Aberdeen City Archives - Catalogue Information
Aberdeen City Archives holds a vast amount of records relating to both Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire. Though our catalogues are not available online, we do have a number of guides and lists available for download. You may need to download the Adobe Acrobat Reader to view these documents. The items listed below are held at either our Town House office or our Old Aberdeen House branch, where they can be viewed. Please contact us to make an appointment or to find out further information on how to access the archives. The guides and lists available are:
| 1. Guide to Cemetery Records held by Aberdeen City Archives | 10. Aberdeen Association for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Records |
| 2. Poor Relief Records | 11. Photograph Collection |
| 3. School Records | 12. Town Clerk's Scrapbooks |
| 4. Valuation Rolls | 13. Garden Family of Troup Records |
| 5. Guide to Church of Scotland Records | 14. Alexander Macdonald of Keppleston Collection |
| 6. Congregational Church Records | 15. Menzies of Pitfodels Collection |
| 7. Methodist Church Records | 16. Deposited Records |
| 8. Hall Russell Records | 17. General Band of Relief, 1639 |
| 9. NORCO Records | 18. New Street Trustees |
1. Guide to Cemetery Records held by Aberdeen City Archives
This guide lists the records we hold for various cemeteries in Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire. These records include burial and lair records. Please note that the registers have not been indexed and so it is useful to know the date of death, or approximate date of death. The records for cemeteries in Aberdeen City are held in our Town House office, while those for Aberdeenshire are in our Old Aberdeen House office.
2. Poor Relief Records
Dating from 1845 to 1930 the records of the parochial boards and parish councils cover Aberdeenshire, Banffshire, Kincardineshire and Morayshire and this list shows which individual parishes are covered. The records include applications for relief, inspectors' records, minute books and registers of guardians. Indexes to many of the records are available in our Old Aberdeen House office and at the Aberdeen & North East Scotland Family History shop. The records are held at our Old Aberdeen House office. Please note that access to some records under 100 years old may be restricted under the Data Protection Act. Please contact us for further information.
3. School Records - List of Names of Schools and List of Schools by Parish
School admission registers and headteachers' log books for around 500 schools across the North East are available at Aberdeen City Archives. Of the two guides available currently, one lists the schools alphabetically by their name and the other by their location. This can make it easier to narrow down which school may have been attended if you know the parish of residency. Please contact us at our Old Aberdeen House office for further information on the records surviving for the individual schools. Please note that access to some records under 100 years old may be restricted under the Data Protection Act.
4. Valuation Rolls
In 1855 a uniform system of property valuation was established in Scotland and its records give the names of the proprietors, or owners of a property, along with the main occupier and rateable value of the property. The records do not list all members of a family at an address, unlike census records, but they can be a useful way of tracing a family's movements between the census years. The valuation rolls are held at our Old Aberdeen House office.
5. Guide to Church of Scotland Records held by Aberdeen City Archives
The Church of Scotland records held by Aberdeen City Archives date back to 1562, and can include notes on contracts of marriage, poor relief and the payments of fines. Again, these records are not indexed and it is useful to have an approximate date when looking for a specific event. These records are held at our Town House office.
6. Congregational Church Records
Aberdeen City Archives holds records for 17 Congregational Churches in Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire. This guide lists the records we hold for each church. These records are held at our Town House office.
7. Methodist Church Records
Records for 6 Methodist churches in the North East are held by Aberdeen City Archives, and this guide lists the records we have for each church. Please note these records are held at our Old Aberdeen House office.
8. Hall Russell Records
The records of the shipbuilding firm Hall Russell begin in 1811, and follow the expansion of the business through the 19th Century through its demise in the latter half of the 20th Century. The records include lists of apprentices, a fantastic photographic collection, as well as minute books, account books and technical information about some of the ships built. These records are held at our Town House office.
9. Northern Co-operative Society (NORCO) Records
The collection comprises minutes, correspondence, administrative papers, scrapbooks and poster books, financial records, legal records, reports, publications, photographs, plans and a small section of ephemera. These records are kept off premises, and as a result please notify us at least a week in advance if you would like to view these records at either the Town House or Old Aberdeen House.
10. Aberdeen Association for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (AAPCA)
The AAPCA was formed in 1870. The records include minute books, financial records, inspector's reports, and newspaper cuttings. These records are kept off premises, and as a result please notify us at least a week in advance if you would like to view these records at either the Town House or Old Aberdeen House.
11. Photograph Collection
The collection consists mainly of photographs taken by the photographers of Aberdeen Council, largely between 1950 and 1985, with copies of earlier photographs included. These are held at our Town House office.
12. Town Clerk's Scrapbooks
A series of scrapbooks from Aberdeen Town Clerk's Department relating to civic events such as royal visits, Freedom Ceremonies and conferences. The scrapbooks contain mainly invitation lists, copies of tickets, newspaper cuttings, occasional copy correspondence and other related items. These are held at our Town House office.
13. Garden Family of Troup Records
The Garden family acquired the lands of Troup in Banffshire in the mid-17th century. Alexander Garden founded the village of Gardenstown in 1720 as a fishing port. The family also developed Laurencekirk in Kincardineshire from the 1760s to be a small manufacturing town. The records include writs, title deeds, tacks, leases, renunciations, valuations, accounts, correspondence about disputes with tenants and farm improvements, and other papers relating to the family. These records are held at our Old Aberdeen House office.
14. Alexander Macdonald of Kepplestone Collection
The collection consists of correspondence and other papers generated by Alexander Macdonald, granite merchant and proprietor of Aberdeen Granite Works in Constitution Street, including letters from the artists that Macdonald patronised. The trustees' papers include minutes, accounts, vouchers and correspondence detailing their administration of Macdonald's estate from 1884 until the division of the estate among the residuary legatees in 1902. These records are held at our Old Aberdeen House office.
15. Menzies of Pitfodels Collection
This collection comprises estate and trust papers relating to Menzies family of Pitfodels, papers relating to Gilcomston Brewery Company, Gilcomston Friendly Society and Union Company of Gilcomston, and miscellaneous legal papers.
16. Deposited Records
This is a list of some of the archives which have been deposited with Aberdeen City Archives. Please contact us for further information as some records are held at the Town House, and some at Old Aberdeen House.
17. General Band of Relief, 1639
This document lists the names of the subscribers and non-subscribers to the General Band of Relief in Aberdeen in 1639 and gives the occupations of individuals. The payments were to be used to help pay for the efforts expended ensuring that Aberdeen would join the Covenant. This is a fascinating list as not only does it give a glimpse into those who were living in Aberdeen at the time, there are also notes regarding those who were away, where they were, and why. This is held at our Town House office.
18. New Street Trustees
The New Streets Trustees material originated in the old Town Clerk's department of the Town Council and is the product of the Trustees who were appointed to organise and administer the development of the new streets which were constructed in Aberdeen in the nineteenth century - including Union Street. The material comprises of the minutes of the Trustees, their letter books and financial records, and a large collection of prior titles and miscellaneous deeds and legal documents relating to the areas being developed. They date from the mid sixteenth century to the mid nineteenth century. These items are held at our Town House office.
New records and catalogues are being added and updated so please do not hesitate to contact us if you cannot find what you are looking for.
The Scottish Archive Network (SCAN) contains collection level descriptions of some of our holdings. Please see the Scottish Archive Network (SCAN) website website for further information.
Descriptions of the George Bennett Mitchell and Duncan & Munro Architectural Collections can be accessed through the website of RCAHMS, The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland.
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