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Clackmannanshire

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"CLACKMANNANSHIRE, the smallest Co. of Scotland, extending 10 miles N. and S. between the main body of Perthshire and the river Forth, and 11 miles E. and W. between the cos. of Stirling and Fife; area, 30,477 ac.; pop. 25,680, or 539 persons to each sq. m. The surface rises from the Forth by an easy ascent, broken by gentle undulations and by the valley of the river Devon, to the Ochil Hills, which extend along the N. border. These hills afford excellent pasturage; the low grounds are well cultivated. Coal is raised in the Devon valley; the towns of Alloa and Tillicoultry have woollen mfrs. The Co. comprises 4 pars., parts of 2 other pars. and also the police burghs of Alloa and Tillicoultry. Clackmannanshire unites with Kinross-shire in returning 1 member to Parliament."

[From Bartholemew's Gazetteer of the British Isles, 1887]

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Archives & Libraries

Census records, maps and much local information can also be found at Clackmannanshire Libraries

A local archive service, through the library, now operates and a summary of the Private Deposits held by the archive service are listed.

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Bibliography

"Clackmannanshire: a guide to historical sources"
William C Brown
Published 1980, Stirling (Forth Naturalist and Historian)

"Clackmannan and Kinross"
Cambridge County Geographies - by J.P.Day B.A. B Sc.
Published 1915, Cambridge University Press.

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Cemeteries

"Monumental inscriptions (pre 1855) in Clackmannanshire"
by John Fowler Mitchell and Sheila Mitchell
published 1968 by the Scottish Genealogy Society.

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Census

There has been a census every ten years since 1801, excluding 1941. The latest that is currently available is for 1901. Scottish census returns are held at National Records of Scotland and copies on microfilm may be consulted in LDS Family History Centres around the world.

A list of the relevant LDS films for the Parishes of Clackmannanshire is available.

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Church Records

For information on records for a particular parish, please see that parish's page.

The Kirk Session of a parish consists of the minister of the parish and the elders of the congregation. It looks after the general wellbeing of the congregation and, particularly in centuries past, parochial discipline.

Most Kirk Session records are held in the National Records of Scotland in Edinburgh and can be fascinating reading.

You may also find it worthwhile searching in the GENUKI church database.

A photograph showing the ministers of Clackmannanshire, and their names around 1890 - 1920 is available, thanks to Jan Dollar.

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Civil Registration

Registration of Births, Marriages and Deaths began in Scotland on 1st January 1855. These and other records are held at the National Records of Scotland in Edinburgh.

The homepages of Clackmannanshire Council may be useful in contacting local services.

The "McKirdy Index" Death Records - an "Analytical Index to the Statutory Registers of Death for Scotland" (1855-1875) are now available. For Clackmannanshire these take the form of a 5 microfiche set.

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Court Records

Records of testaments, inventories etc. are held at the National Records of Scotland

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Description & Travel

"Old Clackmannanshire: a description of old buildings illustrated with sketches, photographs, plans and a map"
by A.I.R. Drummond, published at Alloa, 1953.

A more recent book which may be of interest is Adam Swan's "Clackmannan and the Ochils" published in 1987 as part of the RIAS series of architectural guides to Scotland. The book is well illustrated with hundreds of photographs and contains short descriptions and historical notes on many places.

Web sites of local interest are:

  • See individual parish and town pages for other local web-sites.

  • More general information about Clackmannanshire, including some of its more illustrious children, and its settlements can be found at The Edinburgh University Gazetteer.

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Gazetteers

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Genealogy

See the:

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Land & Property

Sasine records are concerned with changes in the ownership of land. The original records are kept at the National Records of Scotland in Edinburgh and indexes for the earlier years have been published.

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Maps

The 1783 Stobie's map of Clackmannanshire is available.

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Occupations

Mining has been carried out in Clackmannanshire for many hundreds of years. A list of mining resources realting to Clackmannanshire can be found at The Scottish Mining Website.

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Statistics

For a social and economic record of the parishes of Clackmannanshire, together with masses of statistical material, see Sir John Sinclair's "Statistical Account of Scotland" which was compiled in the 1790s. The account for "Dunbartonshire, Stirlingshire and Clackmannanshire" was reprinted in facsimile form in 1978 by EP Publishing Limited of Wakefield, England.

Follow-up works to this were the New Statistical Account (also known as the Second Statistical Account) which was prepared in the 1830s and 1840s; and more recently the Third Statistical Account which has been prepared since the Second World War.

The "Statistical Account of Scotland", for both the 1790s and 1845 is now available on-line at the The Edinburgh University Data Library (EDINA) web site. They give an excellent insight into life at the time.