Inveresk, Midlothian, Scotland Genealogy: Difference between revisions

The church and village of Inveresk are near the confluence of the the river Esk with the Firth of Forth. The name Inveresk signifires the mouth of the river. Musselburgh is the chief town in the parish and gets its name from an extensive mussel bank which stretches out into the sea. In ancient charters it is almost uniformly written ''muschelburg.'' In 1783 during some garden improvements near Inveresk House the foundations of various buildings were exposed at the depth of three or four feet. A Roman bath of two rooms was traced. The smaller was 9 feet by 4 1/2, the larger was 15 by 9. There was a water source and a heat source found. All along the hill of Inveresk, Roman coins have been discovered. Many other Roman artifacts have been found in the parish. The parish registery begin in 1607 and have been kept pretty regularly since that period. The penmanship of many of the early registers is curiously ornate and beautiful. There has been injury to the bindings of several volumes. The population in 1792 was 5392, and in 1831 it was 8961. The land is used for cattle, sheep and the horses commonly used are of the Clydesdale breed. Corn and grass are also grown. In the parish there is a lot of manufacturing including sail-cloth and hair-cloth, a distillery and tanneries. In the Established Church there are 5876 members, in the Espiscopalians 153, the Relief 1468, in the Secession 789, the Independents 144, belonging to other denominations there are 112.  

'''Index: '''For an index to these records, see [http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/ Scotland’s People] website, a pay-for-view website. The Scottish Church Records Index is also still available at the [https://www.familysearch.org/en/library/ FamilySearch Library] in Salt Lake City. These records may be indexed in the International Genealogical Index, available on FamilySearch.org in the Historical Record Collections. <br>'''Births:''' Mothers’ names are not recorded before 1634 and sometimes are omitted until 1636.<br>'''Marriages:''' There are no entries June 1615–July 1620, except one for 1623, December 1622–May 1680. Entries of irregular marriages are of frequent occurrence from 1757 downward.<br>'''Deaths:''' There are no entries August 1763–January 1783. Deaths are recorded until December 1805; burials January 1806–August 1809, after which deaths and burials are recorded.<br>'''Source: '''''Key to the Parochial Registers of Scotland,'' by V. Ben Bloxham, pub. 1970. British Book {{FSC|941 K23b|disp=941 K23b.}}  

Inveresk was under the probate jurisdiction of the Commissary Court of Edinburgh until 1823, and since then has been under the Sheriff's Court of Edinburgh. Probate records for 1513- 1901 are indexed online at [http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/?gclid=CLKJyYGQ4ZUCFQQCagod1gp0Ww www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk] . You must register on the website but use of the index to probate records, called 'Wills &amp; Testaments,' is free. You may then purchase a copy of the document or, if the document is before 1823, it will be on microfilm at the FamilySearch Library. To find the microfilm numbers, search in the library [https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog catalog] for the 'Place-names' of Midlothian and the subject of 'Probate records.' Then click on the link to the records of the Commissariat of Edinburgh.<br> <br> The library also has some post-1823 probate records for Midlothian. Look in the library [https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog catalog] for the 'Place-names' of Midlothian and the subjects of 'Probate Records' and 'Probate Records - Indexes.' <br> <br> Read more about [[Scotland Probate Records|Scotland Probate Records.]] <br>