Kirkcudbrightshire Menu
Kells is one of the most extensive parishes in the stewartry of Kirkcudbright.
Location of Kirkcudbright
Map of Parishes
Kells - extracts from the Statistical Accounts
Kells Church - history and photos
Kirk Session Records
Old Parish Records (link)
Monumental Inscriptions (link)
Land Records
Clatterinshaws Information & Graphics
Notice the advantages of Kells, and in particular New Galloway, from this extract:
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Kells
"Kells is one of the most extensive parishes in the stewartry of Kirkcudbright.
The extreme length is fully 16 miles, and breadth about 8 miles....
The scenery along the banks of the river Ken is eminently beautiful. Kenmure
Castle, with its avenue of ancient limes and verdant meadows; the little rural
burgh of New Galloway, interspersed with trees; the winding river and the splendid
loch Ken, having for its back ground the rocky Lowran and the lofty and wooded
Bennan, form a landscape rarely surpased...
It is bounded on the north, by Carsfairn; on the west, by Monigaff; on the south,
by Girthon and Balmaghie, from which three last mentioned parishes it is separated
by the river Dee; and on the east, by the river Ken, which divides it from Dalry,
Balmaclellan, and Parton...
Kells must be regarded, almost exclusively, as a pastoral parish. The grain
produced (chiefly oats) certainly does not exceed the annual consumpt...
The number of sheep in the parish is calculated at 17,040, and they are considered
worth 2s. 9d. per head annually. There are 565 Highland cattle grassed nine
months, which may pay on an average L.1 5s. per head; 315 Galloways...
The royal burgh of New Galloway is situated in the parish. Its population is
436. In it the Sheriff and Justice of the Peace courts for the Glekens are held.
There is a daily post. Post-horses and carriages are kept, and a branch of the
Edinburgh and Glasgow Banks has been established. The roads are excellent in
every direction..."
(Rev. James Maitland, Minister) New Statistical Account, Blackwood
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Bibliography
Cemeteries
Church History
Church Records
Kirk Session Records See Church Records
Land and Property
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Bibliography
History, Kirkcudbright. The New Statistical Account of Scotland, 2nd Series,
W Blackwood, 1845.
Cemeteries
The Church Yard of Kells has had pre 1855 monumental inscriptions transcribed
and indexed. The index and transcribed inscriptions are included in a series
of volumes that cover all of Kirkcudbrightshire. Kells is in volume 3. Refer
to the county page for additional details.
Church History
"The parish church with regard to the population is centrically situated.
It is seated for 560, but can accommodate more. It was built in 1822, and is
in excellent repair. None of the pews are let. The attendance is good and regular.
The number of communicants may vary from 350 to 400. There is no Dissenting
place of worship in the parish. The number of Dissenters in the parish may amount
perhaps to 50; of these 9 are Episcopalians; 10 Irish Roman Catholics, and the
remaining belong to the United Associate Synod of the secession church... "
(Rev. James Maitland, Minister)
New Statistical Account, Blackwood,
Church Records
Church of Scotland records are held at the General Register Office in Edinburgh.
Copies of the pairsh register on microfilm may be consulted in LDS Family History
Centres around the world. Refer to the county page for additional details.
Records Available Baptism Marriage Burial Reference
Church of Scotland 1698-1854 1698-1733, 1806-1819 1828-1830 OPR 868
Kirk Session Notes: Kells kirk session minutes start in 1693, and continue into the twenteth century. (CH2 202) Refer to the county page for additional details.
Land and Property
A primary source of land ownership can be found in Sasine registers. The burgh
of New Galloway kept its own sasine register for those that lived within its
boundaries. The register starts in 1760.
SEPTEMBER 2005 RESEARCH BY DAVID SHAW (CAMBRIDGE) AND RAMSAY SHAW (GLASGOW)
Dear Robert,
See attached email from Ramsay Shaw and my reply.
I would really appreciate it if you would replace the Muirkirk page "Family
tree" with the revised version attached so that there is no further
confusion.
Please accept my sincere apologies for any inconvenience caused.
Regards
David Shaw
----- Original Message ----- From: "DSL Limited" <dsllimited@oneservice.co.uk>
To: "Ramsay Shaw" <ramsay_shaw@msn.com>
Sent: Friday, September 02, 2005 8:02 AM
Subject: Re: Shaws of Muirkirk and Kells
Hi Good Morning Ramsay,
Many thanks for your email. Glad to know others are also interested in the
family ancestry.
I lodged this version of the Shaw tree on the website some time ago but
after further research, including of review of the work done by Robert, I
found reasons to doubt the data held by both of us. I explain as follows.
Robert shows children of James born in Muirkirk but I calculated that Mary
would have been too old to have these children, also there were no links
to
Muirkirk.
