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The parish
Liff and Benvie is a small parish, which lies in Angus Council Area, some 5 miles (8 km) west of Dundee and 6 miles (10 km) northwest of Newport-on-Tay in Fife.
Prior to 1975 the parish of Liff and Benvie was located in the old county of Angus, also known as Forfarshire, which was replaced by the Tayside region and in 1996 by the Angus Council Area.
For a time in the 19th century and before, the formal name for the parish was "Liff, Benvie and Invergowrie". During the sojourn in the Tayside Region between 1974 and 1996 the Invergowrie section of the parish--that south of the A90 road--became more closely associated with Dundee. When Tayside was abolished in 1996, Invergowrie was transferred to the Perth and Kinross Council Area. A map of the area, such as that found in The Gazetteer for Scotland, illustrates the locations of the villages of Liff and Benvie, the town of Invergowrie, the City of Dundee, and the parish of Longforgan which has always been in Perthshire or Perth and Kinross.
The parish has an area of 12.8 sq. km (4.9 sq. miles). As well as the villages of Liff and Benvie, the parish includes the settlements of Flocklones, Denhead, Birkhill and Muirhead. Invergowrie and Ninewells are now in Perth and Kinross, although prior to 1975 they were in Angus.
Research Tips
Until 1928 Angus was known as Forfarshire. This name may come up in old documents transcribed online. The City of Dundee is now a separate "council area". Angus Council Area surrounds it and takes in some larger towns to the north and the east. Both areas are combined in this list of references. Some parishes along the Perthshire-Angus border have transferred from one county or council area to the other. These have been noted within the relevant parishes.
Family history societies
Family history societies and historical associations covering Angus and Dundee are:
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All of these associations publish their aims on their websites, the first two also have a list of publications. In many cases the publications are also available through the Scottish Genealogy Society (see below).
Sources for Old Parish Registers Records, Vital Records and Censuses
- FamilySearch (Indexes only)
- Scotland's People This is a pay website providing vital statistics and census data for all of Scotland with original images provided under the auspices of the Scottish Record Office. There is a description at Scotland under Genealogical Resources.
- Scottish Registration Districts and Parish Register names and numbers are available as a free Excel or PDF download from Scottish People.
- See the publications lists of the above Family History Societies.
- The FreeCen Project Angus (including Dundee) is complete for 1841 and some of 1851 has been done. This hyperlink is to the searchable index for the whole of the UK--you cannot browse a specific locality.
- The Scottish Genealogy Society has numerous publications on various genealogy-linked topics. This is the introductory page to their catalogue. They will send their books, booklets and CDs worldwide.
Transcriptions of Gravestone Inscriptions
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Further Sources of Reference
Please note and respect the copyright warnings on these websites.
- GENUKI article on Angus. This was last updated in December 2010.
- The Gazetteer for Scotland article on the county of Angus. 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.
- Gazetteer for Scotland article on the City of Dundee (the post-1996 council area). 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 Angus (including Dundee) provides direct reference to FamilySearch holdings on many topics with respect to the county.
- 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.
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