Kilmany

The ScotlandsPlaces website lets users search across national databases by geographical location. It includes, amongst other material,

• catalogue entries for maps and plans held by the National Records of Scotland, Edinburgh; some maps and plans can be viewed
• photos and details of historical buildings and archaeological sites recorded by the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland, Edinburgh
• 17th and 18th century tax rolls
• Ordnance Survey [place] Name Books
• an opportunity to transcribe thousands of historic documents

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.

There are 2 cemeteries in Kilmany parish:

1. Kilmany Churchyard, in the village of Kilmany (grid ref. NO 388218, GPS: 56.384197 -2.992549):

• The pre-1855 monumental inscriptions for Kilmany Churchyard 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
• A listing of monumental inscriptions has been published by the Tay Valley Family History Society who have also produced a CD containing an indexed picture gallery of headstones.
• Some stones are recorded in Graveyard Monuments in East, North and Central Fife, John di Folco, published in Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, 1969-70, vol. 102, pages 205-236, which deals largely with stones dated pre-1707. It can be downloaded from ARCHway.
• A CD with photographs of the stones and transcriptions is available from Scottish Monumental Inscriptions or from The Parish Chest.

2. Kilmany Cemetery, on the A92 (grid ref. NO 378218, GPS: 56.384298 -3.008374):

• The current lair registers (dating from 1896) are administered by Fife Council, Bereavement Services East, County Buildings, St Catherine Street, Cupar, KY15 4TA. Tel. 01334 659336. Fax 01334 412896.
• A CD with photographs of the stones and transcriptions is available from Scottish Monumental Inscriptions or from The Parish Chest.

Parish / district reference number for 1841 - 1901 censuses: 437

The 1841 and 1851 returns can be searched on the FreeCEN website.

The 1851 census has been indexed by the Tay Valley Family History Society.

The 1861 census has been indexed and can be downloaded here

Some census records on microfilm may be consulted in LDS Family Search Centres around the world.

LDS Library Film Numbers:

	1841	1851	1861	1871	1881	1891
Kilmany	1042702	1042268	103829	103992	203524	208758

(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 at Kilmany, there was an Associate Congregation (Burgher, later United Presbyterian, United Free and Church of Scotland) at Rathillet.

The Old Statistical Account (written in the 1790s) gives this information about Dissenters:

• Several families are Seceders from the Established Church and assemble at a place of worship within the parish.

The New Statistical Account (written in 1838) gives this information:

• There has been a Dissenting Chapel in the parish since 1762.
• The congregation is composed of Dissenters from various parishes in the area, so [the parish minister does] not know the number which attends.
• About 80 families attend the Established Church.

The 1865 Ecclesiastical Directory lists the parish church and the United Presbyterian Church at Rathillet.

Information and pictures of the churches at the Scottish Churches website.

Details of church history:

• Kilmany Church
  The old parish church of Kilmany, which was rebuilt in 1768, is thought to have been dedicated to St Adrian and formerly belonged to St Salvator's College St Andrews. In 1934, following the 1929 union of the Church of Scotland and the United Free Church, Kilmany was joined with the former United Free church congregation of Rathillet, after the union the charge continued under the name of Kilmany and both churches remained in use for public worship. Kilmany was later linked in 1956 with Flisk, however this arrangement was terminated in 1971 in favour of union between Flisk, Kilmany and also Creich, under the name of Creich, Flisk and Kilmany. A further link was established between the united parish and Monimail in 1983. The kirk session sat within the Presbytery of Cupar until the restructuring of the presbyteries in 1976, when it became part of the Presbytery of St Andrews.

• Rathillet Church (Burgher, later United Presbyterian, United Free and Church of Scotland)
  The Burgher congregation of Rathillet was first established in 1762, following a petition to the Burgher Presbytery of Perth requesting sermon within the district of Rathillet. A church to house the congregation (which was later replaced in 1860) was erected in that same year and the first minister, George Thomson, was ordained in 1764. The church became part of the United Presbyterian Church in 1847. In the second half of the 19th century the local population was in decline which significantly affected church attendance. Following the union of the United Presbyterian Church and the Free Church of Scotland in 1900, when Rathillet became the United Free Church of Rathillet, the charge stood vacant and after unsuccessful attempts to secure a local union, was reduced to a preaching station. In 1927 Rathillet was restored to full status, and following the union of the Church of Scotland and the United Free Church in 1929, Rathillet united with the Parish Church of Kilmany in 1934. After the union the charge continued under the name of Kilmany and both churches remained in use for public worship. Kilmany was later linked in 1956 with Flisk, but this arrangement was terminated in 1971 in favour of union between Flisk, Kilmany and also Creich, under the name of Creich, Flisk and Kilmany. A further link was established between the united parish and Monimail in 1983. The kirk session presently sits within the Presbytery of St Andrews.

Data provided by the  Scottish Archive Network (SCAN)

The Parish Church (Established Church, Church of Scotland):

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 National Records of Scotland in Edinburgh, and they can all be consulted there at the National Records of Scotland. The baptisms / births, proclamations / marriages and deaths / burials indexes can be searched at the ScotlandsPeople website. Copies of the register entries may be purchased.

