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Scotland |  |
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Perthshire Parishes |
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Information related to all of Perthshire |
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PERTHSHIRE, east midland county of Scotland, bounded N. by Inverness-shire and Aberdeenshire, E. by Forfarshire, SE. by Fife and Kinross-shire, S. by Clackmannanshire and Stirlingshire, SW. by Stirlingshire and Dumbartonshire, and W. by Argyllshire; greatest length, E. and W., 72 miles; greatest breadth, N. and S., 60 miles; the detached portion (lying along the upper reach of the Firth of Forth, and separated from the main body by a belt of Fife and Clackmannanshire) is 6.25 miles by 4.5 miles; area, 1,617,808; pop. 129,007. Perthshire includes some of the grandest and most beautiful scenery in Scotland, combining features characteristic both of the Highlands and the Lowlands. The ranges of the Ochils and the Sidlaw Hills, which are parted by the estuary of the Tay, occupy the SE.; while the N. and NW. districts, to the extent of more than one-half of the entire county, are occupied with the mountains of the Grampian system, this Highland region being intersected by numerous lochs and glens. [ more ..... ]
Bartholemew's Gazetteer of the British Isles, 1887
The Parishes and Districts page gives links to the individual parishes and districts within Perthshire. Where the name of the main town or village differs from the parish or district in which it sits, that name is also included with a reference to the appropriate parish. N.B. Not all of them have individual pages developed as yet.
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There are a number of local libraries and archives which serve Perthshire or have a degree of Perthshire content
The A K Bell Library, Perth including its Local Studies department
University of Dundee Library with access to their catalogue by telnet
University of Dundee Archive, Records Management and Museum Services
Central Library Dundee and its Local Studies department
There are some with a narrower focus
Blair Castle Archive, Blair Atholl, Perthshire, PH18 5TL
This is a private archive relating the Atholl estates
Mitchell, J. F. & Mitchell, S., Monumental inscriptions (pre-1855) in North Perthshire and Monumental inscriptions (pre-1855) in South Perthshire (1975 and 1974,
Scottish Genealogy Society)
A new edition has been printed, with corrections, as a 4 volume set, available from Tay Valley FHS, the Scottish Genealogy Society and others
Monumental Inscriptions are being collected by Tay Valley FHS, who are also involved in the Scottish National Burial Index
A detailed breakdown of the location of burial records held by Perth & Kinross Council
There has been a census every ten years since 1801, excluding 1941. The earliest for practical purposes is usually 1841 and the latest that is currently available is for 1901. Scottish census returns are held by the Registrar General.
Microfilm copies are held locally by Tay Valley FHS, the LDS Family History Centre, Dundee, and A K Bell Library, Perth and can also be ordered at LDS Family History Centres around the world.
A transcript to 1881 and digital copies to 1891 and 1901 are available and searchable online at Scotland's People.
Old Parish Registers for Church of Scotland congregations are are held by the Registrar General. Microfilm copies are held locally by Tay Valley FHS, the LDS Family History Centre, Dundee, and A K Bell Library, Perth and can also be ordered at LDS Family History Centres around the world.
Kirk Session records (Church of Scotland) are with the National Archives of Scotland, although parts are sometimes on OPR microfilms
Non-Church of Scotland Registers are more problematic. Some may be found in Perth & Kinross Archive or in the National Archives of Scotland. It is often worth doing a search at the National Register of Archives for specific localities.
For information on records for a particular parish, please see the appropriate parish page (where available).
Registration of Births, Marriages and Deaths began in Scotland on 1st January 1855. Certificates are held by the Registrar General and can also be ordered through Scotland's People.
Sheriff Court Records for Perthshire fall under either Perth or Dunblane and are held by the National Archives of Scotland.
A variety of local court records are held by Perth & Kinross Archive
Records of sasines, testaments, inventories etc. are held at the National Archives of Scotland.
The Perthshire Tourist Board has a comprehensive guide to the county.
The Perthshire pages at Scottish Towns has individual pages for different parts of the county
Undiscovered Scotland has a collection of information about the area, including accomodation, local business and places of interest. Click on place names on the map to home in.
The National Trust for Scotland manages these places of interest in Perthshire.
These articles or short essays, on Scots migrants & emigrants and other topics, include people from Perthshire
These accounts by emigrants to Canada in 1842 include a number by people formerly of Perthshire
Perth County Pioneers has accounts of former tenants of the Breadalbane estate
There is a Perthshire mailing list
Researchers may be interested in Perthshire GenWeb.
Those researching in Highland Perthshire may like to visit Rannoch.Net
Regalities and Baronies
Historically there were a number of regalties and baronies within Perthshire (as elsewhere in Scotland), where Crown vassals held lands by charter on which they held their own courts, as laid down by the individual charter. These charters can be found in the Register of the Great Seal. Although regalities were abolished under the Heritable Jurisdictions Act (1747), baronies continued to exist but eventually ceased to be used in practice.
This list is by no means exhaustive:
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Boundary changes, 1891
There were significant changes made to both county and parish boundaries in 1891. There is a seperate page dealing with the county changes while parish changes are dealt with on the relevant parish pages.
Historical information about Perthshire from the Perthshire Tourist Board
The history of the Strathearn area
The Dundee History Group also covers the Perthshire area
There is historical information about Highland Perthshire at Heartlander
Most major records relating to land ownership are held nationally, so look at the entry on the main Scotland page
Perth & Kinross Archive hold a range of different records relating to local property.
Various maps of Perthshire have been put online by the National Library of Scotland.
A wide selection of maps and plans are held by A K Bell Library, Perth
Present day maps, alog with some ariel photographs, are online at Multimap
First edition Ordnace Survey maps are available online from the Landmark Information Group
Back issues of local newspapers are held by A K Bell Library, Perth
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