Parish Number - 97
Births: (Film # 990665 Item 3) 1792 to 1854 [Only 11 entries prior to 1805]
Marriages: (Film # 990665 Item 3 ) 1804 to 1841Imperial Gazetteer of Scotland, 1868
GLENELG, a parish, containing a post office village of its own name, also the village of Arnisdale, on the west coast of Inverness-shire. It is bounded, on the north-east and east, by the water-shed of a ridge of hills, which divides it from Ross-shire; on the south-east and south by the water-shed of heights at the head of Glengarry and Glenarchaig in Lochaber; on the south-west, by Loch Morar, which divides it from Arasaig in the parish of Ardnamurchan; and on the north-west, by the navigable and much frequented Sound of Sleat, which separates the Scottish mainland from the island of Skye. It's length and breadth are each about 20 miles. It comprises three destricts, all washed by the sound of Sleat, and each separated from the other by a long transverse inlet from that sound, in the form of a sea-loch. First is Glenelg proper, in the north-east, next is Knoydart, in the middle, - these two separated from each other by Loch-Hourn; and next is North-Morar, in the south-west, this separated from Knoydart by Loch Nevis. The coast, except in the bay of Glenelg and within the sea-lochs, is generally high and rocky. The sea-lochs are remarkable for romantic beauty, and they contain good anchoring ground. Glenelg proper comprises two glens, called Glenmore and Glenbeg, each watered by its own little stream. The former is the site of the village of Glenelg. The inhabitants of Glenelg proper reside principally in hamlets at the sides of the streams, their arable land extending along the banks, and on the declivity of the hills. In Knoydart, the inhabitants dwell in villages bordering on the sea, and along the sides of Loch-Hourn, and Loch-Nevis. There have been many castles or round towers, two of which in Glenbeg are yet pretty entire. In 1722, shortly after the battle of Glenshiel, Government thought it necessary to erect a small fortification on the west coast, and pitched on a spot of ground in this parish as a proper situation, being in the direct line from Fort Augustus to the Isle of Skye. From that period till after 1745, there were commonly one or two companies of foot quartered here. Kirk Session Records
The Kirk Session of a parish consists of the the minister of the parish and the elders of the congregation. It looks after the general well-being of the congreation and, particularly in centuries past, church discipline within the parish. These records can sometimes provide invaluable information that is available nowhere else. An example would be the case of an illegitimate child. In many cases, the fornication resulting in the birth of the child would be a matter of church discipline and would thus be recorded in the minutes of the Session. It has been known ot occur that the parish register recorded the name of the mother of an illegitimate child in error, such error being brought to light by examing the Kirk Session records dealing with the birth of the child. There is also a possibility that other valuable information concerning the parents might be contained in the Kirk Session records. Kirk Session records are generally held at the Scottish Record Office in Edinburg. These records have not in most cases beeen microfilmed by the LDS Church.
There are Kirk Session minutes for this parish are available from 1831.
