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Fife Towns & Parishes |  Nearby places |
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| Buckhaven Coaltown of Wemyss East Wemyss Kirkland |
Methil Methilhill West Wemyss |
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| Please read the main Fife pages if you have not already done so. | |
Methil Library has a collection of genealogy and local History materials in their Family History Room.
The Methil Heritage Centre has a very interesting collection of information about Leven, Methil and surrounding areas.
Old Wemyss and Methil- No More! (Stenlake Publishing) contain many photographs and full descriptions.
There are 4 cemeteries in Wemyss parish:
1. St Mary's by the Sea Churchyard, Main Street, East Wemyss (grid ref. NT 340967):
2. MacDuff / East Wemyss Cemetery, Main Road, East Wemyss (grid ref. NT 342972):
3. West Wemyss Churchyard, Main Street, West Wemyss (grid ref. NT 328947):
4. Methilmill Cemetery, Holly Bank, Methilhill (grid ref. NO 359007):
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
Parish / district reference number for 1841 - 1901 censuses: 459
Further information on the main Fife page.
In addition to the Parish Church, there were also:
Wemyss St Mary's; East Wemyss Free; Innerleven & Methil (Dubbieside) Antiburgher (UP); Methil East Free;
Buckhaven St Michael's; Buckhaven St Andrew's Free; Buckhaven St David's Burgher (UP); and Buckhaven Muiredge UP churches.
The 1865 Ecclesiastical Directory lists the parish church, Established Churches at Methil and West Wemyss, the United Presbyterian Church at Buckhaven, and the Free Church.
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):
| Wemyss OPR | Births / baptisms | Proclamations / marriages | Deaths / burials / mortcloths |
| 459/1 | 1660-1691 | ||
| 459/2 | 1692-1734 | ||
| 459/3 | 1735-1779 | ||
| 459/4 | 1779-1819 | 1779-1819 | |
| 459/5 | 1662-1779 | 1707-1819 | |
| 459/6 | 1820-1854 | 1820-1854 | 1820-1854 |
| Data supplied by General Register Office for Scotland |
Kirk Session and similar records for the following churches are held by the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh:
| Wemyss St Mary's | CH2/365 |
| East Wemyss Free | CH3/424 |
| Innerleven & Methil (Dubbieside) Antiburgher (UP) | CH3/174 |
| Methil East Free | CH3/232 |
| Buckhaven St Michael's | CH2/1390 |
| Buckhaven St Andrew's Free | CH3/581 |
| Buckhaven St David's Burgher (UP) | CH3/454 |
| Buckhaven Muiredge UP | CH3/1376 |
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.
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 |
| Wemyss | 459 | 1855 | 1873 |
| Wemyss | 459/1 | 1874 | 1971 |
| Wemyss | 425 | 1972 | 1979 |
| Buckhaven | 459/2 | 1874 | 1971 |
| Buckhaven | 424 | 1972 | 2002 |
| Fife | 424 | 2003 |
Registration districts did not necessarily coincide exactly with parishes. In the 20th century especially, there were frequent changes in registration districts.
Buckhaven Police Court Minute Books (from 1928) are held by Fife Council Archives.
| East Wemyss town centre | Ordnance Survey Grid Reference | GPS | Post code | Lat. 56°9'35"N |
| NT 338968 | 56.159259 -3.067410 |
KY1 4RA | Lon. 3°4'3"W |
On the Records pages of the Fife Family History Society website there is a transcription of Westwood's 1861 Parochial Directory of Fife.
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.
Notices from the local records of Dysart, a compilation from various sources covering both parish and burgh matters from 1534 to 1697, is available online. It includes references to matters in this parish.
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).
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, 30.
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.
| Year | Population | |
| 1755 | 3041 | |
| 1801 | 3264 | |
| 1851 | 5647 | |
| 1901 | 15031 | * boundary changed |
| 1951 | 28463 |
See also A Vision of Britain for population statistics.
Prior to 1824, wills, testaments & inventories of residents of Wemyss 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.
School Board Records and / or school logbooks are held at the Fife Council Archive Centre.
The archives of the former Burgh of Buckhaven and Methil are held by Fife Council Archives. They include Council Minutes (from 1891), Licensing Records and Accounts.
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