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Aberdour

Map showing the location of the parish

"Aberdour parish extends about 3 miles along the Firth of Forth and is about 3 miles from north - south. It is bounded by Dalgetty, Dunfermline, Burntisland and Auchtertool. The island of Inchcolm belongs to this parish. There is a harbour which admits vessels of 200 tons burden. Though not large, as many as 25 vessels have been crowded into it at one time. The main export is coal (150000 tons per year). Imports are small, chiefly manure. Aberdour is not a parish where much business is carried on, though coarse cloth is manufactured to some extent; red sandstone, coal & lime are wrought extensively, and there is a sawmill. But it is as a bathing resort for summer visitors that Aberdour is best known. As it has daily communication by steam with Edinburgh, its shores are a favourite retreat to the inhabitants of the Scottish capital during the heats of summer." edited from Westwood's Directory for the counties of Fife & Kinross published 1862.

Towns and Villages

Aberdour


Please read the main Fife pages if you have not already done so.

Bibliography

Old Aberdour (Stenlake Publishing) contains many photographs and full descriptions.

Cemeteries

There are 2 cemeteries in Aberdour parish:

1. Aberdour St Fillans Churchyard, Hawkcraig Road, Aberdour (grid ref. NT 193854):

2. Aberdour Cemetery / Churchyard, off Mill Farm Road, Aberdour (grid ref. NT 188853):

Census

Parish / district reference number for 1841 - 1901 censuses: 401

The 1841 return can be searched on the FreeCEN website.

The 1851 census has been indexed by the Tay Valley Family History Society.

Further information on the main Fife page.

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Church Records

The original Old Parish Records (of baptisms / births, proclamations / marriages, and burials) of the Church of Scotland, which cover the years up to 1854, are held in the General Register Office for Scotland in Edinburgh, and copies on microfilm may be consulted in local libraries and at LDS Family History Centres around the world. The baptisms / births and proclamations / marriages (but not deaths) can also be searched at Scotland's People - the online database of Scottish Birth, Marriage, Death & Census records at the General Register Office. The index can also be searched on the LDS FamilySearch website.

Deaths are listed on Fife Family History Society's  Pre-1855 Fife Deaths CD.

The old parish records span the following dates (although there may be gaps within these ranges):

Aberdour OPR Births / baptisms Proclamations / marriages Deaths / burials / mortcloths
401/1 1663-1749 1650-1682
1702-1749
1658-1669
401/2 1749-1819 1749-1819 1790-1819
401/3 1820-1854 1820-1854 1820-1854
Data supplied by General Register Office for Scotland

The 1865 Ecclesiastical Directory lists only the parish church and the Free Church.

The Episcopal Church in Aberdour (St Columba) has registers which are still kept by the church. Those for the period before 1855 are:

Aberdour (St Columba) Baptisms Funerals
  1849-1854 (5 only) 1849-1854 (2 only)

A transcript of these entries has been published by the Fife Family History Society Baptismal Registers No. 5.

There was another church (Aberdour St Colme's).

Kirk Session and similar records for both the parish church (Aberdour St Fillan's, CH2/3) and Aberdour St Colme's (CH3/784) are held at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh.

Heritors' Records (HR594) are at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh.

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Civil Registration

Registration of Births, Marriages and Deaths began in Scotland on 1st January 1855. Full information on the main Fife page.

Registration district number start date end date
Aberdour 401 1855 1967
Aberdour 401 1968 1971
Aberdour 434 1972 1993
Inverkeithing 436 1994 2002
Fife 436 2003  

Registration districts did not necessarily coincide exactly with parishes. In the 20th century especially, there were frequent changes in registration districts.

Court Records

Fife Family History Society have transcribed a list of Aberdour Jurors, 1851 on their Records pages.

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Description & Travel

Aberdour town centre Ordnance Survey Grid Reference GPS Post code Lat. 56°3'12"N
NT 190852 56.052778
-3.302105
KY3 0SJ Lon. 3°18'3"W

The parish includes the island of Inchcolm.

Directories

On the Records pages of the Fife Family History Society website there is a transcription of Westwood's 1861 Parochial Directory of Fife.

Historical Geography

On 15th May 1891, a detached part of Aberdour parish was transferred to Kinghorn parish. The subjects transferred were Kilrie Farm (part) and Kilrie Gate.

A Vision of Britain provides historical descriptions, population & housing statistics, historic boundaries and maps.

History

Aberdour Castle is an Ancient Monument open to the public.

Maps

Historic maps: Present-day maps:
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Names, Geographical

The Ordnance Survey [Place] Name Books 1850-1854 are held at the Fife Council Archive Centre. There is an index to the entries for this parish on the Fife Council website (select  A in the A-Z list, then  Archives).

Obituaries

Fife Deaths Abroad 1855-1900 - a compilation of overseas deaths recorded in Fife newspapers - has been produced by Andrew Campbell of Fife Family History Society. The Society have recently re-published it in their Publications Series, 26.

Poorhouses, Poor Law, etc.

The relief of paupers after 1845 was carried out by the Parochial Board and later by the Parish Council. Their records are at the Fife Council Archive Centre.

Peter Higginbotham's website has a lot of information about Dunfermline combination poorhouse.

Population

Year Population
1755 1198
1801 1260
1851 1945
1901 1997  * boundary changed
1951 1943

See also A Vision of Britain for population statistics.

Probate Records

Prior to 1824, wills, testaments & inventories of residents of Aberdour may be found in either the Dunkeld Commissariot (CC7), the St Andrews Commissariot (CC20) or the Edinburgh Commissariot (CC8) records. From 1824 to 1960, commissary business was conducted by the Sheriff Court of Fife at Cupar (SC20). From 1960, it has been conducted at Dunfermline (SC21) Sheriff Court.

Indexes and finding aids are given on the main Fife page.

Local sources worth searching for deeds include St Andrews Commissary Court and Cupar Sheriff Court.

Schools

School Board Records and / or school logbooks are held at the Fife Council Archive Centre.

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William McM. Owen    last updated 03 December 2006