St John's Clachan
Dalry is a village and parish in northern Kirkcudbrightshire adjacent to the borders with Dumfriesshire and Ayrshire. It is bounded on the northwest by New Cumnock; on the north by Sanquhar and northeast by Penpont; on the east by Tynron and Glencairn; on the southeast by Balmaclellan; on the southwest by Kells; and on the west by Kells and Carsphairn. (1892-6: Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland, by Francis H. Groome)
Bogue, Earlston, Gordonston, St John's
PRE-REFORMATION GOVERNANCE:
POST-REFORMATION GOVERNANCE:
The church of this parish was dedicated to St John the Baptist. It was partly rebuilt in 1770.
Includes ministers, licentiates, assistants, readers, and clerks.
(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 |
| 1691-1854 | Dalry | 865 | OPR |
| 1855-1971 | Dalry | 865 | RD |
| 1972-2004 | Dalry | 850 | RD |
| 2005-2009 | Dumfries and Galloway, Dalry | 850 | RD |
| 2026 | Dumfries and Galloway Council; St John Town of Dalry 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
Bell, Bryden, Cowan, Geddes, Hamilton, Millar, Milligan, Tait, Walker, 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 Alexander M'Gowan.
"According to the return made to Dr Webster (1755), the numbers were then 891. Nine years ago they were about 1000, and now must be greater. The number of tradesmen in the parish is about 33: 10 weavers and their apprentices, 4 tailors, 6 shoemakers, 4 smiths, 4 masons, and 5 joiners.
The inhabitants of this parish are in general a peaceable, social, hospitable, obliging, humane and well disposed people. Many of the principal farmers possess a measure of information and politeness, which render them agreeable companions to men of superior rank and education. It is remarkable, that even the most idle, dissipated, and worthless part of the inhabitants, are not destitute of all those good qualities which distinguish the rest. Scarcely any of them, for a long period, have been convicted of capital crimes, though there are a few, especially in the village, who are said to be addicted to fraud, pilfering, lying, evil speaking, and several other immoralities."
(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 13, p. 45
New Statistical Account of Scotland (1834-1845), Volume 4, Section II, p. 369
See Parish Page Sources for all source information and links.
