The kirkyards of Forbes, Kearn & Tullynessle.
(Book)

Includes index.

"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).