Edrom, Berwickshire, Scotland Genealogy

Parish #738

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

History
EDROM, a parish, in the county of Berwick, 3 miles (N. E. by E.) from Dunse; containing the village of Allanton. This place, of which the name, anciently Aderham, is said to have been derived from the situation of its village near the river Whiteadder. The present church, erected in 1732, and subsequently repaired, is a spacious and neat edifice, adapted for a congregation of 450 persons: from several inscriptions, with ancient dates, it would appear that portions of the old church have been incorporated with the building.

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 edina. 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 census records.

Click to see the FamilySearch Catalog entry for the 1841-1891 census records of Edrom, as well as the catalog entry for the 1841,1851, and 1861 census  for Edrom. Other surname indexes will be found on the Berwickshire Parishes page.

The 1901-1911 census of Scotland is indexed on scotlandspeople To use it, you must register and pay a small access fee. All available censuses, 1841-1911, 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.

Condition of Original Registers—
Index: For an index to these records, see Scotland’s People website, a pay-for-view website. The Scottish Church Records Index is also still available at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. Some records may also be indexed in other FamilySearch collections for Scotland. Births: The record is not complete. The pages are blank August 1728–April 1733, except for two entries November 1758–January 1763. Irregular entries are frequent, 1783–1800. Marriages: It appears that no record was kept prior to December 1783. No entries are available for 1799 or 1804. There is only one entry November 1806–November 1810. Deaths: The records are burials. There are only twelve entries for 1788–1799, between April 1787 and June 1817. Note: Earlier records were lost, supposedly burned. Source: Key to the Parochial Registers of Scotland, by V. Ben Bloxham, pub. 1970. British Book.

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 1771–1942 Accounts 1773–1846 Annuity Accounts 1816–1862 Cash Book 1846–1918 Hearse and Mortcloth Money 1847–1852 Certificates (testimonials) of Character 1796–1854 Lists of Young Communicants 1824–1854 Note: Available at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh, record CH2/1133.

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

Allanton Free Church
History— The congregation began when the minister of Abbey St. Bathan left the Established Church in 1843 and supply of sermon was provided for Allanton and Chirnside. They built their church in 1844 at a distance from the village. The first members came from Edrom, Chirnside, Whitsome, and Hutton. Later, the congregations in Chirnside and Hutton parishes had their own parishes. Membership: 1848, 310; 1900, 194. Source: Annals of the Free Church of Scotland, 1843–1900, ed. Rev. William Ewing, D.D., 2 vols. pub. 1914. Film #. More details are given in the source. Records— Minutes 1844–1947 Note: Available at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh, record CH3/1138.

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
Edrom 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 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-names' 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-names' of Berwick and the subjects of 'Probate Records' and 'Probate Records - Indexes.'

Read more about Scotland Probate Records.