Useful Publications—some books on Clackmannanshire selected to be of use to the family historian.
Boundaries and Parishes
Clackmannanshire was the smallest in area of the historic counties of Scotland. It covers the area to the east of Stirling which lies between the Forth Estuary and the Ochil Hills to the north. It is centred on the town of Alloa on the north bank of the Forth, and nowhere in the County is more than about six miles or so from Alloa.
During most of the 19th Century, for registration purposes, Clackmannanshire consisted of the four parishes of Alloa, Clackmannan, Dollar and Tillicoultry. However, the administrative County also included parts of Logie and Stirling parishes. Around its western and northern boundaries, there existed something of a patchwork quilt of County affiliations. The parish of Alva formed a detached part of the County of Stirlingshire, but was almost surrounded by Clackmannanshire. The parish of Logie was partly in Clackmannanshire, but formed a parish of the County of Perthshire for registration purposes and was also partly in Stirlingshire.
Source: Adapted from John Thomson’s Atlas of Scotland, 1832
1891 Boundary Commission
In 1891 the Boundary Commissioners effected a considerable readjustment of the boundaries of Clackmannanshire. The Stirlingshire parish of Alva was transferred in to the County, taking in one of the Clackmannanshire parts of Logie parish (the part containing Menstrie village); another Clackmannanshire part of Logie parish was taken into Alloa parish; and, the third Clackmannanshire part of Logie parish and the small Clackmannanshire part of Stirling parish were both transferred away to Stirlingshire.
This historic situation and the changes which took place in 1891 can sometimes be confusing for genealogists. Events which took place in the same location may have been recorded in different Counties according to whether they occurred before or after 1891. Importantly, in the 1841 Census for Clackmannanshire, a record that someone had been born “in the same County” does not necessarily mean that the birthplace was in one of the four parishes noted above. In particular, someone born in Menstrie may have said correctly that they were born in Clackmannanshire, but the record of their birth would be found in Logie parish.
Sources: Adapted from John Thomson’s Atlas of Scotland, 1832; boundary changes from Boundaries of Counties and Parishes in Scotland: as settled by the Boundary Commissioners under the Local Government (Scotland) Act, 1889 by Hay Shennan, Advocate (Edinburgh, William Green & Sons, 1892)
This table gives the population figures from each national census for the County of Clackmannanshire and its constituent parishes. Major revisions were made to the boundaries of the County and some of its parishes in 1891. In particular, the parish of Alva (previously a detached part of Stirlingshire) became part of Clackmannanshire, taking in also the village of Menstrie (which had previously formed a Clackmannanshire part of the Perthshire parish of Logie), and the village of Sauchie (previously a detached part of Clackmannan parish) was transferred to Alloa parish. Further significant changes took place in 1975 as a consequence of the re-organisation of local government in Scotland.
The population figures by parish and by year for Clackmannanshire from 1775 to 2001
Year
Total popn
Population by Parish
Alloa
Alva
Clackmannan
Dollar
Tillicoultry
Others
1755* est
*9,003
5,816
1,913
517
757
*
1791–93* est
*8,749
4,802
2,528
510
909
*
1801 census
10,858
5,214
†787
2,961
693
916
†1,074
1811
12,010
5,096
†909
3,605
743
1,025
†1,541
1821
13,263
5,577
†1,150
4,056
1,295
1,163
†1,172
1831
14,729
6,377
†1,300
4,266
1,447
1,472
†1,167
1841
19,155
7,921
†2,216
5,145
1,562
3,213
†1,314
1851
22,951
9,493
†3,204
5,802
1,574
4,686
†1,396
1861
21,450
8,867
†3,283
4,425
1,776
5,054
†1,328
1871
23,747
9,940
†4,296
4,653
2,524
5,118
†1,512
1881
25,680
11,638
†5,113
4,543
2,500
5,344
†1,655
1891 old
28,432
13,728
†5,360
5,072
2,221
5,695
†1,716
1891 new
33,140
15,862
6,366
2,996
2,221
5,695
1901
32,029
16,858
5,641
2,501
2,042
4,987
1911
31,121
17,130
5,265
2,203
1,874
4,649
1921
32,542
18,450
5,120
2,373
1,954
4,645
1931
31,948
18,245
4,853
2,585
1,804
4,461
1941
No census taken
1951
37,532
21,874
5,502
3,024
1,604
5,528
1961
41,394
25,428
5,314
3,030
2,206
5,415
1971
45,728
28,043
5,842
3,649
2,658
5,357
1981‡
47,855
27,547
7,159
3,597
2,730
6,225
‡599
1981‡ urp
47,356
27,117
7,086
3,618
2,745
6,189
‡597
1991‡ urp
47,679
26,691
7,475
3,701
2,899
6,208
‡705
2001‡ urp
48,188
26,853
7,334
3,742
3,092
6,430
‡737
Footnotes
* Estimates for 1755 are taken from Webster’s Census of Scotland, and those for 1791–93 are taken from the First Statistical Account; both exclude the parts of Logie and Stirling parishes which formed part of Clackmannanshire County.
