Banffshire, Scotland Genealogy

Background
Banffshire is a maritime county in the north-east part of Scotland. It is bounded on the north by the Moray Firth, on the east and south-east by Aberdeenshrie, and on the west by the counties of Moray and Inverness. It is about fifty miles in length, and varies from twenty to only three miles in breadth. It comprises an area of about 647 square miles or 414,080 acres. It has twenty-four parishes and six civil districts. The county contains the royal burghs of Banff (the county town) and Cullen and several thriving and populous villages. The surface of the county is beautifully diversified with mountains and vales, and the scenery enriched with woods and plantations, and enlivened with rivers and lakes. The coast, which extends for nearly thirty miles, is bold and rocky, and is much indented with small bays. Salmon and herring fishing are extensive. The land is fertile and nearly one-half is under cultivation. There are quarries for limestone, freestone, gneiss, and granite. The principal manufacture is that of linen. The population in 1851 was 49,679.

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

Parishes
Here is a list of historic parishes for Banffshire with their parish number. Click on a parish name to see information on records. See below for a map of Banffshire.

Census
The Scottish government began taking censuses of its population in 1841, and every ten years thereafter. The records must be 100 years old before they are released to the public, so the most recent record available is for the 1901 census. Read more about Census Records.

Many census records have been indexed by surname. Some indexes cover one parish (and will be listed in the Wiki on the parish page) and some indexes are for the county as a whole. The Family History Library has county-wide census indexes for Banffshire for the and  censuses.

Maps
Click on the map of Banffshire to see a larger version. Click on the larger map again, then click the 'Expand' button in the bottom right-hand corner of the map.

Click here to see another online map of Banffshire.

Poorhouses
There is 1 workhouse in this county:

Rathven (Parish Hospital)

A description with drawings and photos of them today along with databases of those living there from the 1881 Census are provided on the links above located on the site entitled "The Workhouse.org.uk" which is owned and operated by Peter Higginbotham.

[Return to county list.]