Parish reference number: 437

The Old Parish Registers (OPRs) span the following dates (although there are gaps within these ranges):

Kilmany OPR	Births / baptisms	Proclamations / marriages	Deaths / burials / mortcloths
437/1	1706-1819	1706-1819	1735-1819
437/2	1820-1854	1820-1854	1831-1854

(Data supplied by the National Records of 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.  and M.  intermixed till June 1777. Blank July 1710 - Nov. 1711, Oct. 1718 - Nov. 1721, and 1727 - Jan. 1730. Leaves prior to 1727 imperfect.
B.  separately recorded after 1777. Mothers' names not inserted till Jan. 1730.
M.  blank June 1777 - March 1817. There is, however, a separate Record of Contract Dues 1749 - 1819, which is blank Jan. 1778 - Nov. 1780. The fact of Marriage is frequently omitted from the entries of Contract after 1754, in the regular Record.
D.  (Mortcloth Dues.) Blank Feb. 1819 - 1837, after which date Deaths.

Copies of the registers on microfilm may be consulted in some local libraries and at LDS Family Search 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:

1040165 Item 3	Baptisms, 1706-1821; Marriages, 1706-1777; Session book (includes Marriage proclamations and Mortcloth dues [burial records]), 1735-1798.
1040166 Items 1 - 2	Session book (includes Marriage proclamations, Mortcloth dues), 1799-1819; Baptisms, 1817-1854; Marriages, 1817-1857; Burials, 1831-1854.

(Data provided by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints)

Deaths / burials are listed on Fife Family History Society's  Pre-1855 Fife Deaths CD.

Some of the OPR entries can be searched on the FreeREG site.

Further information on the main Fife page.

Kirk Session records are held at the Special Collections Dept. of St Andrews University Library, with digital copies at the National Records of Scotland, Edinburgh. Some Kirk Session material is to be found in the OPR records (437/1).

Heritors' Records (HR524) are at the National Records of Scotland, Edinburgh.

At the Special Collections Dept. of St Andrews University Library, with digital copies of the earlier volumes at the National Records of Scotland, Edinburgh:

• CH2/1546
  Kilmany Kirk Session
  Minutes, 1696-1774, 1792-1803, 1813-1821, 1831-1834, 1837-1846 and 1853-1934; Collections and disbursements, 1780-1828; Communion roll, 1859-1862 and 1913-1949; Register of marriages and baptisms, 1706-1725 and 1730-1894; Register of proclamations, 1894-1966.

Included in the Old Parochial Registers on microfilm and at the National Records of Scotland, Edinburgh but not online:

• 437/1
  Kilmany Kirk Session
  Accounts 1749-1820

At the National Records of Scotland, Edinburgh:

• HR/524
  Kilmany parish heritors' records
  Minutes, 1837-1929 (including Kirk Session and Parochial Board minutes, 1837-1907); Accounts, 1867-1929; Cash book, 1901-1929; Papers relating to buildings, 1861-1926; Papers relating to transference to Church of Scotland, 1925-1929; Letter books, 1900-1934.

Other Churches:

At the Special Collections Dept. of St Andrews University Library:

• CH3/1565
  Rathillet Kirk Session (Burgher, later United Presbyterian, United Free and Church of Scotland)
  Session minutes, 1763-1934; Collections and disbursements, 1764-1771; Marriages, 1764-1800; Baptisms, 1781-1884 and 1934; Burials, 1783-1836; Board of management minutes, 1909-1936; Communion roll, [1846]-1888-1934; Rathillet Cow Society minutes, 1864-1897; Luthrie Tract Society minutes, 1839-1902.
  The registers are being made available on the ScotlandsPeople website.

  A transcript of the Rathillet Associate Congregation baptisms and marriages, 1762-1840 (with gaps), has been published by the Fife Family History Society Baptismal Registers No. 2. It is also available on CD and on the Records pages of their website.

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

Surrounding parishes: Forgan, Balmerino, Creich, Cupar, Moonzie, Dairsie, Logie.

• Geograph
• Flickr

Westwood's ParochialDirectory 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.

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.

• David Webster's Topographical Dictionary of Scotland, published 1819, online at Google Books.
• Samuel Lewis's Topographical Dictionary of Scotland, published 1846, online at British History Online.
• Barbieri's Descriptive and Historical Gazetteer of the Counties of Fife, Kinross and Clackmannan, published 1857, is at Google Books.
• Frances Groome's Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland (1882-4) and John Bartholomew's Gazetteer of the British Isles (1887), are on A Vision of Britain (click on "Historical places and writing").
• Frances Groome's Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland(1892-6) on Electric Scotland

• Ask for a calculation of the distance from Kilmany to another place.

A Vision of Britain provides historical descriptions, population & housing statistics, historic boundaries and maps.