† Until 1891, the County of Clackmannanshire included parts of Logie and Stirling parishes (shown in the table above under ‘Others’), but excluded Alva parish; the figures shown shaded in the table for Alva up to 1891 are not included in the County totals. Figures for 1891 are provided on the basis of both the old boundaries prior to the revisions of that year and on the basis of the new ones.
‡ Figures for 1981 onwards are for the Clackmannan District of Central Region (created by local government reorganisation in 1975), and for Clackmannanshire Council (created by further reorganisation in 1996), the boundaries in each case differing from the former County of Clackmannanshire chiefly by the inclusion of the parish of Muckhart (shown in the table above under ‘Others’). Also from 1981, the main basis of reporting population statistics has been the ‘usual resident population’ (‘urp’) rather than the ‘population present’ or ‘night-time population’ which was used historically to report population figures. For comparison the figures for 1981 are presented on both the historic and ‘urp’ bases.
Note that the parish figures from 1961 onwards do not necessarily reconcile to the area-wide totals; this is believed to be due to adjustments made to preserve confidentiality in the statistics for small areas.
Useful Publications
The following is a selected list of books about Clackmannanshire and its parishes, some of which may be of interest and help to the genealogist.
“Clackmannan and the Ochils: an Illustrated Architectural Guide” by Adam Swan, 1987.
A detailed but well illustrated and easy-to-read guide to the whole of modern-day Clackmannanshire which describes all the old buildings and streets of the area.
“The Counties of Stirling and Clackmannan: the Third Statistical Account of Scotland, Vol XVIII”, the Clackmannanshire section (pp419–584) edited by T Gordon Crouther, 1966.
A description of the history and development of the 20th Century County with local accounts of each of the parishes, but with relatively little information of direct genealogical interest. [Note that the First and Second Statistical Accounts of Clackmannanshire were published in 1795 and 1841, respectively, and comprised accounts of each parish drawn up by its minister. Those for local parishes were reproduced by Clackmannan District Libraries in 1987]
“Clackmannanshire: a Guide to Historical Sources” by William C Brown, 1980.
A comprehensive bibliography of all sources of information relating to the County, including many references to articles in the Alloa Advertiser and other local newspapers. [Note that Alloa Library has an extensive card index to all the local newspapers]
“Register of Voters in the County of Clackmannan 1832–3–4” reproduced by Clackmannan District Libraries, 1993.
Lists the names, occupations and residency of 688 qualified voters (all men) in and around Clackmannanshire, including 117 men enrolled in 1835.
“A Short History of Alloa” by Rev T Gordon Crouther, 1937 (reprinted by Clackmannan District Libraries in 1986).
As the title implies, this is an abbreviated general history of the town of Alloa, mostly dealing with the 18th Century and earlier.
“The History of Clackmannan” by Rev T Crouther Gordon, 1936.
The definitive history of the old County Town, but again mostly dealing with the 18th Century and earlier. Includes a list of 107 subscribers.
“History of Dollar” by Bruce Baillie, 1998.
A well-presented history of the parish and town with considerable coverage of the 19th Century, drawing in part on three sets of reminiscences written towards the end of the 19th Century.
“Menstrie: a People’s History” by John Adamson, 1996.
A comprehensive booklet about the history of Menstrie, with much emphasis on the way of life of the people who lived in the village.
“Sauchie and Alloa: a People’s History” by John Adamson, 1988.
Much on the industry and social conditions of the area.
