Newton, Midlothian, Scotland Genealogy

Parish #696

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

History
NEWTON, a parish, in the county of Edinburgh, 2 miles (N. W.) from Dalkeith; containing the villages or hamlets of Adamsrow, Claybarns, Edmonstone, New Engine, Old Engine, Easter and Wester Millerhill, Pentecox, Redrow, Sherriffhall-Engine, and Squaretown, and the hamlet of Backdean. This parish, includes the old parish of Woolmet, which was united with it at the Reformation. The church, rebuilt, with the exception of the ancient tower, in 1742, and repaired and reseated in 1819, is a neat structure, but containing only 430 sittings. The chapel at Edmonstone is a handsome structure in the later English style, now used, however, only as a mausoleum.

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 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 Newton, 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 are indexed in the International Genealogical Index. Births: There are no entries November 1640–August 1651. Entries out of order of time occasionally occur about 1781–1798. Marriages: There are no entries July 1640–August 1651, November 1688–May 1692, or October 1695–June 1697. After April 1754 there is a record of proclamations May 1740–March 1754, after March 1754 it becomes one of proclamations and marriages. After December 1739 there is a register of proclamations September 1698–November 1739. Marriages are resumed at May 1740. The fact of marriage is not always added to the entry. Many irregular marriages are recorded after 1754; and there are 45 transcribed entries of such marriages, 1774–1799, after the record for 1819 entries. Deaths: Burials; there are no entries January 1772–February 1790 and a page which contained entries for January–September 1772 having been cut off except the margin which bears the surnames of the deceased and the dates. There are only Mortcloth Dues for 1790–1805. There are no entries May 1805–March 1823 after which burials are recorded. 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 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: 

Minutes 1630–1640, 1651–1934 Accounts 1651–1760, 1769–1830 Testimonials 1727–1753 Communion Roll 1833–1914 Poors’ Fund Minutes 1831–1859 Note: Available at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh, record CH2/283.

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.

There are none.

In 1837, there were said to be 363 dissenters within the parish but there were no places of worship. Therefore, they would have worshiped in neighboring parishes. The majority were members of the Relief Church of Dalkeith.

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 for more information and to access the records.

Probate Records
Newton 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 &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 catalogfor 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' of Midlothian and the subjects of 'Probate Records' and 'Probate Records - Indexes.' Read more about Scotland Probate Records.