Roberton, Selkirkshire, Scotland Genealogy

Scotland

Selkirkshire

Roberton

Parish #777

Guide to Roberton ancestry, family history, and genealogy: parish registers, transcripts, census records, birth records, marriage records, and death records.

Roberton, Selkirkshire, Scotland
Type	Quoad Omnia Parish
Parish Number	777
Civil Jurisdictions
Historic County	Selkirkshire and Roxburghshire
Council Area	Scottish Borders
Registration District	Roberton
Records begin
Parish registers: 1679
Kirk Sessions: None extant
Ecclesiastical Jurisdictions
Presbytery	Selkirk
Synod	Merse & Teviotdale
Judicial Jurisdictions
Sheriff Court	Selkirk, Hawick, and Jedburgh
Commissary Court	Peebles

History

ROBERTON, a parish, partly in the county of Selkirk, but chiefly in the district of Hawick, county of Roxburgh, 3 miles (W.) from Hawick; containing the village of Deanburnhaugh. The church, from an inscription bearing date 1659, appears to have been erected when the parish was constituted; it is in good repair, and adapted to a congregation of 250 persons.

For more information about Roberton's geography, economy, history, education, and people, see the parish reports in The First and Second Statistical Accounts of Scotland, or the Third Statistical Account for Selkirkshire 941 B4sa 3rd.

Census Records

Scottish Censuses were taken every 10 years beginning in 1801. Beginning with the 1841 Census, each individual in the nation was enumerated at the location they slept on a particular day. For more information, including which day each census was taken, read about Scottish Census Records.

Click here for a list of the FS Library microfilm numbers for the census records of Roberton.

Below is information for any known surname indexes:

Years	Surname Index
1841	941.465/E1 X2m 1841
1851	941.465/E1 X2m 1851
1861	941.465/E1 X2m 1861
1871
1881	6086676 ( 2 fiche)
1891

Indexes and images for the 1901, 1911, and 1921 censuses of Scotland are found on ScotlandsPeople ($). Registration is required and there is a small access fee per image. All available censuses, 1841-1921, are indexed on this website.

Church Records

The Established Church in Scotland is the Church of Scotland, a Presbyterian denomination of Christianity. Church of Scotland records generally cover the period of time prior to 1855, when Civil Registration began. Unlike in England, Scottish law never mandated that vital events be registered with the established church. For more information, read about Scottish Church Records.

Here are the pre-1855 records that exist for this parish.

Established Church—Old Parochial Registers

	Years Covered	FS Library Film Number
Births:	1679-1822	1067926
	1820-1854	1067927 item 1-2
Marriages:	1679-1762	1067926
	1701-1856	1067927 item 1-2
Deaths:	1744-1801	1067927 item 1-2

Condition of Original Registers

Index: For an index to these records, see Scotland’s People website, a pay-for-view website. The Scottish Church Records Index is also still available at the FamilySearch Library in Salt Lake City.  Some records may also be indexed in other FamilySearch collections for Scotland.
Births: There are copies of five entries 1676 at beginning of Vol. 1; also a page of entries for Hassendean Parish, 1687–1688. There are no entries August 1689–August 1701, except one. There are frequent irregular entries after 1807. Mothers’ names are not recorded until 1788.
Marriages: There are no entries July 1689–December 1711 and four entries for Hassendean Parish, 1687–1688, after the July 1689 entries. There are only two entries November 1745–November 1749 and none December 1749–June 1752, September 1754–December 1757 and only two entries 1760 and 1769 which are after the June 1758 entries. There is, however, a record of proclamation fees 1701–1821 in Vol. 2.
Deaths: Mortcloth Dues are intermixed with the proclamation fees.
Source: Key to the Parochial Registers of Scotland, by V. Ben Bloxham, pub. 1970. British Book 941 K23b.

Established Church—Kirk Session Records

The kirk session was the court of the parish. The session was made up of the minister and the land owners and businessmen of the parish, chosen to serve on the session. It dealt with moral issues, minor criminal cases, matters of the poor and education, matters of discipline, and the general concerns of the parish. Kirk session records may also mention births, marriages, and deaths.

Here is a list of the surviving Kirk session records for this parish:

No records are extant.

Nonconformist Church Records

A nonconformist church is any church that is not the established church (the Church of Scotland). For more information, read about Scottish Nonconformity.

Roberton United Presbyterian Church

History—
The origin of this congregation must be traced to a point more remote than its actual formation. Prior to the year 1772, the village in which the place of worship was built gave name to a distinct parish, and was the seat of the parish church. In 1772, the parish of Roberton was united with that of Wiston, which adjoins it on the north and east. The church in Wiston then became common to both parishes and the one in Roberton was left unoccupied. This union was strongly opposed by the parishioners of Roberton, partly on account of the distance it caused them to travel, partly because of their dislike of the minister of Wiston, and partly, and perhaps chiefly, because of their cherished attachment to the place where they had been accustomed to worship. The church was built in 1801. A new church was later built in 1872.
Source: Annals and Statistics of the United Presbyterian Church, by Rev. William MacKelvie, D.D., pub. 1873. Film #477618. More details may be given in the source.

Records—
Baptismal Register 1845–1935
Note: Available at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh, record CH3/636.

Roberton Free Church

In 1843 supply was granted to those who adhered to the Free Church in this parish. The church, on Chisholm estate, beside the Borthwick water, was built and opened in December of that year. Decline of the population brought a great decrease in the membership, and for many years it had a struggling existence. In 1852 it was reduced to the status of a preaching station. At first it belonged to the Presbytery of Selkirk, but in 1880 it was transferred to that of Jedburgh.
Membership: 1848, 60; 1900, 32.
Source: Annals of the Free Church of Scotland, 1943–1900, ed. Rev. William Ewing, D.D., 2 vols. pub. 1914 Film #918572 More details may be given in the source.
Records—
Extent of records is unknown.

Civil Registration Records

Government or civil registration of births, marriages, and deaths is called Statutory Registers in Scotland. The system began 1 January 1855, and each parish had a registrar's office, with large cities having several. Over time, districts merged and split due to changing populations and technological advancements. The system has largely stayed the same over time, with records being created by local registrars and copies sent to the General Register Office in Edinburgh. Initially annual indexes were published, but now these indexes are available online as soon as an event is registered. Many of these records are only available on ScotlandsPeople ($), however the years 1855-1875, 1881, and 1891 are available through FamilySearch(*). For more information, read about Scottish Statutory Registers.

Probate Records

Roberton was under the probate jurisdiction of the Commissary Court of Peebles until 1823, and since then has been under the Sheriff's Court of Selkirk. Probate records for 1513- 1901 are indexed online at www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk. You must register on the website but use of the index to probate records, called 'Wills & 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 catalog for the 'Place-names' of Selkirk and the subject of 'Probate records.' Then click on the link to the records of the Commissariat of Peebles.
The library also has some post-1823 probate records for Selkirk. Look in the library catalog for the 'Place-names' of Selkirk and the subjects of 'Probate Records' and 'Probate Records - Indexes.'
Read more about Scotland Probate Records.

References

Return to the Selkirkshire parish list.

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