Kilpatrick Ancestry, Kirkcaldy, Fife, Scotland.
I am researching my relatives from Kirkcaldy and would like to visit their old residences and gravesites. I have picked up a lot of information from Scotland's People, but what I would really like to know is where my ancestors are buried. Most searches always default to Ancestry.UK or .COM sites that really offer no help to me what-so-ever. Before making the trip to Kirkcaldy, I would like to identify their burial sites. Do you know how this might be achieved? Bill Kilpatrick, Kingston, Ontario, Canada.
Dear Bill,
I would strongly suggest that you contact the Fife Family History Society which was formed in 1989, has over 700 members and is still growing. The principal aim of the society is to promote the study of family history in Fife. Since the inception of the Society, they have tried to achieve this in a variety of ways.
In association with Fife Council Libraries, they have a Family History Room in Methil Library, which holds many primary sources such as Fife Old Parish Registers and Census Returns on microfilm. Microfilm copies of local newspapers relevant to the Levenmouth area are also held, as are the IGI for Scotland and a microfiche index to the 1881 census for many Scottish counties and to the 1891 census for Fife only, and a large stock of books embracing local and family history, maps, manuscripts, family histories as well as indexes to other census returns and court records. Several CDs of genealogical interest have recently been added to the collection.
Fife Family History Society holds regular meetings with guest speakers, featuring an interesting variety of talks, in the Caledonian Hotel, Leven. Meetings are also open to non-members. The syllabus is published in the Journal.
Over the years they have taken part in a variety of projects, including assisting with the indexing of the 1881 census. In recent years a vast amount of work was carried out in relation to the Fife section of the National Burial Index project, under the auspices of the Association of Family History Societies. As a result, Fife Family History Society produced a CD ROM of pre-1855 Deaths in Fife, which contains over a quarter of a million entries. The CD is available for sale through the Society.
Members are asked to submit a Members' Interests form when joining the Society. Members' Interests are published in the Journal, so that members with similar interests can contact each other. It is also possible for members to place queries relating to specific lines of research in the Journal.
The Society's Journal is produced three times a yeaR and sent out to members. We also have a PublIcation Club open to members of the Society. For an additional fee of £6 annually, members of the Publication Club receive an additional booklet along with their journal. This is usually a transcript of a manuscript not readily available to the public. Past publications have covered indexes to Wills and Deeds, Trade Incorporation Records, Non-Conformist Baptismal Registers and Monumental Inscriptions.
The Fife Family History Society Web Page at http://www.fifefhs.org offers some research aids as well as keeping members up to date with Society news. Exclusive to our members is our on-line mailing list, which allows members direct email contact to chat about the Society, family history, Fife etc. It is also possible to pick the brains of other members to help in problem solving.
To their members, they also offer to transcribe certificates from New Register House in Edinburgh and the Society will endeavour to answer any queries in relation to their family history research.
Subscription fees (from 1 October - 30 September annually):
Adult single UK £10, Overseas £12.
Family UK £12, Overseas £14.
Institution UK £12, Overseas £14.
Publication Club All £6.
Transcription Service £3 per certificate.
Contact Details.
Mrs Betty Pryde ( Secretary)
Glenmoriston , Durie Street, Leven, Fife, Scotland, KY8 4HF.
Tel: 01333 425321
Email: chairman@fifefhs.org
Web: http://www.fifefhs.org
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