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Moray
Moray, which at one time was called Elginshire, lies between Nairnshire to
the west, and Banffshire to the east. In addition to farming and fishing,
whisky distilling was an important activity within the lower Spey Valley
falling within its borders. The county town was Elgin. Following local
government reorganistation much of the old county was absorbed into the
Grampian region.
Clan and Family Heartlands
You can get a feel for the lives your ancestors lived by visiting the area
they came from. These are areas where, for centuries, families lived
together in a tightly-knit community. In the Highlands they are linked to
clan heartlands, whereas, in the rest of Scotland the names are often those
of the local landed families. Although it is unlikely that family
historians can link their ancestry to clan chiefs or family dynasties, it
can still be a moving experience to tour the clan and family heartlands.
Here is a selection of the most common names in this area:
Cowie
Grant
Main
Stewart
Parishes
The Parish Church can unlock many secrets for ancestral researchers. Not
only was it the place where children were baptised, proclamations of
marriage announced and the dead buried, it was also the centre of most
social activity within the Parish. There is, however, no such thing as a
definitive list of parishes. Over the decades they have merged, divided,
been renamed and had changes made to their spelling. The following list is
based largely on the situation at the time of publication of the New
Statistical Account (1834-1845).
Abernethy,
Alves,
Bellie,
Birnie,
Dallas,
Drainie,
Duffus,
Duthil (and Rothiemurchus),
Dyke and Moy (Dyke),
Edenkillie (Edinkillie),
Elgin,
Forres,
Kinloss,
Knockando,
New Spynie,
Rafford,
Rothes,
Rothiemurchus,
Speymouth,
Urquhart
* subsequently divided into seperate parishes, ( ) denotes alternative
name or spelling
Detailed information on life and work within each of these parishes can be
found in the Old (1791-9) and the New (1834-45) Statistical Account of
Scotland. These are freely accessible on http://edina.ed.ac.uk/statacc. Part of their charm
is the individual views of the minister, which can include some
fascinating accounts of a parish's history, topography, employment,
landowners, communications, agriculture and even the morality of the
parishioners.
Local Studies Libraries
Almost every municipal authority in Scotland has a collection of local
history publications, maps and archives. Although most of these libraries
are prepared to undertake a limited amount of searching on your behalf, it
is far more fulfilling to visit them yourself. You could lose yourself for
hours, pouring over old newspapers and photographs.
The following is a list of the libraries in your chosen area:
Grant Lodge Heritage Centre
Grant Lodge
Cooper Park
Elgin
IV30 1HS
Tel: +44 1343 562644
Fax: +44 1343 549050
E-mail:
libstock@moray.gov.uk
www.moray.gov.uk/LocalHeritage/Assets/html_pages/morayheritage.html
Open: Mon & Wed-Fri, 10:00 - 17:00, Tue 10:00 - 20:00, Sat 10:00 -
12:00
(Closed Wed, October-April inclusive)
Additional material includes many non-established Church records and
indexes of the death registers from the Old Parish Registers. Microfilm
copies of all local newspapers are held and many of them have been indexed
in respect of biographical information and entries from the "deaths" and
"marriages" columns.
Grantown Museum
Burnfield Avenue
Grantown-on-Spey
PH26 3HH
Tel/Fax: +44 1479 872478
E-mail:
molly.duckett@btinternet.com
www.grantownmuseum.co.uk
Open: Mon-Fri, 10:00 - 16:00.
Census returns and Old Parochial Registers for Cromdale, Inverallan and
Advie. Microfilm copies of the Grantown Supplement and its successor the
Strathspey News.
Local Archives Centres
Almost every municipal authority in Scotland has a collection of local
history publications, maps and archives. Although most of these libraries
are prepared to undertake a limited amount of searching on your behalf, it
is far more fulfilling to visit them yourself. You could lose yourself for
hours, pouring over old newspapers and photographs.
The following is a list of the archive offices in your chosen area:
Local Heritage Centre
Old East End School
Institution Road
Elgin
IV30 1HS
Tel: +44 1343 569011
E-mail:heritage@moray.gov.uk
www.moray.gov.uk/LocalHeritage/Assets/html_pages/eastend_school.html
Open: Mon & Wed-Fri, 10:00 - 17:00, Tue 10:00 - 20:00, Sat 10:00 -
12:00
(Closed Wed, October-April inclusive)
Records include poor law registers (1845-1930) and school admission and
withdrawal registers.
