Hume, Berwickshire, Scotland Genealogy

Parish #744

This is a guide to the history and major genealogical records of Scotland as they pertain to the parish of Hume. To learn more about how to use these records to search for your ancestors, go to the Scotland: Research Strategies.

History
STITCHELL and HUME, two ancient parishes now united, the former in the district of Kelso, county of Roxburgh, and the latter in the county of Berwick; 4 miles (N. by W.) from Kelso. The district of Hume, which adjoins Stitchell on the north, appears to have derived its name, originally Home, from its ancient proprietors, the Homes. The parish is bounded on the west by the water of Eden. The church, situated in the village of Stitchell, is a substantial structure, in good repair, and affording ample accommodation for the parishioners. There is a place of worship for members of the United Secession.

The New Statistical Account of Scotland (pub. 1834-45) offers uniquely rich and detailed parish reports for the whole of Scotland, covering a vast range of topics including history, agriculture, education, trades, religion and social customs. The reports, written by the parish ministers, are available online at http://edina.ac.uk/stat-acc-scot/. Click on ‘Browse scanned pages’ then search the parish reports for your parish of interest. Also available at the.

Census Records
A census record is a count and description of the population, taken by the government, arranged by locality and by household. Read more about Census Records.

is a list of the Family History Library microfilm numbers for the census records of Hume, as well as the library numbers for any available.

The 1901 census of Scotland is indexed on www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk. To use it, you must register and pay a small access fee. All available censuses, 1841-1901, are indexed on this website. It may be easier for you to pay to use the website rather than access the separate indexes through the library.

Church Records
The Established Church of Scotland was Presbyterian. Read more about Church Records.

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

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 Family History Library in Salt Lake City. Some records may also be indexed in other FamilySearch collections for Scotland. Births: The early pages are in poor condition and partially illegible. There are no entries November 1642–September 1648. The record beginning in 1640 is stated to be for the “paroche of Hume and Stitchel.” Four pages of irregular entries, 1733–1753, are found after the records for 1755. Marriages: The first pages have water damage, and many entries are partially or entirely illegible. No entries exist July 1719–June 1720 and July 1757–October 1758. There are only blank pages July 1790–August 1806. Source: Key to the Parochial Registers of Scotland, by V. Ben Bloxham, pub. 1970. British Book.

Established Church—Kirk Session Records
The Kirk session was the court of the parish. The Kirk session was made up of he minister and the land owners and business men of the parish, chosen to serve on the session. The Kirk session 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:

None are available.

Nonconformist Church Records
A nonconformist church is any church that is not the Established church. Read more about nonconformity in Scotland in the article on the Scotland Church Records Union List.

See Stitchel parish in Roxburghshire.

Civil Registration Records
Government or civil registration of births, marriages, and deaths (also called Statutory records) began on January 1, 1855 in Scotland. Each parish has a registrar's office and large cities have several. The records are created by the registrars and copies are sent to the General Register Office in Edinburgh. Annual indexes are then created for the records for the whole country. See the article on Scotland Civil Registration  or more information and to access the records.

Probate Records
Hume was under the probate jurisdiction of the Commissary Court of Lauder until 1823, and since then has been under the Sheriff's Court of Duns. 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 &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 Family History Library. To find the microfilm numbers, search in the library catalog for the 'Place-names' of Berwick and the subject of 'Probate records.' Then click on the link to the records of the Commissariat of Lauder. The library also has some post-1823 probate records for Berwick. Look in the library catalog for the 'Place-names' of Berwick and the subjects of 'Probate Records' and 'Probate Records - Indexes.'

Read more about Scotland Probate Records.