Midlothian (Edinburghshire), Scotland Genealogy



Edinburghshire, or Midlothian, is the metropolitan county of the kingdom of Scotland, bounded on the north by the Firth of Forth (along the shore of which it extends for about twelve miles), on the east by Haddingtonshire and small portions of the counties of Berwick and Roxburgh, on the south by the counties of Lanark, Peebles, and Selkirk, and on the west by Linlithgowshire. It is about 36 miles in length from east to west and 18 miles in extreme breadth, comprising an area of 360 square miles or 230,400 acres.

The county originally occupied the central portion of the ancient and extensive province of Lothian, or Loudon, and from this circumstance it obtained the appellation of Mid Lothian. After the departure of the Romans, this district very soon fell into the power of the Saxons where it remained until Malcolm II defeated the Saxons and gained the area.

The county comprises 30 parishes besides those in the capital city of Edinburgh, which is also the county town. Edinburgh is the only royal burgh. Musselburgh and Canongate are burghs of regality, Dalkeith and Portsburgh are burghs of barony, the chief port is Leith, and there are seventeen flourishing villages and numerous pleasant hamlets.

About 100,000 acres are arable, 80,000 area meadow and pasture, and the remainder are moorland and waste. The surface is diversified with hills, of which the two principal ranges are the Pentland and the Moorfoot. The richest soil is found in the lower part of the county, towards the Forth. The chief crops are wheat, barley, oats, beans, peas, potatoes, and turnips. Vegetables and fruits of all kinds (including strawberries) are raised in abundance for the supply of the city. Cattle, milk cows, and horses are raised; also sheep, swine, and large numbers of poultry and geese.

The substrat comprise limestone, freestone, and whinstone, all of which are quarried. Coal is very abundant and there are at present about twenty mines in constant operation. The principal munufacture is that of linen. There is also the manufacture of gunpowder, glass, soap, salt, candles, bricks, tiles and pottery of various kinds, and papger. The manufacture of silk has been introduced. There are iron-works, tanneries, distilleries, breweries, and numerous other manufacturing establishments. There are excellent roads, the Union canal, the Firth of Forth, and several railways for transportation. The Firth abounds with herrings and other fish, and the beach with shell-fish of every kind and beds of oysters.

The population of the county in 1851 was 225,454.

(Source: Samuel Lewis' Topographical Dictionary of Scotland, 2nd ed., 1951.  FHL book 941 E5L.)

Parishes
Here is a list of historic parishes for the county of Midlothian (or Edinburghshire) 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 parish of Midlothian.

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