Lauder, Berwickshire, Scotland Genealogy

Parish #748

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

= History =

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 record is a count and description of the population, taken by the government, arranged by locality and by household. Read more about Scotland Census Records.

Click to see the Family History Library Catalog entry for the 1841-1891 census records of Lauder, as well as the catalog entry for the 1841and 1851 census  for Lauder. Other surname indexes will be found on the Berwickshire county page.

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

Established Church—Old Parochial Registers
Condition of Original Registers— Index: For an index to these records, see the Scottish Church Records Index on computer at the Family History Library and family history center. Some records may be indexed in the International Genealogical Index. Births: No entries exist August 1688–January 1691, and the record is in poor condition 1691–1695. There is only one entry January 1695–October 1707; also March 1716–June 1720. Two pages of the record for 1725–1726 are damaged. Entries are frequently out of chronological order after 1800. Marriages: There is only one entry for 1692, August 1688–April 1707 and March 1729–June 1733, and one entry, for 1743, November 1739–December 1782. The record terminates September 1796 and is not resumed until 1844. Deaths: There are registers for October 1794–1836, and only one entry in 1809. 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 Kirk session was made up of he 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 1677–1688, 1707–1708, 1719, 1733–1882 Note: Available at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh, record CH2/534.

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.

Lauder First Anti-burgher Secession Church
History— This congregation originated in 1747 with members of the congregation of Stow who adhered to the General Associate, Anti-burgher Synod. They met for a time with a congregation in Earlston, but in 1751 they obtained supply of sermon from the Presbytery as a separate congregation with its seat in Oxton, in the parish of Channelkirk, four miles west of Lauder. By 1758 most of the congregation was from Lauder so they built a place of worship there. After the death of its minister in1824, this congregation united the following year with the second Secession congregation in Lauder. They used one church building for worship and the other for a school. Source: Annals and Statistics of the United Presbyterian Church, by Rev. William MacKelvie, D.D., pub. 1873. Film #477618. More details are given in the source.

Records— Extent of records is unknown. See below.

Lauder Second Burgher Secession Church
History— In 1793, 14 male residents of the Lauder area received supply of sermon from the Associate, Burgher Presbytery of Selkirk. They built a church in 1795 and a second in 1841. After the resignation of its minister in 1824, this congregation united with the first congregation, and a new minister was ordained. In 1847, the congregation became United Presbyterian. Membership: 1833, over 500, or a quarter of the population of the parish. Source: Annals and Statistics of the United Presbyterian Church, by Rev. William MacKelvie, D.D., pub. 1873. Film #477618. More details are given in the source.

Records—                                                                FHL Film Number  Session Minutes                1796–1811        1485176 item 1 List of Members                 1796–1806         1485176 item 1 Congregational and Managers’                     1485176 item 2–5 Minutes 1803–1855

Lauder Relief Church - extinct
History— This congregation originated with a small minority of the united Secession congregation who obtained supply of sermon from the Relief Presbytery of Kelso in June 1835 and built a place of worship the same year. They lost their minister in 1845 and rejoined the Secession congregation in June 1847. The church was sold in 1851. Source: Annals and Statistics of the United Presbyterian Church, by Rev. William MacKelvie, D.D., pub. 1873. Film #477618. More details are given in the source.

Records— Extent of records is unknown.

Lauder Free Church
History— At the Disruption, a Free Church congregation formed here under the Presbytery of Kelso and Lauder. The congregation included the parish of Channelkirk and the village of Blainslie, with occasional services held at Stow. The group built a church in 1843. Membership: 1848, 240; 1900, 126. Source: Annals of the Free Church of Scotland, 1843–1900, ed. Rev. William Ewing, D.D., 2 vols. pub. 1914. Film #918572. More details are given in the source.

Records—                                   FHL Film Number  Baptisms    1844–1856    0304671 item 15 Minutes      1844–1878    1485176 item 6

Lauder Evangelical Union Church
History— An Independent congregation was formed in Lauder in 1845 in association with the Evangelical Union. It was apparently short-lived.

Records— Extent of records is unknown.

= 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 =

Lauder was under the probate jurisdiction of the Commissary Court of Lauder until 1823, and since then has been under the Sheriff's Court of Duns. 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 catalog for the 'Place' of Berwick and the subject of 'Probate records.' Then click on the link to the records of the Commissariat of Lauder. The library also has some post-1823 probate records for Berwick. Look in the library catalog

for the 'Place' of Berwick and the subjects of 'Probate Records' and 'Probate Records - Indexes.

Read more about Scotland Probate Records.

Return to the Berwickshire Parish List.