Chapel of Garioch, Aberdeenshire, Scotland Genealogy

Parish #179

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

= History  =

GARIOCH, CHAPEL OF, a parish, in the district of Garioch, county of Aberdeen, 5 miles (N. W.) from Inverury. This place was formerly called Logie Durno or Durnock, words signifying "a low or hollow place"; but, upon the annexation of the parsonage of Fetternear, situated on the north of the river Don, to that of this parish, on the north side of the Urie, early in the seventeenth century, the church of Logie Durno was disused, and a new one built on the spot where had once been a chapel called Capella Beatæ Mariæ Virginis de Garryoch, whence the present name of the parish. The church is a neat and commodious edifice, built in 1813, and contains 800 sittings. A second church was opened in June, 1839, at Blairdaff, in the southern part of the parish, about four and a half miles from the mother church; it contains 500 sittings. The accommodation is shared by a part of the adjacent parishes of Oyne and Monymusk. The members of the Free Church have a place of worship.

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 edina .($) Click on ‘Browse scanned pages’ then search the parish reports for your parish of interest. Also available at the

= 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 census records.

Here is a list of the Family History Library microfilm numbers for the as well as the library numbers for any surname indexes available:

The 1901 census of Scotland is indexed on scotlandspeople.($) 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 Library and family history centers. Some of these records may be indexed and searchable on familysearch.org Births: The fly-leaf contains irregular entries for 1762–1770. There are irregular entries about 1787–1788 with one page containing entries dated 1787–1825. After June 1796, there is no regular record until June 1800, but at that place there occurs six pages of irregular entries dated 1758–1808. Two entries for 1822–1824 are in the record for 1816, and one dated 1821 is in the record for 1817. Marriages: The record is blank for March 1787–November 1817. Deaths: Burials, there is one entry for 1850 recorded after March 1787. Source: Key to the Parochial Registers of Scotland, by V. Ben Bloxham, pub. 1970. British Book 941 K23b.

Established Church—Kirk Session Records
The Kirk session was the court of the parish. The session was made up of he 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: 

Various Minutes 1714–1871 Proclamations 1853–1874 Communion Roll 1843–1852 Trust Accounts 1745–1842 Note: Available at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh, record CH2/527.

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 List.

Chapel of Garioch Free Church
History— The parish minister, with five or more of the elders and much of the congregation, “came out” in 1843. This congregation later suffered through a decrease in population. Membership: 1848, 362; 1900, 174. Source: Annals of the Free Church of Scotland, 1843–1900, ed. Rev. William Ewing, D.D., 2 vols. pub. 1914. Film #918572. More details are given in the source.

Records—                                FHL Film Number  Baptisms 1843–1851   0889484 item 3 Other: Minutes 1843–1906 Deacons’ Court Accounts 1843–1861 Other post-1855 records Note: Available at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh, record CH3/464.

Blairdaff Free Church
History— This “quoad sacra” church was vacant at the Disruption, but the congregation “came out,” and elected as minister the probationer who was then supplying them with sermon. They were prevented from using the church and a new church was erected in 1850. Many members of Blairdaff joined the Kemnay Church when it opened in 1864. The population steadily declined. Membership: 1848, 210; 1900, 116 Source: Annals of the Free Church of Scotland, 1843–1900, ed. Rev. William Ewing, D.D., 2 vols. pub. 1914. Film #918572. More details are given in the source.

Records— There are no known records.

Roman Catholic Church
History— A church was located at Fetternear. No History is available. Records— Baptisms 1850–1920 Marriages 1853–1919 Note: Now available online for a fee at scotlandspeople,($) record RH21/22.

= 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 =

Garioch was under the probate jurisdiction of the Commissary Court of Aberdeen until 1823, and since then has been under the Sheriff's Court of Aberdeen. Probate records for 1513- 1901 are indexed online at scotlandspeople.($) You must register on the website but use of the index to probate records, called 'Wills &amp; Testaments,' is free. You may then purchase a copy of the document or, if the document is before 1823, it will be on microfilm at the Family History Library. To find the microfilm numbers, search in the library catalog for the 'Place-names' of Aberdeen and the subject of 'Probate records.' Then click on the link to the records of the Commissariat of Aberdeen. Ancestry.co.uk also has many probate records for Scotland and Scottish people indexed from 1861-1941($) The library also has some post-1823 probate records for Aberdeen. Look in the library catalog for the 'Place-names' of Aberdeen and the subjects of 'Probate Records' and 'Probate Records - Indexes.' Read more about Scotland Probate Records.&lt;

= References =

Return to Aberdeenshire parish list.