Roman Catholics in Buittle Parish.

Over several centuries the Maxwell family across Scotland, including those who held the estate of Munches, in Buittle Parish, remained loyal followers of the Catholic faith. In pursuance of their faith they established a private chapel within the estate and engaged a priest. They naturally favoured others of like faith, and the parish, in general, carried a comparatively large Catholic population.

The earliest records I have found, giving actual detail of Catholics living in the Parish, is a list made by the Rev. William Tod, Presbyterian minister of the parish, in a return he made to the Presbytery in 1704.

1704 - Return of 'Papists' in the Parish of Buittle

Although the times of the Covenanters were over, and the battle of the Boyne and the massacre of Glencoe some 15 years in the past, this time of Queen Anne continued to be a troubled and confrontational period. Tensions in the Parish must have run high - the Rev. Tod was a staunch advocate of the Presbytery adopting more rigid principals than it currently held, and of further reducing the influences of both Catholics and Episcopalians. Indeed, in 1703, along with Rev. John McMillan, minister of Balmaghie and John Reid, minister of Carsphairn, William Tod subscribed to a written protest to the Presbytery. This protest is reproduced on the web site of www.covenanters.org and is linked here.

With such a large Catholic population residing in his parish, Mr Tod may well have been more aware than many of the troubled times still to come. Both William Maxwell of Munches, and his brother George, played major rolls in the 1715 Rebellion, and were amongst the Jacobite prisoners taken at Preston.

A portion of Mr Tod's list of Catholics, in his own handwriting has also been reproduced.

Mirroring the practice of parish ministers, the Catholic priest at Munches maintained a register of those Catholics forming part of his congregation, who were christened, married and died.  These records date from 1745, and continue through to the establishment of St. Peter's Chapel in Dalbeattie about 1810.

The record of deaths contains only 41 entries, whilst the record of marriages has 73 entries. Both of these lists have been transcribed if full. The record of baptisms is much more extensive, and many entries relate to members of his congregation residing outwith Buittle Parish, and in particular to families of Irish immigrants who depended on the tolerance of the Maxwell family to allow access. As my work concentrates on the residents of Buittle Parish, only those entries which relate to the parish have been transcribed here.