GENUKI - Dunbog

Kingdom of Fife

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Fife Towns & Parishes

Nearby places

Dunbog

"Dunbog parish is bounded on the north by the Tay, on the south by Monimail, on the east by Flisk and Creich, and on the west by Abdie. It is 3 miles long by 1 mile broad. Area 1900 acres; under tillage 1700 acres; under pasture 250 acres; under wood 40 acres. The parish forms a rich valley lying between two ridges of hills, running from west to east, being parts of the Ochils. Most of the soil is a rich black mould, though shallow, and resting upon whinstone; in some parts the subsoil is sand or gravel; in others a hard till, or cold clay. Rent of land from £1 to £4-10s. While the valley produces abundant crops of every description of grain, from draining on a suitable subsoil, and other means, the south hill, which rises to a height of nearly 500 feet above sea level, is, generally speaking, barren and uncultivated; though the north hill is cultivated to the top, the want of fences is here severely felt; the breed of cattle is mixed, and the shorthorns preferred; the sheep are Cheviots and the black-faced breed. Being entirely an agricultural parish, there is neither coal, lime or freestone; though whinstone is abundant; coals have to be brought from the pits of Balbirnie or Coul, 8 or 9 miles distant. There are 3 heritors - Lord Dundas (now Earl of Zetland), Balfour of Fernie and Murray of Ayton. Patron: the Crown. Parish church only, no others. Parish school only, no others. No public house. The large village, with its weekly market, has disappeared, owing to the modern system of farming. The nearest market and post town is Newburgh, about 4 miles distant from the church." from A Descriptive & historic gazeteer of the counties of Fife, Kinross & Clackmannan, M Barberi, published 1857.

Towns and Villages

Dunbog

Cemeteries Census Church Records Civil Registration Description and Travel Directories Historical Geography Maps	Monumental Inscriptions - see Cemeteries Names, Geographical Poorhouses, Poor Law, etc. Population Probate Records Schools Wills & Testaments - see Probate Records
Please read the main Fife pages if you have not already done so.

Cemeteries

Dunbog Cemetery, off A913 to Newburgh (grid ref. NO 288185):

The pre-1855 monumental inscriptions for Dunbog Churchyard are listed in "Fifeshire Monumental Inscriptions (pre-1855) vol. 3 The north east parishes" by John Fowler Mitchell & Sheila Mitchell, published by the Scottish Genealogy Society. ISBN 0901061999
The churchyard stones have also been indexed by the Tay Valley Family History Society in "Abdie and Dunbog Kirkyards".
Another listing has been published by the Fife Family History Society in their Publication 16, Monumental Inscriptions.
The current lair registers (dating from 1855) are administered by Fife Council, Cemeteries Department, County Buildings, St Catherine Street, Cupar, KY15 4TA. Tel. 01334 412818. Fax 01334 412896.

Census

The original 1841 census returns were lost in transit to Edinburgh.

Parish / district reference number for 1851 - 1901 censuses: 423. See also Civil Registration.

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

Further information on the main Fife page.

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):

Dunbog OPR	Births / baptisms	Proclamations / marriages	Deaths / burials / mortcloths
423/1	1695-1819	1705-1819
423/2	1820-1854	1820-1854	1829-1853

Data supplied by General Register Office for Scotland

The 1865 Ecclesiastical Directory lists only the parish church.

Kirk Session and similar records for the parish church (CH2/102) are held at the Special Collections Dept. of St Andrews University Library.

Heritors' Records (HR254) 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
Dunbog	423	1855	1967
Newburgh	450	1968	1971
Newburgh	416	1972	2002
Fife	416	2003

Registration districts did not necessarily coincide exactly with parishes. In the 20th century especially, there were frequent changes in registration districts. Dunbog registration district included parts of Abdie and Flisk parishes until 1891. From 1892, it included parts of Flisk parish only.

Description & Travel

Dunbog school	Ordnance Survey Grid Reference	GPS	Post code	Lat. 56°21'10"N
Dunbog school	NO 288185	56.353457 -3.153744	KY14 6JF	Lon. 3°9'10"W

Directories

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

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Historical Geography

On 15th May 1891, the following subjects were transferred from the parish of Abdie to the parish of Dunbog: Aytonhill, Ayton, Carpullie (part), Denmuir and Denmuir Hill.

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

Maps

Historic maps:

On-line maps:
- Ordnance Survey 6-inch, 1st edition (1855) Fife sheets 5, 10 at the Landmark Information Group (old-maps.co.uk).
- Ordnance Survey one-inch, 2nd edition (1895) sheet 48 at the National Library of Scotland.
- Ordnance Survey one-inch, Popular edition (1926) sheet 64 at the National Library of Scotland.
- A Vision of Britain has the Ordnance Survey one-inch, 1st edition (1850s) and the Ordnance Survey one-inch, Popular edition (1920s) - both showing parish boundaries; and Land Utilisation mapping (1930s).
Paper maps:
- The Caledonian Maps Victorian Ordnance Survey Map Series sheet 48 (reprint of the 1895 one-inch map).
- Ordnance Survey one-inch, 7th series (1950s-1960s) sheet 56

Present-day maps:

On-line maps:
- Multimap
- Streetmap
- both Google maps and local.live provide detailed maps and aerial photographs
- Google based mapping showing nearby GENUKI townships / parishes.
- Google based mapping showing nearby places recorded in the GENUKI gazetter.
Paper maps:
- Ordnance Survey Landranger (scale 1:50000 - about 1 inch to 1 mile) sheet 59 - St Andrews
- Ordnance Survey Explorer (larger scale 1:25000 - about 2 and a half inches to 1 mile) 370 - Glenrothes north, Falkland & Lomond Hills

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).

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.

Population

Year	Population
1755	255
1801	232
1851	220
1901	286	* boundary changed
1951	216

See also A Vision of Britain for population statistics.

Probate Records

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

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 17 December 2006