Auchtertool

The ScotlandsPlaces website lets users search across national databases by geographical location. It includes, amongst other material,

• catalogue entries for maps and plans held by the National Records of Scotland, Edinburgh; some maps and plans can be viewed
• photos and details of historical buildings and archaeological sites recorded by the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland, Edinburgh
• 17th and 18th century tax rolls
• Ordnance Survey [place] Name Books
• an opportunity to transcribe thousands of historic documents

A very good description is to be found in the relevant chapter in History of the County of Fife: From the Earliest Period to the Present Time by John M Leighton, published 1840, online at Google Books.

Auchtertool Churchyard / Cemetery, off B925 Auchtertool to Crossgates road (grid ref. NT 206903, GPS: 56.097941 -3.275048):

• The pre-1855 monumental inscriptions are listed in Fifeshire Monumental Inscriptions (pre-1855) vol. 2 The western parishes by John Fowler Mitchell & Sheila Mitchell, published by the Scottish Genealogy Society. ISBN 0901061972
• The current lair registers (dating from 1933) are administered by Fife Council, Bereavement Services Central, Kirkcaldy Crematorium, Rosemount Avenue, Kirkcaldy, KY2 6HQ. Tel. 01592 260277. Fax 01592 203438.
• A CD with photographs of the stones and transcriptions is available from Scottish Monumental Inscriptions or from The Parish Chest.

Parish / district reference number for 1841 - 1901 censuses: 407

The 1841 and 1851 returns can be searched on the FreeCEN website.

The 1851 census has been indexed by the Tay Valley Family History Society.

Some census records on microfilm may be consulted in LDS Family Search Centres around the world.

LDS Library Film Numbers:

	1841	1851	1861	1871	1881	1891
Auchtertool	1042699	1042252	103825	103986	203517	208747

(Data provided by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints)

Further information on the main Fife page.

The Old Statistical Account (written in the 1790s) gives this information about Dissenters:

• Number of examinable persons of the Established Church - 105
• Number of Seceders - 20

The New Statistical Account (written in 1836) has this to say:

• Number of families attending the Established Church - 92
• Number of families attending the chapels of dissenters and seceders - 23. (The younger branches of 2 of these families attend the Established Church).

The 1865 Ecclesiastical Directory lists only the parish church.

Information and pictures of the churches at the Scottish Churches website.

Details of the church history:

• Auchtertool Parish Church:

Auchtertool church was included amongst the possessions of Inchcolm Abbey in the Bull of Pope Alexander III, 1178. Ministry began in 1563 in the person of Thomas Thalland, reader. Throughout its existence the session has been within the jurisdiction of Kirkcaldy Presbytery. On 18 May 1969 Auchtertool linked with Burntisland St. Andrew's under the Rev. J. S. Easton. The link with Burntisland was terminated on 28 February 1987. On 31 Mar. 1987 Auchtertool linked with Kirkcaldy Invertiel (that link continuing after the union of Invertiel with Bethelfield on 8 January 1991).

Data provided by the  Scottish Archive Network (SCAN)

The Parish Church (Established Church, Church of Scotland):

At the National Records of Scotland, Edinburgh:

• CH2/25
  Auchtertool Kirk Session
  Minutes, 1738-1799 and 1806-1885; Cash book, 1800-1895; Mortsafe association accounts, 1830-1853; Burials, 1830-1855; Mortsafe association minutes, 1830-1863; Communion roll, 1846-1876.

• HR/638
  Auchtertool parish heritors' records
  Minutes, 1828-1927; Accounts, 1849-1930.

Other Churches:

The Auchtertool page of the LDS Family Search Research Wiki has more information about church history and records.

Registration of Births, Marriages and Deaths began in Scotland on 1st January 1855. Full information on the main Fife page.

Registration districts covering this parish:

Registration districts did not necessarily coincide exactly with parishes. In the 20th century especially, there were frequent changes in registration districts.

