Place:Kirkbean, Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland

NameKirkbean
TypeParish
Coordinates54.918°N 3.597°W
Located inKirkcudbrightshire, Scotland     (1714 - 1975)
See alsoDumfries and Galloway Region, Scotlandregional administration 1975-1996
Dumfries and Galloway, Scotlandunitary Council Area since 1996
Contained Places
Cemetery
Kirkbean Cemetery
source: Family History Library Catalog


Kirkbean was a parish located in the former county of Kirkcudbrightshire. Both county and parish ceased to exist following the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1974. The parish had an area of 32.9km2 (12.7 sq. miles) and had Colvend & Southwick and New Abbey as its neighbouring parishes.

The parish included the settlements of Carsethorn, Kirkbean village, Prestonmill and Southerness.

Kirkbean is now located in the Dumfries and Galloway Council Area, some 13 miles (20 km) east of Castle Douglas and 15 miles (25 km) west of Annan in Dumfries and Galloway.

Contents

Research Tips

NOTE: At the time of writing (May 2013), Wikipedia does not provide any information on Kirkbean.

Sources for Old Parish Registers Records, Vital Records and Censuses

  • Scotland's People This is a pay website providing vital statistics and census data for all of Scotland with original images. There is a description at Scotland under Genealogical Resources.

Notes for Kirkcudbrightshire

  • The Dumfries and Galloway Family History Society website may point to material of interest to the general researcher. Amongst their publications are indexes for the 1841 census. These are prepared as small booklets, one for each parish, and are alphabetically indexed transcriptions. Obtainable from the D & G FHS, address at website.
  • The FreeCen Project has a searchable (not browsable) transcription of the whole of Kirkcudbrightshire online for the 1841 census.
  • The Stewartry of Kirkcudbright Monumental Inscriptions pre-1855 by Alison and Angus Mitchell, published by the Scottish Genealogical Society. A series of 7 small volumes of transcriptions of gravestones from all the cemeteries in the former county. Obtainable from the Scottish Genealogical Society, Edinburgh, Scotland EH1 2JL.
  • The Kirkbean Parish Heritage Society includes a list of contributors to the war effort in 1798, a list of farm and dwelling tenants and owners dating from 1699 to the 1960s, and more.
  • The Kirkbean Parish Registers for the Church of Scotland provide records of baptisms (1714-1854), marriages (1717-1790 and 1825-1854) and burials (1714-1784 and 1824-1854). See the FamilySearch Wiki article on Kirkbean for other church denominations.

Further Sources of Reference

Please note and respect the copyright warnings on these websites.

  • GENUKI article on Kirkbean. These articles often include a bibliography.
  • The Gazetteer for Scotland article on the parish of Kirkbean. The tabs on the right provide more information, and a map of the parish within its surrounding area, with small settlements highlighted and linked to more information.
  • The FamilySearch Wiki article on Kirkbean provides direct reference to FamilySearch holdings on many topics with respect to the parish.
  • The National Library of Scotland have a website devoted to maps from the 1600s right up to the present. Comparisons of modern-day and old maps of the same place can be made. From the home page click on "Find by place" and then follow the instructions on the next page. Once you are viewing the place you want, use the slider <----> at the top of the map to compare the layout of roads and the place names of smaller areas, perhaps even farms, with the landscape today. The website takes some getting used to. The One-inch 2nd edition, Scotland, 1898-1904 OS is a series of maps with the parishes delineated. Each of these maps cover an area of 18 x 24 miles and will zoom to comfortable reading size with a couple of mouse clicks on the map itself. Unfortunately, they are not geo-referenced, and it is necessary to go to the OS One Inch 1885-1900 series to locate places by latitude and longitude.
  • The Statistical Accounts for Scotland In the 1790s and again in the 1830s, the ministers of the all the parishes of the Church of Scotland were asked to provide a description of their parish to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. The original account request included 160 questions to be answered. These accounts are available in print in 20 volumes and are also online where it is freely available to browse. The browsing portal is below the viewing area of most computer screens. Scroll down to "For non-subscribers" and click on "Browse scanned pages". This brings you to another page on which one can enter the name of the parish in which you are interested.
  • Excerpts from The Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland: A Survey of Scottish Topography, Statistical, Biographical and Historical, edited by Francis H. Groome and originally published in parts by Thomas C. Jack, Grange Publishing Works, Edinburgh between 1882 and 1885 are provided by Scottish Places. Selections from Groome and other gazetteers from the 19th century are also found on GENUKI.