Museums and Heritage Centres
Almost every municipal authority in Scotland has a collection of local
history publications, maps and archives. Although most of these libraries
are prepared to undertake a limited amount of searching on your behalf, it
is far more fulfilling to visit them yourself. You could lose yourself for
hours, pouring over old newspapers and photographs.
The following is a list of the archive offices in your chosen area:
Grantown Museum
Burnfield Avenue
Grantown-on-Spey
PH26 3HH
Tel: +44 1479 872478
Fax: +44 1479 872478
E-mail:
molly.duckett@btinternet.com
www.grantownmuseum.com
Open: March - December, Mon-Sat, 10:00 - 16:00.
Tells the story of "Sir James Grant's Town".
Baxters Highland Village
High Street
Fochabers
Moray
Tel: +44 1343 820393
www.baxters.com/pages/fochabers.html
Open: Mon-Sat, 09:30 - 13:00 & 14:00 - 17:00.
Buckie Fishing Heritage Museum
Heritage Cottage
Cluny Place
Buckie
AB56 1HB
Tel: +44 1542 832826
E-mail:
f.macleod@ntlworld.com
www.buckieheritage.org
Open: Mid May-September, Mon-Fri, 10:00 - 12:00 & 14:00 - 16:00, Sat
10:00 - 12:00.
A museum and archive centre situated in Buckie relating to the drifter and
other fishing vessels, mainly BCK and BF registrations. It also holds over
7000 photographs and artefacts of past and present local interest.
Falconer Museum
Tolbooth Street
Forres
Tel: +44 1309 673701
E-mail:
museums@moray.gov.uk
www.moray.gov.uk/moray_standard/page_624.html
Open: April-Oct, Mon-Sat, 11:00 - 15:00, Jul-Aug, Mon-Sat, 11:00 - 16:00.
History and development of tartans and kilts - 700 on display. Trace your
family tartan.
Family History Society
Local societies are run by volunteers who meet together periodically. Most
maintain an index of members' interests - and this could well lead to the
discovery of a long lost cousin or two. If there are any such societies in
your chosen area, they will be listed below.
Aberdeen & NE Family History Society
The Family History Shop
164 King Street
Aberdeen
AB24 5BD
Tel: +44 1224 646323
Fax: +44 1224 639096
E-mail:
enquiries@anesfhs.org.uk
www.anesfhs.org.uk
Open: Mon-Fri 10:00 - 16:00, Tue-Fri 19:00 - 20:00 & Sat 09:00-13:00
The largest family history society in Scotland. Quarterly journal. Over
60,000 names in index of Monumental Inscriptions in about 50 cemeteries.
Members e-mail discussion facility.
Burial Information
It may seem a little odd, but a visit to the burial ground of an ancestor can make you feel more closely connected to them. However, tracking down the specific plot, or lair as they were referred to in Scotland, depends on the period of time when the deaths occurred.
Up to the mid-19th century it was the normal practice for people to be interred in the Parish Kirk burial ground - although this was only rarely marked with anything as grand as a headstone. The Scottish Association of Family History Societies (SAFHS) is currently co-ordinating a major project to develop a National Burial Index, relating to pre-1855 records. This will eventually be available on CD ROM. Although this will help to confirm that burials took place in parish burial grounds, it will not, unfortunately, indicate the location of the lair.
If your ancestor was wealthy enough, their grave may have been marked by an inscribed headstone. Over the years, family history societies and other volunteer groups have painstakingly transcribed and indexed such inscriptions - and these are nearly always held in the relevant local history libraries or family history research centres.
By the mid-19th Century, many parish burial grounds had become seriously overcrowded, especially those in urban areas, and this led to the creation of both private and municipal cemeteries. If you know the place and date of death, you should be able to discover the location of a lair, although not all cemeteries and records have survived.
The concept of cremation started to gain popularity in the late 1940s and has increased ever since. Ashes may be taken away by the family, scattered in the garden of remembrance or buried either in the crematorium or in a family plot.
Grounds Maintenance Office
Aberdeenshire Council
1 Church Street
Macduff
AB44 1UR
Tel: +44 1261 813 390
Fax: +44 1261 833 646
Burial ground information is, for the most part, held by the Council Registers who undertake searches for a fee - generally £5 per hour. Precise details of the death are essential. The above office should be contacted to discover the contact details of the relevant Register.
