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only be consulted upon completion of an access request form.A leaflet providing more detail about these records is availableon request and also on our website.

School records (Old Aberdeen House)Headteacher’s log books and pupil admission registers survivefor several hundred north-east schools as a major source forfamily history research. A list of the schools collections, most-

ly post-dating the Education (Scotland) Act of 1872,can be found in the Catalogues section of our

website. Please note that access to certainrecords in these collections is restricted

under the Data Protection Act and theymay only be consulted upon completionof an access request form. A leaflet pro-viding more detail about these recordsis available on request and also on ourwebsite.

Tax lists(Town House/Old Aberdeen House)

Tax lists, or 'stent rolls', for the Burgh ofAberdeen date back to the 15th century although

the first comprehensive series of property taxation isthe Police Commissioners' rent rolls, which run from 1795 to1859/60. Similar lists of those liable to pay Assessed Taxes in theCounty of Aberdeen also survive for the period of 1799-1832.

Aberdeen City Archives Aberdeen City Archives Aberdeen City Archives

Burgh register of sasines (Town House)The register of sasines records transfers of land rights withinthe old burgh boundary and is a valuable genealogical sourcefor earlier periods. The records begin in 1484 and continueuntil 1809 after which date sasine registers can be found at theNational Archives of Scotland along with those for the north-east counties.

Burgh register of deeds (Town House)From the 16th century onwards deeds other than titles to landwere often confirmed before burgh courts. A wide variety ofdocuments, such as marriage settlements, loans and mortgages,can be found in these registers.

Electoral rolls (Town House/Old Aberdeen House)There are two series of electoral rolls; voters rolls for munici-pal elections to the Burgh Council, from 1832 to 1915; androlls for parliamentary elections running from 1832 to 1913,and (with gaps) from 1946 to the modern day. Electoral rollsalso survive for the Counties of Aberdeen, Kincardine andBanff for much of the 20th century. An almost complete runof parliamentary rolls from 1909 to the modern day is alsoavailable at the Aberdeen Central Library.

Valuation rolls (Old Aberdeen House)In 1855 a uniform system of property valuation was establishedin Scotland and its records give the names of proprietors andoccupiers along with the rateable value of each property.These rolls are available for the City of Aberdeen from 1855and also survive (with gaps) for the counties of Aberdeen from1859/60, Kincardine from 1862/63, Banff from 1877/78 andMoray from 1902/3.From 1990 they only list business addresses as rating of domes-tic properties was abolished. Complete sets from 1855 are heldby the National Archives of Scotland in Edinburgh.

Poor relief records (Old Aberdeen House)Prior to the introduction of the welfare state, responsibilityforthe poorer sections of society was largely borne by charitableorganisations and the parish. Dating from 1845 to 1929, therecords of the parochial boards and parish councils cover thecounties of Aberdeen, Banff, Kincardine and Moray andinclude applications for relief, inspectors' records, minutebooks and registers of guardians. Indexes to many of theserecords are available in the Old Aberdeen House searchroomand the Aberdeen and North East Scotland Family HistorySociety shop. Please note that access to certain records isrestricted under the Data Protection Act and that they may

IntroductionAberdeen City Archives holds a considerable amount ofgenealogical source material and this leaflet aims to introducethe main classes of records for the study of family history.Advice of a more general nature on genealogy can be found inthe ‘Starting Your Family History’ leaflet. Please note that thecollections are split between two sites, the Town House andOld Aberdeen House, as indicated in the text. These are gen-eral indications only, and we strongly advise you to contact usin advance if you are at all unsure about where records areheld.

Burial records (Town House)The City Archives has interment records for a number ofcemeteries within the City boundary, notably for St Peter's, StNicholas, St Clement's, John Knox, Nellfield and Old Macharburial grounds. Additional cemetery registers, along with morerecent records, are kept by the Council's Burials & CremationsOffice.

Church of Scotland records (Town House)Session records for St Nicholas, St Clement’s, John Knox andGreyfriars churches are housed in the City Archives. In addi-tion to matters of church discipline, the records can containcommunion rolls, payments to the poor, baptisms, marriagesand some burials. Session records for other Church of Scotlandchurches are located at the National Archives of Scotland(NAS) in Edinburgh.

Other church records (Town House/Old Aberdeen House)As well as records of the established church, the City Archivesholds records for the congregational churches of Aberdeen,such as Belmont Street Church. It also holds records for anumber of Episcopalian churches, covering the City and BanffCounty areas, and Methodist churches in the North ofScotland Circuit.

Burgh records (Town House/Old Aberdeen House)As well as holding a very comprehensive collection relating tothe Burgh of Aberdeen, the City Archives also provides accessto collections of 19 Burghs in Aberdeenshire. Town Councilminutes, accounts and papers contain a wealth of informationrelating to individuals living within burghs that is of interest tofamily historians. Ask the Duty Archivist for assistance in iden-tifying relevant sources for your investigation.

Useful addressesBurials & Cremations OfficeBereavement Services

4th Floor

St Nicholas House

Broad Street, Aberdeen

tel 01224 522770

email: burials@aberdeencity.gov.uk

Aberdeen & North-EastScotland Family History Society164 King Street, Aberdeen, AB24 5BD

tel 01224 646323

email: enquiries@anesfhs.org.uk

www.anesfhs.org.uk

National Archives of ScotlandHM General Register House,

Edinburgh, EH1 3YY

tel 0131 535 1314

email: enquiries@nas.gov.uk

www.nas.gov.uk

Aberdeen Central LibraryLocal Studies Department,

Rosemount Viaduct,

Aberdeen, AB25 1GW

tel 01224 652512

email:

LocalStudiesLibrary@aberdeencity.gov.uk

www.aberdeencity.gov.uk

Aberdeenshire Library &Information ServiceMeldrum Meg Way, The Meadows

Industrial Estate, Oldmeldrum,

Aberdeenshire, AB51 0GN

tel 01651 872707

email: ALIS@aberdeenshire.gov.uk

www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/alis/index.htm

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AberdeenC I T Y A R C H I V E S

Family History Sources in the City Archives

A G u i d e

Old Aberdeen House

www.aberdeencity.gov.uk

Old Aberdeen House I Dunbar Street I Aberdeen I AB24 3UJTel: 01224 481775 I Fax: 01224 495830 Ie-mail: archives@aberdeencity.gov.ukwww.aberdeencity.gov.uk/archives

Searchroom opening hours I Monday - Wednesday, 9.30am- 1pm, 2pm - 4.30pm I Please telephone in advance to makean appointment I Pencils only may be used in the searchroom

car parking I reference library I sources leaflets Iphotocopying available I e-mail, telephone & postalenquiries answered I research service I internet access

Faci l i t ies

Old Aberdeen House

Aberdeen City Archives Aberdeen City Archives

Town HouseTown House I Broad Street I Aberdeen I AB10 1AQTel: 01224 522513 I Fax: 01224 638556 Ie-mail: archives@aberdeencity.gov.ukwww.aberdeencity.gov.uk/archives

Searchroom opening hours I Wednesday - Friday,9.30am - 4.30pm I Please telephone in advance to make anappointment I Pencils only may be used in the searchroom

reference library I sources leaflets I photocopyingavailable I microfilm reader I e-mail, telephone & postalenquiries answered I research service I internet access

Town HouseFaci l i t ies

Published by Aberdeen City Archives, April 2009 www.aberdeencity.gov.uk

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