Dysart, Fife, Scotland Genealogy

Parish #426

Guide to Dysart history, family history, and genealogy: parish registers, census records, birth records, marriage records, and death records.

Dysart, Fife, Scotland
Type	Quoad Omnia Parish
Parish Number	426
Civil Jurisdictions
Historic County	Fife
Burgh	Dysart
Council Area	Fife
Registration District	Dysart
Records begin
Parish registers: 1582
Kirk Sessions: 1619
Ecclesiastical Jurisdictions
Presbytery	Kirkaldy
Synod	Fife
Judicial Jurisdictions
Sheriff Court	Cupar, Dunfermline, and Kirkcaldy
Commissary Court	St Andrews, Dunkeld, and Edinburgh
v • d• e

History[edit | edit source]

DYSART, a burgh, seaport town, and parish, in the district of Kirkcaldy, county of Fife; including the villages of Boreland and Gallatown, the late quoad sacra parish of Pathhead, and part of that of Thornton; 2 miles (E.) from Kirkcaldy, and 14 (N. by E.) from Edinburgh. This place appears to have retained its original name, which in the Gaelic language signifies the "Temple of the Most High," from its rise to the present time. The parish, situated on the Frith of Forth. A church was erected by subscription in the village of Pathhead. There are places of worship for members of the Free Church, the Relief, and Antiburghers.^[1]

For more information about Dysart's geography, economy, history, education, and people, see the parish reports in The First and Second Statistical Accounts of Scotland, or the Third Statistical Account for Fife (FS Catalog book 941 B4sa 3rd ser. v. 2).

Census Records[edit | edit source]

Scottish Censuses were taken every 10 years beginning in 1801. Beginning with the 1841 Census, each individual in the nation was enumerated at the location they slept on a particular day. For more information, including which day each census was taken, read about Scottish Census Records.

Here is a list of the FS Library microfilm numbers for the census records of Dysart as well as the library numbers for any surname indexes available:

Year	FS Library Film Number	Surname Indexes
1841	1042701	book 941.33 X22s; films 1145982-3; CD-ROM no. 1075
1851	1042266	941.33 X22f
1861	0103828	CD-ROM no. 2524
1871	0103990	None
1881	0203522	6086574 (set of 8 fiche)
1891	0208755	None

Indexes and images for the 1901, 1911, and 1921 censuses of Scotland are found on ScotlandsPeople ($). Registration is required and there is a small access fee per image. All available censuses, 1841-1921, are indexed on this website.

Church Records[edit | edit source]

The Established Church in Scotland is the Church of Scotland, a Presbyterian denomination of Christianity. Church of Scotland records generally cover the period of time prior to 1855, when Civil Registration began. Unlike in England, Scottish law never mandated that vital events be registered with the established church. For more information, read about Scottish Church Records.

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

Established Church—Old Parochial Registers[edit | edit source]

Record Type	Years Covered	FS Library Film Number
Births:	1582–1596, 1609–1662	1040108 item 4
	1662–1819	1040109
	1820–1854	1040195
	1844–1853 (neglected entries)	1040110 items 1-3
Marriages:	1582-1592, 1612-1662	1040108 item 4
	1662-1694, 1708-1734	1040109
	1735-1855	1040195
Deaths:	1582-1596 (burials)	1040108 item 4
	1721-1778, 1796-1821	1040109
	1756-1863	1040195
	1818-1855 (Mortcloth dues)	1040110 items 1-3

Condition of Original Registers[edit | edit source]

Index: For an index to these records, see ScotlandsPeople, a pay-for-view website. The Scottish Church Records Index is also still available at the FamilySearch Library in Salt Lake City. Some of these records may be indexed and searchable onHistorical Records at FanilySearch. org and then typing in Scotland in the search box to find those records.”
Births: There are no birth entries May 1596–November 1609, April 1610–November 1611 and 1623 is incomplete. There are no entries October 1679–December 1682, except 11 irregular entries, December 1694–January 1708. Mother's names are not recorded until 1645 and are often omitted until March 1662.
Marriages: Registers are contracts and marriages with no entries July 1592–January 1612, February 1648–January 1650, February 1653–December 1654, July 1677–December 1682 and December 1694–January 1708, except one for 1698.
Source: Key to the Parochial Registers of Scotland, by V. Ben Bloxham, pub. 1970. FS Library British Book 941 K23b.

Established Church—Kirk Session Records[edit | edit source]

The kirk session was the court of the parish. The session was made up of the minister and the land owners and businessmen of the parish, chosen to serve on the session. It 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 1619–1842
Cash Book 1779–1848
Poor’s Accounts 1686–1706, 1747–1845
List of Poor 1830–1840
Treasurer's Book 1846–1847
Tenants of the Earl of Rosslyn and their Rents 1841
Miscellaneous Accounts 1827
Seating Books 1830–1842
Burials 1795–1861 (different burying grounds)
Communion Rolls 1817–1866
Burial Register Dysart Relief Church, dates are unreadable, but likely mid 1700s on.
Note: Available at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh, record CH2/390.

Nonconformist Church Records[edit | edit source]

A nonconformist church is any church that is not the established church (the Church of Scotland). For more information, read about Scottish Nonconformity.

Dysart Relief Church[edit | edit source]

History—
This congregation originated in the minister’s love of Evangelical truth on the part of those who took part in its formation. They obtained supply of sermon from the Relief Presbytery of Edinburgh in 1772 and built a place of worship for themselves the same year containing seating for 650. A new church was opened in 1867.
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— FS Library Film Number
Baptisms from Presbytery Minutes 1803–1829 1484196 item 3-5
Other:
Presbytery Minutes 1803–1847
Register of Baptisms 1828–1831, 1838
Various Minutes 1775–1813, 1819–1820, 1828–1831
Box Master's Accounts 1779–1828
Note: Available at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh, record CH13/5 and CH3/105.

Dysart Free Church[edit | edit source]

History—
The minister of the parish, and a considerable congregation, came out in 1843. The church was erected in 1844. In 1874 the church was sold to the Earl of Rosslyn and a new church was built. The linen and mining industries in the town and district improved after1843 but the town suffered from failure of the spinning industry.
Membership: 1848, 170; 1900, 296.
Source: Annals of the Free Church of Scotland, 1843–1900, ed. Rev. William Ewing, D.D., 2 vols. pub. 1914. Film #918572. More details may be given in the source.

Records—
Baptisms 1843–1854, 1859–1922
Other post-1855 records
Note: Available at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh, record CH3/1481.

Dysart Branch, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter–Day Saints[edit | edit source]

Records— FS Library Film Number
Record of Members 1840–1875 0104150 item 13

Civil Registration Records[edit | edit source]

Government or civil registration of births, marriages, and deaths is called Statutory Registers in Scotland. The system began 1 January 1855, and each parish had a registrar's office, with large cities having several. Over time, districts merged and split due to changing populations and technological advancements. The system has largely stayed the same over time, with records being created by local registrars and copies sent to the General Register Office in Edinburgh. Initially annual indexes were published, but now these indexes are available online as soon as an event is registered. Many of these records are only available on ScotlandsPeople ($), however the years 1855-1875, 1881, and 1891 are available through FamilySearch(*). For more information, read about Scottish Statutory Registers.

Probate Records[edit | edit source]

Dysart 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 ScotlandsPeople ($). Registration is required, but use of the index to probate records, called 'Wills & Testaments,' is free. Copies of documents may be purchased, or if the document is before 1823, it will be on microfilm at the FamilySearch 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 FamilySearch 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.

References[edit | edit source]

Return to Fife parishes.