 1747. Blank 1681 - 1690, and 1704 - 1736. Deaths Aug. 1747 - Nov. 1756, and Jan. 1773 - July 1781. Burials are recorded after Oct. 1783. There are, however, transcribed entries of Mortcloth Dues applicable to the blanks in the regular Record 1756 - 1773 and 1781 - 1783. Blank also Nov. 1817 - Jan. 1827. Duplicate of portion 1827 - 1844.
[The early portion of the B. and M. Register for Anstruther Wester contains entries for the neighbouring parishes of Abercrombie or St Monance, Kilrenny, and Pittenweem.]

Saline

Saline OPR	Births / baptisms	Proclamations / marriages	Deaths / burials / mortcloths
455/1	1746-1819	1747-1819	1747-1810
455/2	1820-1854	1820-1854

(Data supplied by the National Records of Scotland)

B.  No blanks, but irregular entries occasionally occur.
M.  Blank (exc. one entry) May 1783 - March 1794. No entries Dec. 1798 - Feb. 1800. The Record 1794 - 1817 is, with a few exceptions, one of Proclamations merely.
D.  (Mortcloth Dues.)

Scoonie

Scoonie OPR	Births / baptisms	Proclamations / marriages	Deaths / burials / mortcloths
456/1	1675-1786	1667-1766	1765-1766
456/2	1770-1792	1770-1792	1770-1792
456/3	1783-1819	1793-1819	1817-1819
456/4	1820-1854	1820-1854	1820-1854
Register of Neglected Entries	1842, 1851

(Data supplied by the National Records of Scotland)

B.  Defective 1716 - 1718. After Record for May 1760, there are six pp. of irregular entries dated 1740 - 1786. Then follows a copy of the Record of B. Dec. 1755 - March 1760, with continuation. Blank March 1761 - Oct. 1765, and Dec. 1768 - March 1770, from which date to 1792, B. M. and D. are mixed up in one Record, and all blank July 1783 - Sept. 1788. There is, however, a separate Register of B. from 1783, which is continuous. Irregular entries frequent 1792 - 1804 incl. After 1819, are six entries (one family) 1814 - 1827.
M.  Only entries of Marriage Pledges, etc. before Feb. 1676. Entries Feb. 1676 - Oct. 1677 among B. Separate Record Nov. 1677 - Nov. 1702. Blank Nov. 1702 - Oct. 1718, from which date to April 1760, entries again recorded among B. There is also a Record of Contracts or Proclamations Oct. 1755 - April 1760. Blank from latter date till Nov. 1765, when the Record of Contracts is resumed. Again blank May 1766 - March 1770, from which date till Jan. 1783, and Sept. 1788 - Nov. 1792, the entries of Contracts are intermixed with Baptisms and Burials for the same period. [Blank 1783 - 1788.] Separate Register of Contracts and Marriages from June 1794. The title-page of this Record bears that it began Oct. 1783, but the early leaves have probably been destroyed or lost.
D.  (Burials.) Blank April 1766 - Jan. 1770, Feb. 1783 - Feb. 1788, and May 1792 - Jan. 1817. Deaths and Burials after 1817. [There are 7 entries of D. for 1817 between B. 1825 - 1826.]

Strathmiglo

Strathmiglo OPR	Births / baptisms	Proclamations / marriages	Deaths / burials / mortcloths
457/1	1719-1819	1719-1819	1817-1819
457/2		1702-1743	1714-1743
457/3		1748-1819	1742-1819
457/4	1820-1854	1820-1854	1820-1854

(Data supplied by the National Records of Scotland)

B.  Prior to 1747, and again 1756 - 1800, each entry consists of a date and three words, viz. name and surname of father, and baptismal name of child. Mothers' names added after 1800.
M.  blank June 1753 - Feb. 1817, but there are entries of Contract Money 1702 - 1743, and 1748 - 1819, mixed up with Mortcloth Dues, etc.
D.  Only Mortcloth Dues prior to 1817. Burials after Jan. 1817.

Torryburn

Torryburn OPR	Births / baptisms	Proclamations / marriages	Deaths / burials / mortcloths
458/1	1663-1682	1629-1665
458/2	1680-1819	1702-1819
458/3			1768-1819
458/4	1820-1854	1820-1854	1820-1854
458/5	1629-1641		1696-1773

(Data supplied by the National Records of Scotland)

B.  First leaf of volume 2 contains entries (1688 - 1695) of children of Seceders, most of them baptized in other parishes. Corner of three leaves (1755 - 1756) torn off. Exc. that a few interpolated entries occur after 1783, this Record appears to have been regularly kept.
M.  blank (exc. four entries 1675 - 1681) Nov. 1665 - Jan. 1702, and Oct. 1710 - Dec. 1711. After 1723 the Record is one of persons who gave up their names to be proclaimed. The fact or the date of Marriage, however, is not unfrequently added to the entries after 1800.
D.  (Mortcloth Dues.) Blank Nov. 1817 - Dec. 1820.
[Subsequent to publication of the Detailed List, records were found within other Church of Scotland records (CH2/355/1) which contain Baptisms 1629 - 1641 and Deaths 1696 - 1773. These are now included in the OPR Records as 458/5.]

Tulliallan

Tulliallan OPR	Births / baptisms	Proclamations / marriages	Deaths / burials / mortcloths
397/1	1673-1819
397/2		1673-1819	1680-1781
397/3	1820-1854	1820-1854	1824-1848
Register of Neglected Entries

(Data supplied by the National Records of Scotland)

B.  Duplicate of record March 1692 - Nov. 1702.
M.  Duplicate of record April 1692 - July 1698.
D.  Mortcloth Dues till 1740. Blank Nov. 1740 - Jan. 1747, after which Deaths, with specification of disease, and frequently age of deceased.

Wemyss

Wemyss OPR	Births / baptisms	Proclamations / marriages	Deaths / burials / mortcloths
459/1	1660-1691
459/2	1692-1734
459/3	1735-1779
459/4	1779-1819	1779-1819
459/5		1662-1779	1707-1819
459/6	1820-1854	1820-1854	1820-1854

(Data supplied by the National Records of Scotland)

B.  This Register appears to have been originally kept with great care and regularity, but it has subsequently suffered much from damp and neglect, and the corners of the leaves 1660 - 1667, 1698 - 1718, and 1729 - 1733 have been more or less destroyed - at the last date apparently by mice. The original is wanting March - Sept. 1744, but there are four leaves of transcribed entries Sept. 1743 - Sept. 1744, which embrace the missing entries. There are also three leaves of transcribed entries May 1771 - Oct. 1771, and July 1774 - Feb. 1775, the originals of which have been lost.
M.  Record originally kept with care, but has since suffered much from damp. Greater part of leaf Oct. 1678 - May 1679 destroyed. Four leaves of transcribed entries May 1744 - Oct. 1746, of which the originals are lost. Between 1775 and 1783, date of Marriage seldom given, but date of 'Booking' only.
D.  (Mortcloth Dues.)