GENUKI - Ferryport on Craig

Kingdom of Fife

Contents

Fife Towns & Parishes

Nearby places

Ferryport on Craig

"Ferryport-on-Craig parish, or South Ferry, is 5 miles in length by from half a mile to 1 mile in breadth - stretching along the sea at the mouth of the Tay, where the land rises into a hilly range, extending westwards. The village is 3 miles from Dundee, seated at the base of the hills opposite to Broughty Ferry. The Edinburgh & Dundee railway terminates here, and passengers are forwarded by steam-boat to Dundee and Broughty Ferry - both on the north bank of the River Tay. For facilitating the shipping of goods, the railway company have constructed a dock and thrown out a pier; the latter can be approached by the steamers at all states of the tide. A great part of the village is composed of new houses, some of which are suited to the accommodation of visitors, who resort hither from the inland parts of the country for the benefit of sea-bathing - the beach here being naturally well-formed for the purpose: but the chief support of the inhabitants is derived from the weaving of course linens, and from the salmon fishery, which is coextensive with the parish along the coast; the fish captured here are mostly sent to the London market. The Glasgow & Edinburgh Bank have opened a bank here. The places of worship are the parish church, a free church, and baptist and presbyterian chapels." from Slater's Directory published 1852.

Towns and Villages

Tayport

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

Bibliography

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

Cemeteries

There are 2 cemeteries in Ferryport on Craig parish:

1. Ferryport on Craig (Tayport) Churchyard, Queen Street (grid ref. NO 459287):

The pre-1855 monumental inscriptions for Ferryport-on-Craig Churchyard (in Tayport) 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 "Ferryport on Craig, Tayport - Monumental Inscriptions".

2. Tayport Cemetery, Newport Road (grid ref. NO 445292):

The current lair registers for the Tayport cemetery date from its opening in 1887. They are administered by Fife Council, Cemeteries Department, County Buildings, St Catherine Street, Cupar, KY15 4TA. Tel. 01334 412818. Fax 01334 412896.

Census

Parish / district reference number for 1841 - 1901 censuses: 429

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

Further information on the main Fife page.

In addition to the parish church, there was an Associate Congregation (Antiburgher, later United Presbyterian) and a Free Church (Queen Street United Free) in Tayport.
The Old Statistical Account (1793) mentions "one Unitarian and 1 Seceder", but no church other than the parish church.
The 1865 Ecclesiastical Directory lists the parish church, the United Presbyterian Church and the Free Church.

Details of church history here.

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):

Ferryport on Craig OPR	Births / baptisms	Proclamations / marriages	Deaths / burials / mortcloths
429/1	1634-1772	1640-1772
429/2	1772-1819	1772-1819	1783-1819
429/3	1820-1854	1820-1854	1820-1854

Data supplied by General Register Office for Scotland

Kirk Session and similar records for the parish church (CH2/150), the Associate Congregation (CH3/315) and the Free Church (CH3/294) are held at the Special Collections Dept. of St Andrews University Library. Some Kirk Session material is to be found in the OPR records (429/1). details of church records here.

Heritors' Records (HR743) are at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh. Details of records here.

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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
Ferryport on Craig	429	1855	1971
Ferryport on Craig	410	1972	1993
Tayport	410	1994	2002
Fife	410	2003

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

Description & Travel

Tayport town centre	Ordnance Survey Grid Reference	GPS	Post code	Lat. 56°26'53"N
Tayport town centre	NO 458287	56.389757 -3.114346	DD6 9BY	Lon. 2°52'47"W

There is an informative Tayport website with some old photographs.

Surrounding parishes: Leuchars, Forgan, Monifieth (via ferry to Broughty Ferry across the River Tay).

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Directories

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

Genealogy

Helen Lowe has created an interesting set of webpages about Tayport (Ferryport-on-Craig) and its inhabitants.

Historical Geography

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

Land & Property

Some assessment rolls (valuation rolls) for Tayport burgh are held at the Special Collections Dept. of St Andrews University Library. Details of records here.

Maps

Historic maps:

On-line maps:
- Ordnance Survey 6-inch, 1st edition (1855) Fife sheets 2 & 3 at the Landmark Information Group (old-maps.co.uk).
- Ordnance Survey one-inch, 2nd edition (1895) sheet 49 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 41 (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) sheet 371 - St Andrews and East Fife

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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

Andrew Campbell has produced Fife Deaths from Newspapers 1822-1854 - a compilation of deaths recorded in local newspapers. Copies of this index are held by the Fife libraries and the Family History Societies.

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 re-published it in their Publications Series, 28.

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. Details of records here.

Population

Year	Population
1755	621
1801	920
1851	2238
1901	3445
1951	3326

See also A Vision of Britain for population statistics.

Probate Records

Prior to 1824, wills, testaments & inventories of residents of Ferryport on Craig 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.