Millbrex, Aberdeenshire, Scotland Genealogy

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

= History =

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 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.

Click here [see below] to go to the Family History Library Catalog entry for the.

The Family History Library has an (set of 12).

The 1901 and 1911 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, 1841-1911, are indexed on this website. It may be easier for you to pay to use the website rather than access the separate 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 the parish of Monquhitter which Millbrex Chapel was in.

Established Church—Old Parochial Registers
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. The records may be indexed in the International Genealogical Index. Births: Records are blank November 1685–June 1688, and December 1752–January 1758. After record for 1788 there are 18 pages of irregular entries 1755–1817. The record up to 1771, is a copy made about 1823, but the original 1677–1685, and 1688–1709, is also in the custody of the Registrar General. Mothers’ names are seldom recorded before 1814. Marriages: The record is blank 1701–1722, 1726–1734, and 1769–June 1771. There are only three entries March 1780–May 1784. Record is blank July 1792–December 1798. The record up to 1771 is merely a copy of the names of parties proclaimed all married, generally without either the month or day stated. The first entry, however, exhibits the completer for of the entries as contained in the original record. 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 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:

Records—

Reference Title                                             Date

CH2/1045 Records of Milbrex (Millbrex) Kirk Session 1858-1974 CH2/1045/1 Proclamation register 1869-1927 Check details CH2/1045/2 Communion roll 1861-1866 Check details CH2/1045/3 Communion roll 1901-1914 CH2/1045/4 Roll book, Sunday School and Junior Bible Class 1919-1928 CH2/1045/5 Minutes 1858-1894 Check details CH2/1045/6 Minutes 1894-1974 Check details CH2/1045/7 Congregational board minutes 1935-1972 CH2/1045/8 Extracts from records concerning the chapel at Millbrex 1832-1874 Check details CH2/1045/9 Communion roll 1866-1880 CH2/1045/10 Communion roll 1881-1900 Check details CH2/1045/11 Communion roll 1915-1923 CH2/1045/12 Communion roll 1924-1931 CH2/1045/13 Communion roll 1932-1959 CH2/1045/14 Woman's Guild accounts 1902-1953 CH2/1045/15 Seat rent accounts 1950-1957 CH2/1045/16 North of Scotland Bank accounts 1930-1951 CH2/1045/17 Miscellaneous papers 20th century CH2/1045/18 Millbrex Kirk Session:Baptismal register 1861-1900 CH2/1045/19 Millbrex Kirk Session: Baptismal register 1901-1946 There are extracts from the records concerning the chapel at Millbrex 1831–1874, with notes on all church buildings 1832–1951'''. Note:''' Available at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh, catalog record CH2/1045

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.

Monquhitter Free Church
History—  The minister of the parish and a large proportion of his congregation “came out” in 1843. They worshiped first in the open air and then in the Temperance Hall in the village, until their own church was opened in December 1844. The Earl of Fife had refused ground in any reasonable position. The congregation was glad to accept the site somewhat unwillingly granted by James Lumsden of Auchry, in an old, disused quarry, and there the church was built. Membership: 1848, 300; 1900, 126. 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— No known surviving Records.

Cuminestown Episcopal Church
History— Monquhitter parish was one of the strongholds of Episcopacy in Scotland until a Presbyterian minister was ordained in 1727. This congregation was formed in the village of Cuminestown about 1791 from the poor and working classes of the area. Membership about that time was 60. Source: History of the Scottish Episcopal Church, by John P. Lawson, pub. 1843. No copy is available in the FHL.

Records— The extent of Records is:

Register of Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials 1848-1880

Registers of Baptisms 1900-1983

Register of Confirmations 1881-1942

Managers' minute book 1826-1840

Managers' minute book 1844-1876

Managers' minute book 1925-1953

Vestry minutes book 1954-1985

School Logbook

Rough notebook kept by Fanny Ainslie c. 1900-1930

For information, write to: Cuminestown Episcopal Church c/o The Rectory 9 Deveron Road Turriff AB53 4BB Scotland

Transcribed Records— Some of the church records have been transcribed by Archibald Maxwell Strath and were self published as "The Registers of Turriff and Cuminestown Episcopal Church, Aberdeenshire, Scotland". Copies are held by the Aberdeen County Library, Meldrum Old Meg Way, Meadows Industrial Estate, Old Meldrum, AB51 OGN, Scotland. Further copies at held at the Aberdeen &amp; North East Scotland Family History Society, 4 King St. Aberdeen, AB24 5BD Scotland. http://www.anesfhs.org.uk/

= 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 =

Millbrex 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 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-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.

Return to Aberdeenshire parish list.