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Markinch

Map showing the location of the parish

"Markinch parish is bounded by Kennoway, Wemyss, Dysart, Kinglassie, Leslie, Falkland and Kettle. It measures about 6 miles north to south by 4 miles broad. A small detached portion containing the village of Innerleven (or Dubbieside) lies at the mouth of the Leven and is cut off from the rest of the parish by that of Wemyss. The parish contains the villages of Markinch, Milton, Coaltown, Balcurvie, Windygates, Thornton, Woodside, Balbirnie Bridge and Kirkforthar Feus. Coal has been extensively worked, but the deposits at Balbirnie are becoming exhausted. There are paper mills at Balbirnie Bridge, Rothes and Auchmuty; flax and tow mills at Milton, Haugh Mill, Thornton and Sythrum; bleachfields at Rothes, Balgonie, Lochtyside and Kirkforthar Feus; a woollen manufactory at Balbirne Bridge and a power loom linen factory at Milton. There are also a number of flour, corn and saw mills in the parish; and a large distillery and malting establishment at Cameron Bridge. The parish church is at Markinch; there are chapels of ease at Thornton and Milton; a UP Church and a Free Church at Markinch; and a UP church at Innerleven. " edited from Westwood's Directory for the counties of Fife & Kinross published 1862.

Towns and Villages

Balcurvie
Coaltown of Balgonie
Markinch
Milton of Balgonie
Thornton
Windygates
Woodside
part of the new town of Glenrothes


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

Bibliography

Old Markinch and Old Kennoway, Star & Windygates (Stenlake Publishing) contain many photographs and full descriptions.

Cemeteries

There are 4 cemeteries in Markinch parish:

1. Markinch Parish Churchyard, Kirk Street, Markinch (grid ref. NO 297019):

2. Northall Cemetery, Northall Road, Markinch (grid ref. NO 300024):

3. St Drostan's Cemetery, Lawhead, Markinch (grid ref. NO 302013):

4. Milton of Balgonie Churchyard, Milton of Balgonie (grid ref. NO 323008):

The pre-1855 monumental inscriptions are listed in "Fifeshire Monumental Inscriptions (pre-1855) vol. 1 South east parishes" by John Fowler Mitchell & Sheila Mitchell, published by the Scottish Genealogy Society. ISBN 0901061948

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Census

Parish / district reference number for 1841 - 1901 censuses: 447

Further information on the main Fife page.

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):

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 General Register Office for Scotland

The 1865 Ecclesiastical Directory lists the parish church, 2 other Established Churches (Milton and Thornton), United Presbyterian Churches in Markinch and Dubbyside, and the Free Church.

Kirk Session and similar records for the following churches in the parish are held at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh. Some Kirk Session material for the parish church is also to be found in the OPR records (447/3 and 447/6).

Markich St Drostan's CH2/258
Markinch Brunton (Free Church) CH3/386
Balbirnie (United Secession, United Presbyterian) CH3/387
Innerleven & Methil - Dubbieside (Antiburgher) CH3/174
Windygates (Free Church) -

The Presbytrie Book of Kirkcaldie, the record of the proceedings of the Presbytery of Kirkcaldy (which includes references to this parish), from 15 April 1630 - 14 September 1653, is available online.

Heritors' Records (HR59) 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
Markinch 447 1855 1898
Markinch 447/1 1899 1967
Thornton 457b 1902 1967
Glenrothes 433 1968 1971
Glenrothes 420 1972 2002
Fife 420 2003  
Windygates 447/2 1899 1967
Kennoway 434 1968 1971
Kennoway 419 1972 2002
Fife 419 2003  

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

Court Records

Markinch Burgh Court Records (from 1950) are held by Fife Council Archives.

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Description & Travel

Markinch town centre Ordnance Survey Grid Reference GPS Post code Lat. 56°12'11"N
NO 296016 56.201773
-3.136290
KY7 6AA Lon. 3°8'7"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

The parish of Markinch had a detached portion situated at Dubbieside (or Innerleven). On 15th May 1891 it was transferred from the parish of Markinch to the parish of Wemyss. It comprised Innerleven, Innerleven Acres and Haugh Lands, and a large number of small properties, chiefly urban, in the police burgh of Buckhaven Methil and Innerleven.

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

History

The Fife Council Archive Centre holds estate papers and accounts of the Rothes family from the 1640s to the 1900s concerning their estate in Leslie and Markinch parishes, including: For an overview of the papers, see Introduction to the Rothes Papers, W G Rowntree Bodie, in Proc. Soc. Antiq. Scot., 110, 1978-80, 404-431. There is an index to them on the Fife Council website (select  A in the A-Z list, then  Archives).

Maps

Historic maps: Present-day maps:

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).

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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.

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

Population

Year Population
1755 2188
1801 3130
1851 5843
1901 6803  * boundary changed
1951 8846

See also A Vision of Britain for population statistics.

Probate Records

Prior to 1824, wills, testaments & inventories of residents of Markinch may be found in either 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 Kirkcaldy (SC23) 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.

Statistics

"Statistical accounts" giving fascinating insights into the local topography and history, social and economic conditions, and even the daily lives of people, were written by the parish ministers in the 1790s and the 1840s. For more information see the main Fife pages

Town Records

The archives of the former Burgh of Markinch are held by Fife Council Archives. They include Council Minutes from 1890, Accounts and Valuation Rolls.

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William McM. Owen    last updated 15 August 2008