Details of historic buildings and archaeological sites in this parish held by the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland, Edinburgh, are catalogued at ScotlandsPlaces. In the results, click RCAHMS. Unfortunately, not all entries have digital images.

Historic maps:

• On-line maps:
  • National Library of Scotland map collection - main page
  • For 17th, 18th and early 19th century maps, see the National Library of Scotland map collection.
  • Using the geo-referenced maps at the National Library of Scotland allows historic maps to be viewed on top of a modern map or satellite view
  • Ordnance Survey 6-inch, 1st edition (1855) Fife sheets 2, 5 & 6 at the National Library of Scotland (for the best images), or at old-maps.co.uk or British History online.
  • Ordnance Survey 6-inch editions of 1895 and 1920 at old-maps.co.uk.
  • Ordnance Survey 25-inch editions of 1894 and 1914 at old-maps.co.uk.
  • A Vision of Britain has the Ordnance Survey 1-inch, 1st edition (1850s) and the Ordnance Survey 1-inch, Popular edition (1920s) - both showing parish boundaries; Land Utilisation mapping (1930s); and more.
  • Ordnance Survey 1-inch, 1st edition (1890) sheet 48; 2nd edition (1904) sheet 48; and 3rd edition (1908) sheet 48 at the National Library of Scotland.
  • Ordnance Survey 1-inch, Popular edition (1927) sheet 64 at the National Library of Scotland.
  • Ordnance Survey 1-inch, 7th series (1950s-1960s) sheet 56 at the National Library of Scotland.
• Paper maps:
  • The National Library of Scotland sells paper and digital copies of their maps (select "Enquiries & copies").
  • The Caledonian Maps Victorian Ordnance Survey Map Series sheet 41 (reprint of the 1904 1-inch maps).
  • Old-maps.co.uk sell paper copies of all their on-line maps.
  • Ordnance Survey 1-inch, 7th series (1950s-1960s) sheet 56
  • The best collection of large scale local and estate maps and plans is held by the National Records of Scotland, Edinburgh. The RCAHMS also has some plans. They are catalogued on the ScotlandsPlaces website. N.B. Only a few maps and plans are available as digital images.

Present-day maps:

• On-line maps:
  • National Library of Scotland map collection - main page
  • Streetmap
  • Ordnance Survey maps
• 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

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference NO376209 (Lat/Lon: 56.376089, -3.01202), Kilmany which are provided by:

• OpenStreetMap
• Google Maps
• StreetMap (Current Ordnance Survey maps)
• Bing (was Multimap)
• Old Maps Online
• National Library of Scotland (Old Ordnance Survey maps)
• Vision of Britain (Click "Historical units & statistics" for administrative areas.)
• Magic (Geographic information) (Click + on map if it doesn't show)
• GeoHack (Links to on-line maps and location specific services.)

• All places within the same township/parish shown on an Openstreetmap map.
• Nearby townships/parishes shown on an Openstreetmap map.
• Nearby places shown on an Openstreetmap map.

War memorials can be seen at the Scottish War Memorials Project (Internet 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, 28.

The parish is included in Andrew Campbell's compilation of Fife Shopkeepers and Traders 1820-1870 taken from newspapers and directories. It is available in most Fife reference libraries, in the libraries of the family history societies, and at the Manuscript Department of the Special Collections Department of St Andrews University Library. It is also available as Fife Traders and Shopkeepers on CD from Fife Family History Society.

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. See Public Records below.

There is a page with census statistics from 1755 to 1961 here.

See also A Vision of Britain and Histpop for population statistics.

Probate records are 'Confirmations' in Scotland.

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

Parochial Boards and their successors, Parish Councils, administered many local functions including poor relief.

At the Fife Council Archive Centre, Kirkcaldy:

• FCC/6/34
  Kilmany Parochial Board / Parish Council
  Minute books, 1868-1930

School Board Records and / or school logbooks are held at the Fife Council Archive Centre. Kilmany records:

At the Fife Council Archive Centre, Kirkcaldy:

• Kilmany School
  Log books 1867-1961, 1932-1981; admissions registers, 1874-1981 (gaps).

• Kilmany School Board
  Minutes 1873-1919.

• Rathillet School
  Log books, 1961-1992; admissions registers 1879-1997 (gaps).

Entries less than 50 years old may contain sensitive personal information and are not on open access. If you are a former pupil you are entitled to see your own entry. Please contact the Archivist for further details.

Education statistics for Fife schools in 1891-2 list the following board schools in the parish:

"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

• The 'Old' Statistical Account is at The Statistical Accounts of Scotland and Google Books.
• The 'New' Statistical Account is also at The Statistical Accounts of Scotland and Google Books.

At the National Records of Scotland, Edinburgh:

• E69/10
  Hearth Tax - County of Fife

• GD26/7/304
  Hearth Tax - Kilmany parish

• E326
  Assessed Taxes Schedules 1748-1802

The hearth tax, clock & watch tax, male servants tax, female servants tax, and farm horse tax are all on ScotlandsPlaces.

See also the Early Taxation Records page.