Fife Family History Society have transcribed a list of Auchtertool Jurors, 1851 on the Records pages of their website.

Surrounding parishes: Abbotshall, Kinghorn, Aberdour, Beath, Auchterderran.

• Geograph
• Flickr

The parish entry in Pigot's National Commercial Directory for the whole of Scotland, 1837, is online at Google Books.

Westwood's Parochial Directory for the Counties of Fife and Kinross for 1862 and 1866 are online at Google Books. On the Records pages of the Fife Family History Society website there is a transcription of the 1862 edition.

Several old gazetteers are available. They all contain descriptions of the parish and many are also worth searching for entries of places within the parish.

• David Webster's Topographical Dictionary of Scotland, published 1819, online at Google Books.
• Fullarton's Topographical, Statistical and Historical Gazetteer of Scotland, published 1842, online at Google Books.
• Samuel Lewis's Topographical Dictionary of Scotland, published 1846, online at British History Online.
• Barbieri's Descriptive and Historical Gazetteer of the Counties of Fife, Kinross and Clackmannan, published 1857, is at Google Books.
• Frances Groome's Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland (1882-4) and John Bartholomew's Gazetteer of the British Isles (1887), are on A Vision of Britain (click on "Historical places and writing").
• Frances Groome's Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland(1892-6) on Electric Scotland

• Ask for a calculation of the distance from Auchtertool to another place.

A Vision of Britain provides historical descriptions, population & housing statistics, historic boundaries and maps.

Details of historic buildings and archaeological sites in this parish held by the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland, Edinburgh, are catalogued at ScotlandsPlaces. In the results, click RCAHMS. Unfortunately, not all entries have digital images.

Historic maps:

• On-line maps:
  • National Library of Scotland map collection - main page
  • For 17th, 18th and early 19th century maps, see the National Library of Scotland map collection.
  • Using the geo-referenced maps at the National Library of Scotland allows historic maps to be viewed on top of a modern map or satellite view
  • Ordnance Survey 6-inch, 1st edition (1855) Fife sheet 36 at the National Library of Scotland (for the best images), or at OldMaps or British History online.
  • Ordnance Survey 6-inch editions of 1895, 1920 and 1938 at OldMaps.
  • Ordnance Survey 25-inch editions of 1895, 1914 and 1943 at OldMaps.
  • A Vision of Britain has the Ordnance Survey 1-inch, 1st edition (1850s) and the Ordnance Survey 1-inch, Popular edition (1920s) - both showing parish boundaries; Land Utilisation mapping (1930s); and more.
  • Ordnance Survey 1-inch, 1st edition (1867) sheet 40; 2nd edition (1899) sheet 40; and 3rd edition (1906) sheet 40 at the National Library of Scotland.
  • Ordnance Survey 1-inch, Popular edition (1928) sheet 68 at the National Library of Scotland.
  • Ordnance Survey 1-inch, 7th series (1950s-1960s) sheets 55 and 56 at the National Library of Scotland.
• Paper maps:
  • The National Library of Scotland sells paper and digital copies of their maps (select "Enquiries & copies").
  • The Caledonian Maps Victorian Ordnance Survey Map Series sheet 41 (reprint of the 1899 1-inch maps).
  • OldMaps sell paper copies of all their on-line maps.
  • Ordnance Survey 1-inch, 7th series (1950s-1960s) sheets 55 & 56
  • The best collection of large scale local and estate maps and plans is held by the National Records of Scotland, Edinburgh. The RCAHMS also has some plans. They are catalogued on the ScotlandsPlaces website. N.B. Only a few maps and plans are available as digital images.

