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Renfrewshire
Renfrewshire was bounded on the north by the Clyde and Dunbartonshire, on
the north-east by Glasgow, on the east by Lanarkshire, on the south-west by
Ayrshire and west by the Firth of Clyde. The largest town was Paisley which
became famous throughout the world for its "Paisley" patterns and for its
weaving skills. Its production of cotton thread in the late 19th Century
was the largest in the world. It is now divided administratively into
Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire.
Clan and Family Heartlands
You can get a feel for the lives your ancestors lived by visiting the area
they came from. These are areas where, for centuries, families lived
together in a tightly-knit community. In the Highlands they are linked to
clan heartlands, whereas, in the rest of Scotland the names are often those
of the local landed families. Although it is unlikely that family
historians can link their ancestry to clan chiefs or family dynasties, it
can still be a moving experience to tour the clan and family heartlands.
Here is a selection of the most common names in this area.
Barr
Parishes
The Parish Church can unlock many secrets for ancestral researchers. Not
only was it the place where children were baptised, proclamations of
marriage announced and the dead buried, it was also the centre of most
social activity within the Parish. There is, however, no such thing as a
definitive list of parishes. Over the decades they have merged, divided,
been renamed and had changes made to their spelling. The following list is
based largely on the situation at the time of publication of the New
Statistical Account (1834-1845).
Cathcart,
Eaglesham,
Eastwood and Pollock (Eastwood),
Erskine,
Greenock,
Houston and Killannan,
Inchinnan,
Inverkip,
Kilbarchan,
Kilmalcolm (Kilmacolm),
Lochwinnoch,
Mearns,
Neilston,
Paisley*,
Port Glasgow,
Renfrew
* subsequently divided into seperate parishes, ( ) denotes alternative
name or spelling
Detailed information on life and work within each of these parishes can be
found in the Old (1791-99) and the New (1834-45) Statistical Account of
Scotland. These are freely accessible on http://edina.ed.ac.uk/statacc. Part of their charm
is the individual views of the minister, which can include some
fascinating accounts of a parish's history, topography, employment,
landowners, communications, agriculture and even the morality of the
parishioners
Local Studies Libraries
Almost every municipal authority in Scotland has a collection of local
history publications, maps and archives. Although most of these libraries
are prepared to undertake a limited amount of searching on your behalf, it
is far more fulfilling to visit them yourself. You could lose yourself for
hours, pouring over old newspapers and photographs.
The following is a list of the archive offices in your chosen area:
Renfrewshire Local Studies Library
Central Library
High Street
Paisley
PA1 2BB
Tel: +44 141 889 2360
Fax: +44 141 887 6468
E-mail:
local_studies.library@renfrewshire.gov.uk
Open: Mon-Fri, 09:00 - 20:00 & Sat 09:00 - 17:00.
Stocks include over 30 newspapers, notably the Paisley and Renfrewshire
Gazette (1883-to date) and the Paisley Daily Express (1874-to date).
Watt Library
9 Union Street
Greenock
PA16 8JH
Tel: +44 1475 715628
Open: Mon & Thu, 14:00 - 17:00 & 18:00 - 20:00. Tue & Fri,
10:00 - 13:00 & 14:00 - 17:00, Wed-Sat, 10:00 - 13:00.
Newspapers include Greenock Advertiser (1802-1884), Greenock Telegraph
(1857-to date), Gourock Times (1915-1980), some indexed. Photograph
collection; mostly 20th Century.
East Renfrewshire Cultural Services
Local History Collection
Giffnock Community Library
Station Road
Giffnock
G46 6JF
Tel: +44 141 577 4976
Fax: +44 141 577 4978
E-mail:
giffnock1@eastrenfrewshire.gov.uk
Open: Mon & Wed, 10:00 - 20:00, Tue, Thu & Fri 10:00 - 18:00 &
Sat 10:00 - 17:00.
This library includes material relating to Giffnock, Barrhead, Neilston,
Eaglesham and surrounding areas.
Local Archives Centres
Almost every municipal authority in Scotland has a collection of local
history publications, maps and archives. Although most of these libraries
are prepared to undertake a limited amount of searching on your behalf, it
is far more fulfilling to visit them yourself. You could lose yourself for
hours, pouring over old newspapers and photographs.
The following is a list of the libraries in your chosen area:
Renfrewshire Archives Service
High Street
Paisley
PA1 2BB
Tel: +44 141 889 2350 (ansaphone)
Fax: +44 141 887 6468
E-mail:
local_studies@renfrewshire.gov.uk
www.renfrewshire.gov.uk/ilwwcm/publishing.nsf/Content/els-jcp-ArchivesHistoricPhotographs
Open: Tue-Sat, 10:00 - 17:00.
