Before statutory registration began in 1855 the established Church of Scotland was responsible for the keeping of records relating to baptisms, the reading of banns and burials. However the practice of keeping records varied enormously - even across the small geographical area of Cumnock and Doon Valley.
The extract below comes from the Detailed List of the Old Parochial Registers of Scotland, published in 1872. This is incredibly useful as it provides detailed information about the contents of, and omissions contained in, the Old Parish Registers. All the volumes are not in the National Records of Scotland. All of the records have been digitised and can be accessed online via the Scotlands People website.