Place:Culsalmond, Aberdeenshire, Scotland

[Condensed from A New History of Aberdeenshire, by Alexander Smith (Ed), 1875] as provided by GENUKI]

The name is written Culsalmond and Culsamond, which in Gaelic would signify the back, or end of the hill, which is descriptive enough of the situation of the parish, which is located at the eastern end of the Foudland range of hills.

It is a small parish, bounded on the north by the parishes of Forgue and Auchterless, on the east by Rayne, on the south by Oyne, and on the west by Insch. The greatest length of the parish, from south to north, in a direct line, is 5 miles, and its greatest breadth from east to west, also in a direct line, is 3½ miles, and the whole area is computed to be 6,995 acres.

The water of Ury (or the Glen Water), intersects and divides the parish, from the entry of the water of Shevach to a point near Bainshole, in the top of the glens of Foudland, being a distance of 6½ miles, following the windings of the stream. The Ury, at the influx of the Shevach (being the lowermost point in the parish), is 310 feet above sea level, the bridge of Auchintender, over the Ury, is about 553 feet, and the highest point on the Ury within the parish, is 608 feet. Excepting the top and western slopes of Tillymorgan, the higher parts of the Cairn-hill, and parts of Culmeadden and St. Sair's hills, the whole parish is either cultivated or covered with trees. South of the glens of Foudland, the arable land is continuous, laid out into regular fields, interspersed with thriving plantations (planted trees). In the glen, and to the north and east of Tillymorgan, the scenery is different, the country is bare, and the cultivated land is much exposed to the utmost rigours of the north winds which sweep across the country. Snowdrifts are common on the heights in winter.

[Condensed from F.H. Groome, Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland (1882-4) provided online by the Gazetteer for Scotland]
The hamlet of Kirkton of Culsalmond (found today on the A96 highway about halfway between Inverurie and Huntly) includes a farm-house, the church, and the manse, and stands at 600 feet above sea-level, near the left bank of the Ury, 4½ miles NNE of its post-town and station, Insch, this being 27½ miles NW of Aberdeen. The parish also contains Colpy post-office hamlet. The parish church, an old building, was the scene of one of those contests that led to the Disruption (1843); and the neighbouring Free church, Early English in style, with a tower, was erected in 1866 at a cost of £2000, its predecessor from 1843 having been a mere wooden shed in an outlying hollow.

A fine blue slate was quarried prior to 1860; and a vein of ironstone, extending across the parish from Rayne to Insch, was proved to contain a large proportion of good iron.

The mansions of Williamston House, Newton House and Pulquhite are mentioned by Samuel Lewis in his A Topographical Dictionary of Scotland of 1851 (GENUKI), but the owners or lessees are not given.

Population Growth

Populations 1801-1951 from A Vision of Britain through Time (http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk).
2001 population from Scotland’s Census (https://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk).

Research Tips

There was formerly a note on this page that the parish was linked to the Presbytery of Garioch, Synod of Aberdeen, Scotland. It would appear that since 1975 the organization of the presbyteries and synods has been revised. Readers are reminded that the Church of Scotland is Presbyterian in nature while in England the Church of England is Episcopalian. (See Wikipedia. )

• Scotlands People, the website of the Scottish Register Office provides

• official civil (from 1855) and parish registers (from when first produced) for births, marriages and deaths for all of Scotland
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This site is extremely easy to use. There are charges for parish register entries and censuses. The charges are reasonable and payable by online transfer.

• The Statistical Accounts of Scotland Online provides access to digitised and fully searchable versions of both the Old Statistical Account (1791-99) and the New Statistical Account (1834-45). These uniquely rich and detailed parish reports, usually written by local Church of Scotland ministers, detail social conditions in Scotland and are an invaluable resource for anyone interested in Scottish history.
• Scotlands Places
• Gazetteer of Scotland includes descriptions of individual parishes from F. H. Groome, Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland (1882-4)
• The FamilySearch Wiki
• GENUKI which provides, amongst other data, complete quotations from A Topographical Dictionary of Scotland (1851) by Samuel Lewis, John Bartholomew's A Gazetteer of the British Isles (1877), and A New History of Aberdeenshire edited by Alexander Smith (1875)
• A list of Burial Grounds in Scotland is now available on the website of the Scottish Association of Family History Societies.
• Aberdeenshire and Moray Records. Town Council minutes, accounts, letters, plans and harbour records provided by Aberdeenshire Council plus other local records.
• Aberdeen and North-East Scotland Family History Society is one of the largest and most reputable family history societies in Scotland and has a long list of publications referring to individual parishes.