Ferendracht
Forgue is a parish on the north-western border of Aberdeenshire. It is bounded by Banffshire, and by the parishes of Auchterless, Culsamond, Insch, Drumblade, and Huntly. (1867: The Imperial Gazetteer of Scotland, by John Marius Wilson).
Acharnie, Forgue
Auchaber, Boyne's Mill, Cobairdy, Drumblair, Frendraught, House of Haddo
PRE-REFORMATION GOVERNANCE:
POST-REFORMATION GOVERNANCE:
The church of Forgue was dedicated to St Margaret. It belonged to the Abbey of Arbroath. Fairs were held at Forgue on Palm Sunday and Michaelmas.
Disjoined Quoad Sacra Parishes:
Ythan Wells. A church built in 1864 was known as Wells of Ythan Church, a name derived from the "wells" or springs of the Ythan in the near neighbourhood. The parish of Ythan Wells was disjoined from Forgue and Auchterless, 24 May 1869.
Includes ministers, licentiates, assistants, readers, and clerks.
Forgue (QO)
Ythan Wells (QS)
(1928: Fasti Ecclesiæ Scoticanæ, by Hew Scott, D. D.)
Parish registers turned over to the Registrar-General, as a result of the Registration of Births, Deaths, and Marriages (Scotland) Act of 1854. The letters B. D. and M. indicate Births (or Baptisms), Deaths (or Burials), and Marriages (or Proclamations of Banns) respectively. Numbers indicate separate volumes or books. Note: These records are by no means complete or without damage; consult the Detailed List of the Old Parochial Registers of Scotland (1872) to learn more about the condition of the records.
| OPR and RD Numbers | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date Range | Name | Number | Type |
| 1684-1854 | Forgue | 194 | OPR |
| 1855-1967 | Forgue | 194 | RD |
| 2009 | Aberdeenshire, Huntly | 317 | RD |
| 2026 | Aberdeenshire Council; Strathbogie Community Council | ||
(2009: Parishes and Registration Districts of Scotland - Old and New, National Records of Scotland)
Local community councils (2026) are provided as a potential source of additional information for settlements within the original boundaries of the parish. (Source)
Statistics from informal and official censuses
Anderson, Cruickshank, Duncan, Morrison, Niven, Simpson, Smith, Stephen, Stewart, Wilson
Note: Names appearing in research materials, other than censuses. Simple names (First name, surname only) have been omitted unless they appear associated with large properties. All women's names, and men's names with occupations, military ranks, or peerage titles are included.
By the Reverend Mr William Dingwall.
"The parish contains in all, at present, 1778 souls. Of these 200 Episcopalians, a few Seceders, a few Roman Catholics, and all the rest of the Established Church. On account of the farms becoming larger, the lands being thrown into pasture, laid down with grass-seeds, the great advancement on servants wages, and the increase of manufactures in towns, the inhabitants of the parish are gradually decreasing.
There is no village in the parish, and consequently no manufacture. The women are occupied in spinning linen yarn, from flax given out by merchants in the parish. The air is salubrious, the people, in general, healthy, sober, industrious, charitable, hospitable, and most punctual in attending public worship."
(This section contains excerpts, at times restructured or paraphrased, from an article appearing in Statistical Account of Scotland, Sir John Sinclair, 1791-1799)
Primary Sources:
Statistical Account of Scotland (1791-1799), Volume 12, p. 279
New Statistical Account of Scotland (1834-1845), Volume 12, p. 598
See Parish Page Sources for all source information and links.