I also discovered to my horror that the James Shaw/Mary McKie that I had
identified were in fact born in Burnside Muirkirk and born AFTER our
James/Mary McKie - In short we have two unrelated married couples with the
same name. It therefore looks as though both of us have made the same
mistake. (Also the Campbell Murdoch possibilities on John Shaw & Jean
Cleland as parents of James were discounted)
I have advised Robert and no doubt he will check this out .I have sent the
proof of existence
(CLDS
& Scottish Gov records) of the Burnside couple.
I also identified a Margaret McKie married to a James Shaw and this could
be either a spelling mistake or in fact another couple so the Samuel Shaw
on
Roberts website could also be doubtful.
The spelling of Sara Broun is also incorrect (not Sarah Brown). Wedding
date
of Sara and David is correct on my latest version attached.
I have the birth certificate (baptism) of James which unfortunately only
gives his fathers name so I am not 100% certain that this is the David
Shaw/Sara Broun link but it looks very likely based on the work done by
Robert.
Robert's work shows children born in the same year which leads to other
questions. Are these baptisms in the same year or sets of twins or perhaps
an error?.
So (thanking you for your patience after this long explanation) I have the
following real evidence.
Proof that John Shaw was born in Minnigaff to parents James Shaw & Mary
McKie. (proof by Census 1851/Birth Cert/ Death Cert).
Mary McKie line is very well covered on CLDS web and goes back to 1500 but
I
have not looked further into this family.
I have James Shaw baptism on 19 Feb 1745 but no mother's name recorded.
All other data I have recorded is backed up by b,m,d certs or census
returns.
I would be delighted to let you have copies of the documents that I have
and I attach my latest version which I believe is accurate.
I apologise for the mistake about the wedding cert which I trust Robert
will
correct shortly for me.
Please let me know if I can assist you further. If you let me know which
line you are interested in I will keep a look out on my next visit to
Edinburgh in another attempt to clarify or resolve some of the puzzles
mentioned above.
Kindest regards
David Shaw
----- Original Message ----- From: "Ramsay Shaw" <ramsay_shaw@msn.com>
To: <dsllimited@oneservice.co.uk>
Sent: Thursday, September 01, 2005 7:32 PM
Subject: Shaws of Muirkirk and Kells
Good evenning David,
Let me introduce myself. I am Ramsay Shaw of Glasgow in Scotland
and
my
wife, Rosemary and I are interested in Genealogy. Rosemary
has over
the
last few years been involved in tracing the various roots of our own
family tree whilst I have spent some time in compiling a database of the
Shaw name in southwest and west-central Scotland, including Ayrshire from
which my own ancestors come.
I notice that you have been in touch with Robert Shaw's website in New
Zealand regarding the Shaws of Kells and Muirkirk. Robert visited
us
some time back when he was researching the material for his website and
whilst we have been unable to find a direct link between us, I am
continuing to research the Shaw name as time permits.
I took the liberty of downloading your file "Descendants of James Shaw"
and was very interested to note that you have a date for the wedding of
James Shaw and Mary McKie. I was unable to find any note of this
wedding
in the Old Parish Records and would most interested to learn of your
source. The only Shaw wedding that I can trace on 18 November
1793 is
of a John Shaw to a Jane Sheddan in Stevenston in Ayrshire.
There is a record of a James Shaw, born 12 October 1767, in Minnigaff,
Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland, son of John Shaw and Jean Cleland and I
wondered if this was possibly the James Shaw that you mention?
Kindest regards from North of the Border - my research is only limited to
the areas mentioned above due to the sheer number of Shaws - a very
prolific bunch !!!
Ramsay
Here is a lead:
62 John Ewart (1717-99), borns Kells in Kircudbrightshire, minister from 1743,
active in trying to defend Dumfires aginst the Jacobites during the Forty-Five
rising,
also a historian of his parish.
This is not a Shaw of Kells, Shaw:
1697 Bargarran Imposter: 24 persons indicted
and seven witchs of Renfrewshire burned following charges of witchcraft by
11 year old Christine Shaw. This another story of people being killed at
the story of a child. The symptoms of hysteria and malice. August 17 1696 Christine
had seen Katherine Campbell stealing a drink of milk. August 21, an Old woman
of bad reputation, Agnes Naismith, asked Christine how she fared, but the
child sassed her. August 22, Christine was taken with fits, jackknifing her
body, swallowing her tongue, and crying out that Katherine and Agnes are tormenting
her. Two physicians were called in to examine Christine. January 19, 1697,
Christine still extended her accusations; Elizabeth Anderson - age 17, Her
Father, Alexander, Jean Fulton, her grandmother, a beggar, and her two young
cousins; James and Thomas Lindsay ages 14 and 11. As well two upper class
women were accused, Margaret Lang and her 17 year old Daughter Martha Semple.
These accused were tortured to name accomplices finally arriving at 24 accused
in all. The youngest to be burned was 14 years old.
Where is Shaw Hill at Clatteringshaws??
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