Place:Keig, Aberdeenshire, Scotland

In 1851 Samuel Lewis, in his A Topographical Dictionary of Scotland (available on GENUKI) described the parish of Keig as follows:

KEIG, a parish, in the district of Alford, county of Aberdeen [Aberdeenshire}, 4½ miles (northeast by east) from the post-town of Alford; containing 662 inhabitants. This parish, which includes the northeastern portion of the vale of Alford, is bounded on the north by the mountain range of Benachie, and on the east by the Menaway hills. It is about five miles and a half in length, of irregular form, and nearly two miles and a half in average breadth, comprising an area of 7900 acres, of which 3100 are arable, 2300 woodland and plantations, and the remainder moorland pasture and waste[land]. The surface in the central part of the parish is generally flat; and even the acclivities of the hills are under tillage, to a height of 700 feet above the level of the sea. The River Don flows in a winding course through the parish (dividing it into two nearly equal portions), and, after receiving numerous tributary streams, falls into the German Ocean [North Sea] at Aberdeen, in the southeastern extremity of the county: it abounds with trout and salmon. For the most part the scenery is of interesting character, being enriched with wood, and in some places beautifully picturesque; and it derives much additional interest from the extensive and finely-planted demesne of Castle Forbes, which is within the parish.

The chief crops are oats and barley, with a small quantity of wheat occasionally, and crops of potatoes and turnips, of which, however, not more is raised than is sufficient for home consumption. The system of husbandry is greatly improved, and a due rotation of crops regularly observed; much of the waste has been drained and brought into cultivation, and the lands are well inclosed, chiefly with dykes of stone. In general the cattle are of the native Aberdeenshire breed, with a few crosses of the Galloway and the short-horned; but not more than 1100 or 1200 are reared, and of these a considerable number are fed for a few years for the market, and many of them sent by steamers to London. The sheep, of which about 600 are fed on the pastures, are principally of the blackfaced Highland breed, with some of the Leicestershire; the latter are kept principally for their wool, which is used for domestic purposes. The plantations, chiefly on the lands of Castle Forbes, consist of oak, ash, white and black poplar, birch, weeping-birch, aspen, beech, laburnum, elm, lime, plane, cork, horse-chesnut, maple, Weymouth pine, and larch, silver, spruce, and Scotch firs. The prevailing rocks in the parish are granite, with gneiss, greenstone, and clay-slate; some masses of porphvry, also, are to be found, and fine specimens of rock crystal. The rateable annual value of Keig is £2563.

Castle Forbes, the seat of Lord Forbes, premier baron of Scotland, is a spacious and elegant mansion in the castellated style, beautifully situated on the north bank of the Don, and on the acclivity of the mountain of Benachie, commanding a fine view of the river. The demesne, which is very extensive, is tastefully laid out in walks and rides, and richly embellished with timber and thriving plantations. There is no village; neither is there any trade, except the pork-trade to London, or any manufacture, except the knitting of worsted stockings for the Aberdeen houses, in which many of the poorer females are employed. At Whitehouse, on the borders of the parish, is a post-office, by which a mail-coach runs daily to Aberdeen. (By 1880 there was a railway station at Whitehouse.) [Most communication with the world beyond the parish borders] is maintained by the Aberdeen and Alford turnpike-road; by statute roads kept in good repair; and by a handsome bridge of one arch, 101 feet in span, erected over the Don in 1517, at a cost of £2300, one-half defrayed by government.

Keig church, erected in 1835, is a handsome structure in the later English style, crowned with pinnacles, and containing 500 sittings.

The parishes surrounding Keig are, on the north, Leslie and Premnay, on the east Oyne and Monymusk, on the south Tough, and on the west Alford and Tullynessle.

Further notes on Keig can be found in A New History of Aberdeenshire, Alexander Smith (Ed), 1875, also available on GENUKI, and in F. H. Groome, Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland (1882-4), available on the Gazetteer for Scotland website

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 Alford, 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.