Museums and Heritage Centres
Scotland is a country with a remarkable history. So it should come as no
surprise that Scotland is home to a remarkable collection of museums and
heritage centres. These range from the major, internationally renowned
collections in Edinburgh's Royal Museum of Scotland to hundreds of small
centres that specialise in the history of local communities. The
following museums are all in your chosen area. A visit to any one of
them may well shed new light on the lives led by your ancestors.
Weaver's Cottage
The Cross
Kilbarchen
Renfrewshire
PA10 2JG
Tel: +44 1505 705588 (ansaphone)
www.nts.org.uk/Property/62
Open: April-September Daily 13:30-17:30
Typical 18th Century handloom weaver's cottage housing the last of the 800
looms working in Kilbarchen in 1830s. Display of weaving equipment,
domestic utensils and local historical items.
Family History Society
Local societies are run by volunteers who meet together periodically. Most
maintain an index of members' interests - and this could well lead to the
discovery of a long lost cousin or two. If there are any such societies in
your chosen area, they will be listed below.
Glasgow & West of Scotland Family History
Society
Unit 5, 22 Mansfield Street
Glasgow
G11 5QP
Tel: +44 141 339 8303
www.gwsfhs.org.uk
Open: Tue 14:00 - 16:30 & 19:00 - 21:30, Thu 10:00 - 21:30 & Sat
14:00 -16:30.
A members' surname index database is maintained. Various indexing projects
in progress.
Renfrewshire Family History Society
The Secretary
c/o Paisley Museum and Art Gallery
High Street
Paisley
PA1 2BA
Tel: +44 141 889 3151
www.renfrewshirefhs.org.uk
A group meets regularly at the museum. Contact Peter Cameron on +44 1505
320900
Burial Information
It may seem a little odd, but a visit to the burial ground of an ancestor can make you feel more closely connected to them. However, tracking down the specific plot, or lair as they were referred to in Scotland, depends on the period of time when the deaths occurred.
Up to the mid-19th century it was the normal practice for people to be interred in the Parish Kirk burial ground - although this was only rarely marked with anything as grand as a headstone. The Scottish Association of Family History Societies (SAFHS) is currently co-ordinating a major project to develop a National Burial Index, relating to pre-1855 records. This will eventually be available on CD ROM. Although this will help to confirm that burials took place in parish burial grounds, it will not, unfortunately, indicate the location of the lair.
If your ancestor was wealthy enough, their grave may have been marked by an inscribed headstone. Over the years, family history societies and other volunteer groups have painstakingly transcribed and indexed such inscriptions - and these are nearly always held in the relevant local history libraries or family history research centres.
By the mid-19th Century, many parish burial grounds had become seriously overcrowded, especially those in urban areas, and this led to the creation of both private and municipal cemeteries. If you know the place and date of death, you should be able to discover the location of a lair, although not all cemeteries and records have survived.
The concept of cremation started to gain popularity in the late 1940s and has increased ever since. Ashes may be taken away by the family, scattered in the garden of remembrance or buried either in the crematorium or in a family plot.
Paisley (and Renfrewshire in general)
Parks & Cemeteries Area Office
Council Offices, South Building
Cotton Street
Paisley
PA1 1BR
Tel: +44 141 848 1450
Fax: +44 141 840 3155
Personal visits to the office are welcome.
Renfrew
Parks & Cemeteries Area Office
3 Longcroft Drive
Renfrew
PA4 8NF
Tel: +44 141 848 1450
Linwood
Parks & Cemeteries Area Office
Tweedie Halls
Lamont Square
Linwood
PA3 3DE
Tel: +44 1505 322 135
Personal visits to the above offices are welcome. If lengthy searches are required a fee of £21.50 per 30 minutes is payable.
East Renfrewshire - including Neilston, Newton Mearns and Eaglesham
Sport & Leisure Division
East Renfrewshire Council
Rhuallan House
1 Montgomery Drive
Giffnock
G46 6PY
Tel: +44 141 577 3913
Fax: +44 141 577 3919
Email: sandra-donnelly@eastrenfrewshire.gov.uk
Copies of extracts are not provided but all the relevant information is made available by telephone or letter. Reasonably precise information (name, date, cemetery etc.) is required, otherwise a search fee of £38 is payable.
Inverclyde - including Greenock, Gourock and Port Glasgow
Grounds, Transport and Cleansing Services
Inverclyde Council
Pottery Street Depot
Greenock
PA15 2UH
Tel: +44 1475 715 658
Fax: +44 1475 730345
Searches of the records of six local cemeteries are undertaken by letter, for a fee of £10 first search, and £5 for every search thereafter. Precise information, especially date of birth, is essential.
Information on older burial grounds is handled by:
James Watt Library
Union Street
Greenock
PA16 8JH
Tel: +44 1475 715 628
