Yarrow, Selkirkshire, Scotland Genealogy

Scotland

Selkirkshire

Yarrow

Parish #779

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

Yarrow, Selkirkshire, Scotland
Type	Quoad Omnia Parish
Parish Number	779
Civil Jurisdictions
Historic County	Selkirkshire
Council Area	Scottish Borders
Registration District	Yarrow
Records begin
Parish registers: 1691
Kirk Sessions: 1760
Ecclesiastical Jurisdictions
Presbytery	Selkirk
Synod	Merse & Teviotdale
Judicial Jurisdictions
Sheriff Court	Selkirk
Commissary Court	Peebles

History

YARROW, a parish, in the county of Selkirk, 9 miles (W.) from Selkirk; containing the village of Ettrick-Bridge and part of Yarrowford. This place, which is of considerable antiquity, was originally designated as the parish of St. Mary; its present name was acquired from the removal of the church to the banks of the river Yarrow, about the middle of the 17th century, since which time the parish has invariably retained the name of that river. The church erected in 1640, and thoroughly repaired in 1826, is a neat plain edifice adapted for a congregation of 430 persons.

For more information about Yarrow'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 Yarrow.

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	FHL Call Number
Births:	1691-1854	film 1067929
Marriages:	1691-1704, 1724-1854	film 1067929
Deaths:	1731-1732, 1759-1820	film 1067929
Burials:	1791-1837	book 941.465/Y1 K2h (see: www.sgtranscriptions.co.uk)

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: The greater part of pages at September 1700, at 1726, 1729, 1733, and 1734 are destroyed. There are no entries September 1700–1726, October 1733–December 1734. There is, however, a copy of the record 1691–October 1700 and November 1725–April 1761 made when the original was somewhat less imperfect than it is now. Irregular entries are frequent after 1780. Except for 1732–1733 mothers' names are not recorded until October 1778.
Marriages: There are no entries December 1704–November 1724, December 1728–December 1731, September 1733–December 1750, May 1752–May 1759, after which there are only proclamation fees until July 1775 then no entries until Aug 1791. There is a copy of the record prior to 1818.
Deaths: There are no entries June 1732–October 1759, from which date to 1775 there are only Mortcloth Dues and then no entries until August 1791, after which burials are recorded among the marriages.
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 known records.

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.

Yarrow and Meggat Free Church

History—
After the Disruption the Presbyteries of Selkirk, Biggar and Peebles co–operated in providing services for the district of Yarrow, until, in 1844, when a preacher was appointed. Church and manse were built at Yarrow Feus in 1845. In this year the charge was sanctioned, the district of Meggat being attached to it. This same year a church was erected at Cappercleuch, St. Mary's Loch, in which services were conducted by the minister of Yarrow. Communion cups were presented for use in this church by the session of Free St. John's, Dr. Guthrie's, Edinburgh. The congregation of Yarrow suffered heavily through the erection of a charge in Ettrick, as many from that district were accustomed to come over the hill.
Membership: 1848, 107; 1900, 63.
Source: Annals of the Free Church of Scotland, 1843–1900, ed. Rev. William Ewing, D.D., 2vols. pub. 1914. Film #918572. More details may be given in the source.

Records—
Baptismal Register 1843–1873
Kirk Session Minutes 1846–1893
Deacons’ Court Minutes 1846–1883
Collection Book 1845–1894
Other post–1855 records
Note: Available at the Scottish National Archives, Edinburgh, record CH3/1573.

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

Yarrow 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 Selkiek 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.