Selkirkshire, Scotland Genealogy



Selkirkshire is an inland county in the south of Scotland, bounded on the north by the counties of Peebles and Edinburgh, on the south by Dumfries-shire, on the east by Roxburghshire, and on the west by Peebles-shire. It is 27 miles in length from south-west to north-east and 16 miles in breadth, comprising an area of 263 square miles or 168,320 acres.

This county, along with Roxburgh, anciently formed part of the forest of Ettrick, which was a favorite resort of the Scottish sovereigns for the purpose of hunting. About two-thirds of the county is now the property of the Duke of Buccleuch. The county includes nine parishes. Selkirk is the county town and a royal burgh. It also contains part of the market town of Galashiels and numerous small hamlets.

The surface of the county is mountainous. About 10,000 acres are arable, 2300 are woodland and plantations, 1250 acres are garden and pleasure gournds, and the remainder is mountain pasture, principally for sheep. There are no minerals to speak of. The chief manufactures are of woollen cloth and stockings. There are two tanneries and several establishments for making agricultural implements.

The population of the county in 1851 was 7990.

(Source: Samuel Lewis' Topographical Dictionary of Ireland.  2nd ed., 1851.  Family History Library book 941 E5L, 2 vols.)

Parishes
Here is a list of historic parishes for the county of Selkirk with their parish numbers. Click on a parish name to see information about records.

Maps
Click on the map at the right to see a larger version, and click again on the larger map. Next, click on the ‘Expand’ button when it appears in the lower right-hand corner of the map.

Click here to see an outline map of the parishes of Selkirkshire.

[Return to county list.]