Place:Kenmore, Perthshire, Scotland

source: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names

source: Family History Library Catalog

The village

the following text is based on an article in Wikipedia

Kenmore (Gaelic: A' Cheannmhor) is a small village in the old county of Perthshire, in the Highlands of Scotland, located where Loch Tay drains into the River Tay.

The village dates from the 16th century. It and the neighbouring Castle were originally known as Balloch (from Gaelic bealach, 'pass'). The original village was sited on the north side of river approximately two miles from its present site and was known as Inchadney. In 1540 Sir Colin Campbell of Glenorchy started the construction of Balloch castle on the opposite bank of the river and the entire village was moved to a prominent headland by the shores of Loch Tay, hence the name Kenmore, which translates from Scots Gaelic to "big (or large) head". The village as its seen today is a model village laid out by 3rd Earl of Breadalbane in 1760.

The Kenmore Hotel, commissioned in 1572 by the then laird Colin Campbell, has its origins in a tavern built around 70 years earlier offering accommodation and refreshments. It is reputed to be Scotland's oldest hotel.

Taymouth Castle, another Campbell creation, was built by John Campbell, 2nd Marquess of Breadalbane (d. 1862) on the site of its late medieval predecessor, Balloch Castle (built 1550 by the Campbells of Glenorchy, ancestors of the Marquesses of Breadalbane, demolished 1805). This enormous mansion, in neo-Gothic style, was completed in time for the visit of Queen Victoria in 1842. No expense was spared on the interior, which was decorated with the utmost sumptuousness. Kenmore Bridge dates from 1774 and the village as it is today was laid out in the 18th Century by the third Earl of Breadalbane. It retains many of its original buildings and historic appearance.

The parish

Kenmore is a parish which lies in the Perth and Kinross Council Area in Scotland, some 8 miles (13 km) northeast of Killin in Stirling (council area) and 15 miles (25 km) northwest of Crieff in Perth and Kinross.

Prior to 1975 Kenmore was located in the old county of Perthshire, which was replaced by the Tayside region and in 1996 by the unitary authority of Perth and Kinross.

The parish has an area of 260.5 sq. km (100.6 sq. miles). In addition to the village of Kenmore, the parish includes a number of settlements on both sides of Loch Tay--namely Achmore, Firbush Point, Morenish, Milton Morenish, Carie, Ardeonaig, Lawers, Ardtalnaig, Fearnan, Acharn and Remony. Dunan is on the River Almond close to the southern border of the parish.

Research Tips

Notes for Perthshire

Family history societies and historical associations covering Perthshire are:

• Tay Valley Family History Society
• Central Scotland FHS
• Perthshire Family History Group
• Abertay Historical Society
• Breadalbane Heritage Society
• Dunning Parish Historical Society
• Dunkeld & Birnam Historical Society
• Moulin & Pitlochry History Circle
• Clan Donnachaidh Society
• Friends of Perth & Kinross Council Archive

All of these associations publish their aims on their websites as well as 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. 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 for Perthshire has a searchable (not browsable) transcription of the major part of Perthshire for 1841 and 1851. The Scotland FreeCen page states that some work has also been done on 1861.

Transcriptions of Gravestone Inscriptions

• The Scottish Genealogy Society provides a series of monumental inscriptions either in print in booklet form or on CD. Most of these were prepared by John Fowler Mitchell and Sheila Mitchell and published 1967. A new edition has been printed, with corrections, as a 4 volume set.
• GENUKI has further details

Further Sources of Reference

Please note and respect the copyright warnings on these websites.

• GENUKI article on Perthshire. This was last updated in February 2014.

• The Gazetteer for Scotland article on the the county of Perthshire. 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 Perthshire 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.