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Fife Towns & Parishes |  nearby places |
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| Abernethy |
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A separate Records Page page gives details of the records for this parish held by Scottish archives.
A very good description is to be found in the relevant chapter in History of the County of Fife: From the Earliest Period to the Present Time by John M Leighton, published 1840, online at Google Books.
Parish / district reference number for 1841 - 1911 censuses: 326
Some census records on microfilm may be consulted in LDS Family History Centres around the world.
LDS Library Film Numbers:
1841 1851 1861 1871 1881 1891 Abernethy 1042682 1042259 103891 104071 203500 208729
Data provided by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
Further information on the main Fife page.
In addition to the parish church, there was a Free Church and an Antiburgher congregation.
The Old Statistical Account (written in the 1790s) gives this information about Dissenters:
The New Statistical Account (written in 1842) has this to say:
Details of church history here.
The original Old Parish Registers (of baptisms / births, proclamations / marriages, and deaths / 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 they can all be consulted there at the ScotlandsPeople Centre.
Parish reference number: 326
The Old Parish Registers (OPRs) span the following dates (although there are gaps within these ranges):
Abernethy OPR Births / baptisms Proclamations / marriages Deaths / burials / mortcloths 326/1 1690-1733 1690-1727 1690-1727 326/2 1749-1819 1783-1794 1783-1794 326/3 1820-1854 326/4 ? 1845-1854 ?
Data supplied by General Register Office for Scotland
The Detailed List of the Old Parochial Registers of Scotland, published 1872, provides this information about the content of the OPRs, including the gaps within them:
B. M. and D. prior to1702 generally recorded in parallel columns of the Register. After 1702 Births recorded separately. Blank (exc. two entries) Jan. 1734 - Jan. 1749. Mothers' names not recorded.
M. and D. Proclamations and Mortcloth Dues till 1727. Blank 1727 - 1783, after which date Marriages and Burials are recorded. M. terminate March 1794, exc. one entry for 1823; and D. terminate Sept. 1794.
[Subsequent to publication of the Detailed List, records were found within other Church of Scotland records (CH2/743/5) which contain Marriages 1845 - 1917. These may now be included in the OPR Records as 326/4.]The baptisms / births, proclamations / marriages and deaths / burials indexes can be searched at the ScotlandsPeople website. Copies of the register entries may be purchased.
Copies of the registers on microfilm may be consulted in some local libraries and at LDS Family History Centres around the world. The indexes to baptisms / births and proclamations / marriages can also be searched on the LDS Family Search website or on the IGI on microfiche in local libraries.
LDS Library Film Numbers:
993511 Baptisms, 1690-1733, marriages, 1690-1727, burials, 1690-1727; baptisms, 1749-1819, marriages, 1783-1794, burials, 1783-1794; baptisms, 1820-1854.
Data provided by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints Further information on the main Fife page.
Kirk Session records are held at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh. Some Kirk Session material is to be found in the OPR records (326/1). Details of church records here.
Heritors' Records (HR552) are at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh. Details of records here.
Records of other churches are held by the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh.
Details of church records here.
The Abernethy page of the LDS Family Search Research Wiki has more information about church history and records.
Registration of Births, Marriages and Deaths began in Scotland on 1st January 1855. Full information on the main Fife page.
Registration districts covering this parish:
| Registration district | number | start date | end date |
| Abernethy | 326 | 1855 | 1968 |
| Perth | 387 | 1969 | 1971 |
| Perth | 390 | 1972 | 2003 |
| Perth & Kinross | 390 | 2004 |
Registration districts did not necessarily coincide exactly with parishes. In the 20th century especially, there were frequent changes in registration districts.
| Abernethy town centre | Ordnance Survey Grid Reference | GPS | Post code | Lat. 56°19'56"N |
| NO 189163 | 56.332103 -3.313220 |
PH2 9JH | Lon. 3°18'48"W |
Surrounding parishes: in Fife: Arngask, Strathmiglo, Auchtermuchty, Newburgh, in Perthshire: Dron, Dunbarney, Rhynd.
Westwood's Parochial Directory for the Counties of Fife and Kinross for 1862 and 1866 are online at Google Books. On the Records pages of the Fife Family History Society website there is a transcription of the 1862 edition. All listings cover only the part of the parish which is in Fife.
Several old gazetteers are available. They all contain descriptions of the parish and many are also worth searching for entries of places within the parish.
Until 15th May 1891, the parish of Abernethy was situated partly in the county of Fife and partly in the county of Perth. On that date, various changes to the parish and county boundaries were made. From that date the whole parish of Abernethy was included in the county of Perth.
The following subjects remained in the parish of Abernethy but were transferred from the county of Fife to the county of Perth: Balvaird Farm, Mucklebein Farm, Catochil, Dumbarrow Farm, Dumbarrow House, Glentarkie Farm, Pittuncarty Farm, and part of the lands of Colzie Hill.
The following subjects remained in the county of Fife but were transferred from the parish of Abernethy to the parish of Newburgh: Easter Colzie Farm, part of the land of Colzie Hill, and Lumquhat.
The following subjects remained in the county of Fife but were transferred from the parish of Abernethy to the parish of Strathmiglo: Nochnarrie, Pitlour, and part of the Farm of Wester Pitlour.
This British Library webpage uses small examples of historical maps of London to show the differences between maps at various scales.
The Ordnance Survey Object Name Books 1850-1854 are held at the Fife Council Archive Centre. There is an index to the entries for the partof this parish which was in Fife on the Fife Council website (do a 'Publications Search' for Abernethy, and tick the box 'Search Archived Docs').
The relief of paupers after 1845 was carried out by the Parochial Board and later by the Parish Council. Their records are at the Perth and Kinross Council Archive. Details of records here.
| Year | Fife Population | Perthshire Population | Total Population |
| 1755 | 1490 | ||
| 1801 | 133 | 1355 | 1488 |
| 1851 | 164 | 1862 | 2026 |
| 1901 | * boundary changed | 1276 | |
| 1951 | 1375 | ||
There is a page with census statistics from 1755 to 1961 here.
See also A Vision of Britain and Histpop for population 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
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