Inverness-shire, Scotland Genealogy



Inverness is an extensive county in the north of Scotland, bounded on the north by Ross-shire and the Moray Firth, on the east by the counties of Nairn, Elgin, Banff, and Aberdeen, on the south by Perthshire and the county of Argyll, and on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. It is about 90 miles in length and nearly 80 in extreme breadth, comprising an area of 7200 square miles or 4,608,000 acres, exclusive of the several islands attached to it.

The county was orginally the western portion of the ancient province of Moray and was inhabited by the Picts. The city of Inverness (the county town) may have been the residence of the Pictish kings.

The county contains 45 parishes and four districts/sub-sheriff courts of Inverness, Fort William, Skye, and Long Island. It also contains several villages.

The surface of the county is strikingly diversified by wild and lofty moutains interspersed with deep and narrow glens, and by numerous ridges of hills inclosing valleys of various width and aspect. The coast is indented with a variety of inlets from the sea, forming salt-water lochs. The county includes the Isle of Skye, part of Lewis, North and South Uist, Benbecula, Barra, Eigg, Eriskay, Bernera, and others of the Hebrides.

Lochs or lakes are a very important feature of the county, chief among them being Loch Ness, Loch Oich, and Loch Lochy, situated in the valley of Glenmore. Not more than one-twelfth of the land is under cultivation, the remainder being either covered with heath or in mountain pasture. The arable lands produce excellent crops of wheat, barley, oats, etc., and great quantities of potatoes are raised. Vast numbers of cattle and more so of sheep are raised. Swine and horses are also raised.

The whole county appears to have been at a remote period covered with woods, and there are still thousands of acres in woods. Slate is quarried and shipped, as is also granite. There are lead-ore works. The principal manufactures are hemp, thread, kelp, and bricks and tiles; there are bleaching and print fields, tanneries, breweries and distilleries. The rivers abound with salmon and there are valuable salmon-fisheries. There are also herring-fisheries. The great Caledonian canal intersects the county from north-east to south-west and connects the German and Atlantic Oceans. It provides navigation for ships and conveyance of produce.

The population in 1851 was 97,799.

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

Parishes
Here is a list of Inverness-shire parishes and their parish numbers. Parish numbers were assigned by the Scottish government and are used for cataloging records of a parish. Click on the 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 Inverness-shire.

[Return to county list.]