Present-day maps:

• On-line maps:
  • National Library of Scotland map collection - main page
  • Streetmap
  • Ordnance Survey maps
• Paper maps:
  • Ordnance Survey Landranger (scale 1:50000 -  about 1 inch to 1 mile) sheets 58 - Perth & Alloa, and 65 - Falkirk & Linlithgow
  • Ordnance Survey Explorer (larger scale 1:25000 -  about 2 and a half inches to 1 mile) sheet 367 - Dunfermline, Kirkcaldy & Glenrothes South

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference NT198902 (Lat/Lon: 56.09781, -3.290567), Auchtertool which are provided by:

• OpenStreetMap
• Google Maps
• StreetMap (Current Ordnance Survey maps)
• Bing (was Multimap)
• Old Maps Online
• National Library of Scotland (Old Ordnance Survey maps)
• Vision of Britain (Click "Historical units & statistics" for administrative areas.)
• Magic (Geographic information) (Click + on map if it doesn't show)
• GeoHack (Links to on-line maps and location specific services.)

• All places within the same township/parish shown on an Openstreetmap map.
• Nearby townships/parishes shown on an Openstreetmap map.
• Nearby places shown on an Openstreetmap map.

Andrew Campbell has produced Fife Deaths from Newspapers 1822-1854 - a compilation of deaths recorded in local newspapers. Copies of this index are held by the Fife libraries and the Family History Societies.

Fife Deaths Abroad 1855-1900 - a compilation of overseas deaths recorded in Fife newspapers - has been produced by Andrew Campbell of Fife Family History Society. The Society have re-published it in their Publications Series, 26.

The parish is included in Andrew Campbell's compilation of Fife Shopkeepers and Traders 1820-1870 taken from newspapers and directories. It is available in most Fife reference libraries, in the libraries of the family history societies, and at the Manuscript Department of the Special Collections Department of St Andrews University Library. It is also available as Fife Traders and Shopkeepers on CD from Fife Family History Society.

The relief of paupers after 1845 was carried out by the Parochial Board and later by the Parish Council. Their records are at the Fife Council Archive Centre. See Public Records below.

There is a page with census statistics from 1755 to 1961 here.

See also A Vision of Britain and Histpop for population statistics.

Probate records are 'Confirmations' in Scotland.

Prior to 1824, wills, testaments & inventories of residents of Auchtertool may be found in either the St Andrews Commissariot (CC20) or the Edinburgh Commissariot (CC8) records. From 1824 to 1960, commissary business was conducted by the Sheriff Court of Fife at Cupar (SC20). From 1960, it has been conducted at Kirkcaldy (SC23) Sheriff Court.

Indexes and finding aids are given on the main Fife page.

Local sources worth searching for deeds include St Andrews Commissary Court and Cupar Sheriff Court.

Parochial Boards and their successors, Parish Councils, administered many local functions including poor relief.

At the Fife Council Archive Centre, Kirkcaldy:

• FCC/6/7
  Auchtertool Parish Council
  Minute books, 1907-1930.

School Board records and / or school logbooks are held at the Fife Council Archive Centre. Auchtertool records:

At the Fife Council Archive Centre, Kirkcaldy:

• Auchtertool School
  School Board Minute books, 1873-1896, 1911-1919; School Log Books, 1913-1997.

Entries less than 50 years old may contain sensitive personal information and are not on open access. If you are a former pupil you are entitled to see your own entry. Please contact the Archivist for further details.

Education statistics for Fife schools in 1891-2 list the following board schools in the parish:

"Statistical accounts" giving fascinating insights into the local topography and history, social and economic conditions, and even the daily lives of people, were written by the parish ministers in the 1790s and the 1840s. For more information see the main Fife pages

• The 'Old' Statistical Account is at The Statistical Accounts of Scotland and Google Books.
• The 'New' Statistical Account is also at The Statistical Accounts of Scotland and Google Books.

At the National Records of Scotland, Edinburgh:

• E69/10
  Fife Hearth Tax

• GD26/7/303
  Auchtertool Hearth Tax

• E326
  Assessed Taxes Schedules 1748-1802

The hearth tax, clock & watch tax, male servants tax, female servants tax, and farm horse tax are all on ScotlandsPlaces.

See also the Early Taxation Records page.