Stow, Midlothian, Scotland Genealogy

Scotland

Midlothian

Stow

Parish #699

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

Stow, Midlothian, Scotland
Type	Quoad Omnia Parish
Parish Number	699
Civil Jurisdictions
Historic County	Midlothian
Council Area	Scottish Borders
Registration District	Stow
Records begin
Parish registers: 1626
Kirk Sessions: 1626
Ecclesiastical Jurisdictions
Presbytery	Lauder
Synod	Merse & Teviotdale
Judicial Jurisdictions
Sheriff Court	Edinburgh and Leith
Commissary Court	Edinburgh

History

STOW, a parish, partly in the county of Selkirk, but chiefly in the county of Edinburgh; containing the hamlets of Fountainhall and Killochyett, 8 miles (N. N. W.) from Galashiels. This place derives its name from a residence of the bishops of St. Andrew's, who anciently had a regal jurisdiction over the whole of the district of Wedale. The village is situated on the road from Edinburgh to Carlisle, and on the Gala water, over which is a commodious bridge, erected in 1654. The church is a very ancient structure containing about 600 sittings; it has undergone various alterations, and is in good repair. There is a place of worship in the village for members of the United Secession.

For more information about Stow'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 Midlothian (FS Catalog book 941 B4sa 3rd ser. v. 22).

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.

Here is a list of the FS Library microfilm numbers for the census records of Stow, as well as the library numbers for any surname indexes available.

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.

Established Church—Old Parochial Registers

	Years Covered	FS Library Film Number
Births:	1626-1782 - baptisms	1067790 items 4-5
	1783-1854 - baptisms	1067791 items 1-4
Marriages:	1641-1754	1067790 items 4-5
	1754-1854	1067791 items 1-4
Deaths:	1722-1854 - burials	1067791item 1-4

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 no entries January–September 1733. Half of the page at February 1750 is torn off. After May 1689 is one page of children baptized in the meetinghouses in the parish of Stow, 1687–1688. Entries out of the order of time are frequent.
Marriages: There are no entries July 1656–July 1659 or June 1662–1666.
Deaths: Deaths and burials; the record for 1775–1778 inclusive, there are only two small fragments of pages bearing a few entries.
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:

Minutes1626–1885
Note: Available at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh, record CH2/338.

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.

Stow Burgher, later United Presbyterian Church

History—
In 1732, a new minister was presented to the church and parish of Stow, then vacant. So hostile were the parishioners to the settlement that several of them, and 11 out of 15 elders, discontinued their attendance at the Established Church. A similar situation occurred in the adjacent parish of Heriot in 1734. In 1738 these seceding individuals petitioned the Associate Presbytery to be formed as a congregation, which was granted. A fast was held in October 1738 and visiting ministers baptized 28 children. A church was built and opened in 1740. A new church was built in 1872. At the Breach in 1747, the majority of this congregation and its minister adhered to the Associate Burgher Synod.
Source: Annals and Statistics of the United Presbyterian Church, by Rev. William MacKelvie, D.D., pub. 1873. Family History Llibrary Film#477618. More details may be given in the source including ministers.

Records—
Seat Rents 1812–1851
List of Members 1810–1821
Missionary Society Minutes 1836–1912
Note: Available at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh, record CH3/731.

Stowe and Heriot Free Church

History—
The minister of Stow remained in the Established Church in 1843. The minister of Heriot “came out” but was at once transferred to Pathhead. Adherents of the Free Church from Stow and Heriot met for worship in an Inn at Galabank and services were supplied under the Presbytery of Kelso and Lauder. A church was built in 1843. The charge sanctioned in 1845 was, in 1847, transferred to the Presbytery of Dalkeith and again in 1866 to that of Selkirk. The district is largely pastoral.
Membership: 1848, 72; 1900, 117.
Source: Annals of the Free Church of Scotland, 1843–1900, ed. Rev. William Ewing, D.D., 2 vols. pub. 1914. FS Library Film #918572. More details may be given in the source including ministers.

Records—
Minutes 1843–1901
Deacons Court Minutes 1847–1901
Note: Available at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh, record CH3/732.

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

Stow 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 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 Midlothian and the subject of 'Probate records.' Then click on the link to the records of the Commissariat of Edinburgh.

The library also has some post-1823 probate records for Midlothian. Look in the library catalog for the 'Place-names' of Midlothian and the subjects of 'Probate Records' and 'Probate Records - Indexes.'

Read more about Scotland Probate Records.

References

Return to Midlothian Parishes.

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