The parish was the departure point for thousands of Scots seeking a better life in the American and Australian colonies during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Convicts were also transported to Australia from here. This has made Kirkbean a rich source of genealogical history. Kirkbean was one of five parishes from Kirkcudbrightshire included in the
Nithsdale district of
Dumfries and Galloway under the local government reforms of 1975 which abolished Kirkcudbrightshire as an administrative county. The parish has therefore been included in the
Dumfries lieutenancy area since 1975.
Notable residents In birth order: •
John Campbell (1720–1790), a notable seafarer, was born in the village. He became a British naval officer, a navigation expert, and colonial governor of
Newfoundland, now a province of Canada. •
James Craik (
/kreɪk/; c. 1727–1814) was Physician General (precursor of the
Surgeon General) of the
United States Army, while being
George Washington's personal physician and close friend. •
John Paul Jones (1747–1792), founder of the United States Navy and a rear admiral in the Imperial Russian Navy, was born on the
Arbigland estate. There is a memorial font to him in the church by sculptor
George Henry Paulin, which depicts
USS Bonhomme Richard. •
Helen Craik (c. 1751–1825), a poet, novelist and correspondent of
Robert Burns, was born at Arbigland. • Jean Thurot (1755–1833), son of
François Thurot, a French naval commodore and privateer, was buried in Kirkbean cemetery. •
William Stewart Ross (1844–1906), a writer and publisher, was born in Kirkbean. He was a noted secularist thinker, who used the pseudonym Saladin. •
Sir James Gunn (1893–1964), artist, lived with his family in Carsethorn during World War II. ==Natural heritage==