Cameron, Fife, Scotland Genealogy

Parish #412

This is a guide to the history and major genealogical records of Scotland as they pertain to the parish of Cameron. To learn more about how to use these records to search for your ancestors, go to the Scotland: Research Strategies.

= History =

This parish was anciently a part of the widely extended parish of St. Andrews. It became a separate and independent parish in 1645. The name of the parish was taken from the farm of Cameron upon which the manse and church were built. The number of families in the parish is 255. The average number of births for the last seven years is 26, of marriages 8, and of deaths 10. During the last three years there were 5 illegitimate births in the parish. There are one parochial school and two private schools within the parish, at Lawhead and Denhead.

About 4686 acres are under cultivation, 1767 acres are pasture on which the Fifeshire breed of cattle is raised, 476 acres are wooded, and 214 acres are waste-land. Grains of all kinds, potatoes, turnips, and hay grown. Coal, limestone, and other stones are quarried within in the parish. The nearest market-town is St. Andrews but there is a post-office in the parish. There are eight houses licensed to sell whiskey, and two where only beer is sold, which is more than are necessary for the convenience of the inhabitants. The fuel in use throughout the parish is coal.

The church is nearly in the center of the parish. It was built in 1808 and has seating for 495. There is one Burgher meeting-house situated on the border of the parish adjoining the parishes of Kilconquhar and Carnbee, where there is a considerable population at a great distance from their parish churches. The number of families of Dissenters is about 12.

The above extract is taken from the account written in January 1837.

Source: The New Statistical Account of Scotland, for Fife. Family History Library book 942 B4sa, 2nd series, vol. 9;

The New Statistical Account of Scotland (pub. 1834-45) offers uniquely rich and detailed parish reports for the whole of Scotland, covering a vast range of topics including history, agriculture, education, trades, religion and social customs. The reports, written by the parish ministers, are available online at http://edina.ac.uk/stat-acc-scot/. Click on ‘Browse scanned pages’ then search the parish you are interested in. Also available at the Family History Library.

= Census Records =

A census is a count and description of the population, taken by the government, arranged by locality and by household. Read more about Scotland Census Records.

Click here for a list of the Family History Library microfilm numbers for the census records of Cameron.

Below is information for any known surname indexes:

The 1901 census of Scotland is indexed on www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk. To use it, you must register and pay a small access fee. All available censuses, 1841-1901, are indexed on this website. It may be easier for you to pay to use the website rather than access indexes through the library.

= Church Records =

The Established Church of Scotland was Presbyterian. Read more about church records.

Here are the pre-1855 records that exist for this parish.

Condition of Original Registers—
Index: For an index to these records, see the Scottish Church Records Index available on computers at the Family History Libraryand family history centers. The records may be indexed in the International Genealogical Index. Births: Births are intermixed with marriages until 1709. There are no entries June 1709–1717, after which separate registers are kept. Marriages: Marriages are intermixed with births until 1709. There are no entries June 1709–1717, after which separate registers are kept. Separate entries of contracts and of marriages are kept prior to 1709. The fact of marriage is very frequently omitted about 1782–1797. Deaths: Records are not regularly kept. Source: Key to the Parochial Registers of Scotland, by V. Ben Bloxham, pub. 1970. FHL British Book 941 K23b.

Established Church—Kirk Session Records
The Kirk session was the court of the parish. The session was made up of the minister and the land owners and business men of the parish, chosen to serve on the session. The Kirk session dealt with moral issues, minor criminal cases, matters of the poor and education, matters of discipline, and the general concerns of the parish. Kirk session records may also mention births, marriages, and deaths.

Here is a list of the surviving Kirk session records for this parish:

Minutes 1694–1739, 1883–1952 Cash Book 1717–1739 Accounts 1752–1792 Note: Available at St. Andrews University Library, St. Andrews, Fife, Scotland, record CH2/49.

Nonconformist Church Records
A nonconformist church is any church that is not the Established church. Read more about nonconformity in Scotland in the article on the Scotland Church Records Union Lists.

Lathones United Presbyterian Church
History— Six praying societies in the parishes of Cameron, St. Andrews, Denino, Carnbee, Ceres, and Kilconquhar formed an association for prayer and mutual edification in about 1680. This association formally acceded in a body to the Associate Presbytery in 1733. Due to various causes of dissent in the district, the association grew rapidly. But the Breach in 1747 divided the Seceders. The larger proportion of them adhered to the Associate Burgher Synod and helped to form the congregation of St. Andrews. In 1787 an attempt was made to form a congregation in this place with supply of sermon obtained from the Associate Burgher Presbytery of Perth, but due to opposition the attempt was abandoned after two years. Further attempts were made, but it was not until the union of the two great branches of the Secession in 1820 that it was possible. Supply of sermon from the United Associate Presbytery of Cupar was granted in 1824. A church was built almost immediately at Lathones. In spite of some opposition in the area, the congregation thrived.

[According to the New Statistical Account for Fife for 1837, the Burgher meeting house was situated on the border of the parish, adjoining the parishes of Kilconquhar and Carnbee, where there was a considerable population at a great distance from their parish churches. The number of families of Dissenters was computed at 12 at that time.]

Source: Annals and Statistics of the United Presbyterian Church, by Rev. William MacKelvie, D.D., pub. 1873. Film #477618. More details are given in the source, including ministers.

Records— The extent of pre-1855 records is unknown.

= Civil Registration Records =

Government or civil registration of births, marriages, and deaths (also called statutory records) began on January 1, 1855 in Scotland. Each parish has a registrar's office and large cities have several. The records are created by the registrars and copies are sent to the General Register Office in Edinburgh. Annual indexes are then created for the records for the whole country.

See the article on Scotland Civil Registration for more information and to access the records.

= Probate Records =

Ca  meron was under the probate jurisdiction of the Commissary Court of St. Andrews until 1823, and since then has been under the Sheriff's Court of Fife at Cupar. Probate records for 1513-1901 are indexed online at www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk. You must register on the website but use of the index to probate records, called 'Wills &amp; Testaments,' is free. You may then purchase a copy of the document or, if the document is before 1823, it will be on microfilm at the Family History Library. To find the microfilm numbers, search in the library catalog for the 'Place' of Fife and the subject of 'Probate records.' Then click on the link to the records of the Commissariat of Fife.

The library also has some post-1823 probate records for Fife. Look in the library catalog for the 'Place' of Fife and the subjects of 'Probate Records' and 'Probate Records - Indexes.'

Read more about Scotland Probate Records.

[Return to the Fife parish list.]