Aberdeenshire and Moray Records

Since local government reorganisation in 1996, the historic documents of Aberdeenshire Council along with some for the Moray Council have been administered by Aberdeen City Council. The records include those of the former counties of Aberdeen, Kincardine, Banff and Moray up to 1975 and Grampian Region from 1975 to 1996. From 1996 the holdings include records from the current counties of Aberdeenshire and Moray.

The main collections, which are held at Old Aberdeen House office,include:

• Burgh Records
• County Council and District Council Records
• Poor Relief Records
• School Records
• School Board Records
• Commissioners of Supply Records
• Valuation Rolls
• Deposited Collections
• Church Records

Burgh Records

The records of these self-governing towns include Town Council minutes, accounts, letters, plans and harbour records, and are a vital source for local history. The burgh records held by Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire Archives are as follows:

Please note - for records of the town councils for the burghs now in Moray (Aberlour, Buckie, Burghead, Cullen, Dufftown, Elgin, Findochty, Forres, Lossiemouth, Portknockie and Rothes) please contact the Moray Council Heritage Centre.

County Council and District Council Records

The county councils of Aberdeen, Banff and Kincardine, along with their district councils, were established in 1890. They were responsible for discharging many local authority functions up to 1975, including roads, public health, housing, education and planning. Minutes and accounts survive for all the county councils and for some district councils.

Poor Relief Records

From 1845 until the introduction of the welfare state in 1948, responsibility for poor relief was borne by parochial boards, parish councils and county councils. Minutes, applications for relief and registers of poor survive for many parishes, and many have been indexed by the Aberdeen and North-East Scotland Family History Society. Please visit Aberdeen City Council's Archives for further information.

Please note that these records are subject to the Data Protection Act and that this may place restrictions on the use of material by researchers. Identification will be required to view records under the Data Protection Act.

School Records

Headteacher's log books and pupil admission registers survive for several hundred north-east schools. These records mostly post-date the Education (Scotland) Act 1872 which made it compulsory for children to attend school, but some records do survive before this. For further information please visit Aberdeen City Council's Archives.

Please note that these records are subject to the Data Protection Act and that this may place restrictions on the use of material by researchers. Identification will be required to view records under the Data Protection Act.

School Boards and Education Authorities

Education in the north-east was administered by parish school boards from 1873 to 1919 and by county council education authorities from 1919 to 1929. The minutes of these bodies are a useful source of information on school buildings and the employment of teachers.

Please note that records of Moray Education Authority (1919 - 1930) and the education committee of Moray and Nairn Joint County Council (1930 - 1975) are held by the Moray Council Heritage Centre.

Commissioners of Supply Records

The minutes and accounts of the Commissioners of Supply document the administration of counties by landowners until the establishment of county councils in 1890. Records survive for the counties of Aberdeen from 1654, Kincardine from 1762 and Banff from 1772. The records also contain the minutes and accounts of the turnpike road trustees and commutation road trustees. These bodies were charged with building and maintaining the north-east's roads from the 1790s to the 1870s.

An indexing project of the Commissioners of Supply Assessed Tax records is currently underway with the help of volunteers from the Aberdeen and North East Scotland Family History Society.

Please note that the records of Moray County Council (1890 - 1975) are held by the Moray Council Heritage Centre.

Valuation Rolls, 1855 - date

Valuation rolls record the address and use of the property, the owner (proprietor) and occupier (tenant) and the value of the property for the purposes of local taxation. Valuation rolls are extremely useful in finding out the whereabouts of people between the census years.

A fee is charged to those using these records for commercial, business or legal purposes (this includes finding out the length of tenancy for house purchasing) and for staff searches. 

* are the property of Grampian Valuation Joint Board, Woodhill House, Aberdeen and not of Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire Archives.

Records for Aberdeen City are also available. Please see Aberdeen City Council's Archives for further information.

Deposited records

The records of a small number of local businesses, churches, voluntary organisations and individuals have been deposited for permanent preservation alongside the official records of Aberdeenshire Council. A list of some of these records can be found on Aberdeen City Council's Archives.

Church Records

Records for various Episcopalian and Methodist churches in the North East are held by Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire Archives. Please contact Aberdeen City Council for further information on these. Church of Scotland records for Aberdeenshire, Banffshire, Morayshire and Kincardineshire are held at the National Records of Scotland.

Please see the Aberdeenshire's Archives Leaflet for more information, and as always please contact us if you have any queries.