GENUKI - Moonzie

Kingdom of Fife

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Fife Towns & Parishes

Nearby places

Moonzie

"Moonzie is bounded on the north by Kilmany and Creich; on the south by Monimail; on the east by Cupar and Kilmany; and on the west by Creich. Length from north to south is 2 miles by 1.5 in breadth. Area 1375 acres; the whole is arable with the exception of 1.5 acres under wood and 30 acres of moss-land. The surface is finely diversified by various round-shaped hills of no great eminence, presenting in other places, particularly where it marches with Kilmany, level flats of considerable extent. Besides smaller streams, it is watered by Moonzie Burn, that rises from Lordscairnie Myre, runs east through several parishes, and falls into the Eden, near the Inner Bridge. Till within the last 60 years there was a lake or myre in the farm of Lordscairnie but by an expensive drainage it has been converted into arable ground. This parish is the most remarkable in the county for its deficiency of trees, and, till lately, the total absence of hedges. The soil is generally a strong black loam, or a light dry loam, resting on rotten whinstone. The rent of the land may be averaged at £2-10s per acre. If this parish be not picturesque, it is one of the best agricultural ones in the county; the Fifeshire black horned cattle is preferred; much attention is bestowed on rearing good horses; there are 4 thrashing mills. Coal has to be brought from Balbirnie or Dysart; or English coal from Newburgh or Balmerino. Whinstone is found, but neither freestone nor limestone. Parish church and parish school. There has been no public house in the parish for many years. There is neither village nor hamlet in the parish; though several small collections of houses form the residences of the agricultural labourers belonging to the different farms. The parish church situated on rising ground in the south west of the parish is 3 miles distant from Cupar, which is the nearest market town and post town." from A Descriptive & historic gazeteer of the counties of Fife, Kinross & Clackmannan, M Barbieri, published in 1857.

Towns and Villages

Moonzie

Cemeteries Census Church Records Civil Registration Description and Travel Directories Historical Geography Maps	Monumental Inscriptions - see Cemeteries Names, Geographical Obituaries 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

Moonzie Churchyard (grid ref. NO 338176):

The pre-1855 monumental inscriptions 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
Another listing has been published by the Fife Family History Society in their Publication 15, Monumental Inscriptions.
The current lair registers (dating from 1946) 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: 449

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):

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 General Register Office for Scotland

The 1865 Ecclesiastical Directory lists only the parish church.

There are no Kirk Session records for the parish church (Church of Scotland) either at St Andrews University Library or in Edinburgh.

Heritors' Records (HR775) 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
Moonzie	449	1855	1931
Cupar	420	1932	1971
Cupar	417	1972	2002
Fife	417	2003

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

Description & Travel

Moonzie church	Ordnance Survey Grid Reference	GPS	Post code	Lat. 56°20'48"N
Moonzie church	NO 338176	56.346100 -3.072624	KY15 4NL	Lon. 3°4'7"W

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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.

Historical Geography

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.
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.
- 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:
- 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

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

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, 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	249
1801	201
1851	198
1901	138
1951	111

See also A Vision of Britain for population statistics.

Probate Records

Prior to 1824, wills, testaments & inventories of residents of Moonzie 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.

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Schools

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

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William McM. Owen last updated 30 December 2006