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Covid-19

The Aberdeen & NE Scotland Family History Society’s Research Centre in King Street, Aberdeen is closed until further notice.   Some of our members and volunteers are in the most vulnerable age group and could easily catch the virus from someone showing no symptoms. The safety of our volunteers and members is paramount.  If you wish to contact the society then email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

New Facebook Group launched

The Society has recently launched a new Facebook Group which can be found at Aberdeen & NE Scotland Family History Society Facebook Group.  We have had an amazing response so far with over 1,050 people joining within the first week.  People have been sharing their research tips, family information and lots of wonderful photos.  (A few people have even found cousins within the group!)  

Journal 154 Available

The February 2020 edition of the Society Journal is now available online.  Postal distribution will begin this week. Please login to your membership account to access this Journal.  If you haven't registered your account yet, click on the Register link in the top right corner.

The Kirkyards of Forbes, Kearn and Tullynessle

Kirkyards of Forbes, Kearn and TullynessleThe Society is pleased to announce that the Memorial Inscriptions for the Kirkyards of Forbes, Kearn and Tullynessie are now available.
 
In the hilly country to the north-west of Alford there were originally four separate parishes: Auchindoir, Forbes, Kearn, and Tullynessle.  The original boundaries between these parishes are not recorded, but such evidence as we have puts Auchindoir to the west and Tullynessle to the east, separated by Forbes, running westward from Bridge of Alford, close to the north bank of the River Don, and Kearn, running northwards from Lumsden, and passing to the east of Rhynie.   
 
Not being large enough, in terms of population, to be financially viable as separate units, these four parishes have, over the centuries, undergone various attempts at amalgamation and rationalization, culminating in 1808, when they were consolidated into just two:  to the northwest, “Auchindoir and Kearn”, and to the southeast, “Tullynessle and Forbes”.  
 
This has resulted in some confusion in the written records and more particularly in the memorial inscriptions, since, whatever  the “official” position, people continued to use their families’ traditional burial grounds long after the individual kirks were abandoned and their congregations assigned to new parishes.
 
The MIs of Auchindoir (the Old and New Kirkyards, but not the modern Cemetery) were issued by ANESFHS some years ago with the catalogue code AA110.  The present publication (AA078) now adds the inscriptions from Forbes, Kearn and Tullynessle Kirkyards (but not the adjacent Tullynessle Cemetery, which is still in use). 
 
The booklet may be purchased online by contacting our Publications Department or at our Research Centre at 158 King Street, Aberdeen. In addition to this latest Memorial Inscription booklet, you can browse all of our Publications here in this fully searchable, filterable list.  
  1. World War 1 - Roll of Honour
  2. Family Record