Abernyte is a parish in the Sidlaw Hills district of Perthshire. It is bounded by the parishes of Cargill, Longforgan, Inchture, Kinnaird, and Collace. (1867: The Imperial Gazetteer of Scotland, by John Marius Wilson).
Abernyte
PRE-REFORMATION GOVERNANCE:
POST-REFORMATION GOVERNANCE:
The parish of Abernyte was a prebend of Dunkeld.
Includes ministers, licentiates, assistants, readers, and clerks.
(1928: Fasti Ecclesiæ Scoticanæ, by Hew Scott, D. D.)
Parish registers turned over to the Registrar-General, as a result of the Registration of Births, Deaths, and Marriages (Scotland) Act of 1854. The letters B. D. and M. indicate Births (or Baptisms), Deaths (or Burials), and Marriages (or Proclamations of Banns) respectively. Numbers indicate separate volumes or books. Note: These records are by no means complete or without damage; consult the Detailed List of the Old Parochial Registers of Scotland (1872) to learn more about the condition of the records.
| OPR and RD Numbers | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date Range | Name | Number | Type |
| 1664-1854 | Abernyte | 327 | OPR |
| 1855-1965 | Abernyte | 327 | RD |
| 1966-1968 | Abernyte and Inchture | 359 | RD |
| 2009 | Perth and Kinross, Longforgan | 392 | RD |
| 2026 | Perth and Kinross; Inchture Community Council | ||
(2009: Parishes and Registration Districts of Scotland - Old and New, National Records of Scotland)
Local community councils (2026) are provided as a potential source of additional information for settlements within the original boundaries of the parish. (Source)
Statistics from informal and official censuses
Cameron, Clark, Falconer, Gordon, Jeffrey, Lamb, Miller, Robertson, Stewart, Whittet
Note: Names appearing in research materials, other than censuses. Simple names (First name, surname only) have been omitted unless they appear associated with large properties. All women's names, and men's names with occupations, military ranks, or peerage titles are included.
By the Reverend Mr James Adamson.
"The number of inhabitants on 1st January 1792, was 345; of examinable persons, i.e. above 8 years of age, 276. There is scarce a place in the parish now that deserves the name of a village. Three hamlets contain among them 41 houses. The other houses are scattered through the parish; many of them stand singly, a few of them in pairs or greater numbers. All the inhabitants are natives of Scotland.
There are 88 married persons; 13 widows and 3 widowers, males above 8 years, 126; females 150. There are 7 farmers who have no other occupation, 18 farm servants, 7 servants of farmers not residing, 6 wrights, 1 turner, 1 cooper, 12 weavers, 1 tailor, 2 shoemakers, 2 brewers, 1 butcher, 2 flax-dressers, 1 thatcher, 3 smiths, 3 corn-millers, 5 flax-millers, 2 carters, and 6 labourers.
No luxurious mode of living has yet been obtained among any class in this parish. To the farmer, the farm or the parish supplies almost every dainty, except sugar and tea. Seldom any spirit is used but whisky. There has not been an instance of a family applying for relief to the session when the parents were in health. The staple provision among the labouring class is here, as in almost all Scotland, oatmeal. Every peasant possesses a milk cow. Great parts of this class occupy an acre or two of land.
All the inhabitants belong to the Established Church, except 1 Unitarian, 1 family of Episcopals, and 1 of Baptists. The people are industrious and peaceable, though unrefined in their manners. Few have been known to enlist in the army, fewer have entered into the navy, none belonging to this parish has ever been the subject of a criminal trial. One person only has emigrated to America. Belief in the power of spells and charms still prevails here in a great degree; they attribute power to them only in internal disorders, and some chronical diseases. A knowledge of them is confined to a few families."
(This section contains excerpts, at times restructured or paraphrased, from an article appearing in Statistical Account of Scotland, Sir John Sinclair, 1791-1799)
Primary Sources:
Statistical Account of Scotland (1791-1799), Volume 9, p. 138
New Statistical Account of Scotland (1834-1845), Volume 10, p. 219
See Parish Page Sources for all source information and links.
