Church of Scotland, including Clergy
What do I need to know before I start?
Try to find out:
- name of the person
- where they lived
- which church they attended
What records can I find in The Mitchell: Glasgow City Archives?
The City Archives holds the original records for Glasgow Presbytery and its parish churches from the 16th to the 20th century. These comprise the records of churches which are now Church of Scotland, including former seceding churches.
The geographic area of Glasgow Presbytery includes areas outwith the City’s current boundaries.
The Presbytery records include serious discipline cases and details of ordained ministers and their families.
The records of the individual parishes, includes:
- Minutes of Kirk Sessions which dealt with discipline cases, including cases of illegitimacy and irregular marriage
- Registers of baptisms, marriages and proclamations, and (occasionally) burials, including pre-1855 registers for a number of seceding churches
- Communion rolls, sometimes pre-1855
- Membership rolls and other lists of parishioners, sometimes pre-1855
Often the only record that a death has taken place may be the payment of a fee to the parish for the hire of a mortcloth which was draped over the coffin or the corpse for the funeral. This may be found in parish financial records.
The records of the parishes may contain details of the ministers and officers of the Church, including elders.
In addition to the original records of Glasgow Presbytery, you can also access digital copies of records of the Church of Scotland for across Scotland in the City Archives.
Special Collections holds the Fasti Ecclesiae for the Church of Scotland and other Presbyterian Churches, which details the careers of ministers.
What records can I see online?
Databases of the following lists of pre-1855 baptisms from the City Archives are available online:
St Andrew's By-the-Green Episcopal Church, Glasgow: by father's surname
St Andrew's By-the-Green Episcopal Church, Glasgow by year
Church of Scotland (mainly seceding churches) and Episcopal Churches: by father's surname
Church of Scotland (mainly seceding churches) and Episcopal Churches: by mother's surname
These databases are incomplete so please check the City Archives for further information
What records can I see elsewhere?
The National Records of Scotland holds many of the original records for the Church of Scotland. Access will normally be to digital images, including those for Glasgow.
What other resources will help me find information?
Glasgow City Archives leaflet on Church Records has some helpful information on the City Archive holdings and how to access them.