Dumfriesshire, Scotland Genealogy Genealogy

Background
Dumfries-shire is in the south of Scotland, bounded on the north by the counties of Lanark, Peebles, and Selkirk, on the east by Roxburghshire and part of the English county of Cumberland, on the south by the Solway Firth, and on the west by the county of Ayr and the stewartry of Kirkcudbright. It is about fifty miles in length and thirty miles in breadth, compirising 1016 square miles or 650,240 acres. The county includes forty-two parishes, the royal burghs of Dumfries (the county town), Annan, Lochmaben, and Sanquhar, and six towns which are all burghs of barony.

The county has had a colorful history. After the departure of the Romans it was occupied by the Northumbrian Saxons and subsequently by numerous emigrants from Ireland who had sttled first on the peninsula of Cantyre. During the reign of David I, many of the Norman barons obtained possessions here. Previous to the reign of James VI, the county was often the scene of predatory incursions of the English.

The surface of the county near the sea-coast is level, rising towards the middle portion into ridges of hills of moderate elevation, intersected with fertile vales, and becoming mountainous in the north. The whole is separated into three principal districts, each deriving its name from the river which flows through it: Eskdale forms the eastern, Annandale the middle, and Nithsdale the western part of the county. The Solway Firth is inconsiderable in depth, and at the ebbing of the tide, long sandy reaches are left. The flows and ebbs of the tide, particularly in spring, make it dangerous for persons crossing to Cumberland by foot who are overtaken by the waters.

Cattle, sheep, and pigs are raised, the latter in vast quantities, and meat is shipped to England markets. Lead is very abundant and is mined, and contains a considerable proportion of silver. Gold is also found in quartz. Antimony is mined; also coal. Sandstone is extensively quarried as is limestone, and there are also veins of slate and marble. There is not much manufacturing.

The population in 1851 was 72,830.

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

Parishes
Here is a list of the historic parishes for the county of Dumfries. Click on a parish name to see information about records:

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 Dumfries for 1851 and 1881.

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

Click here to see an outline map of the parishes of Dumfries-shire.

[Return to county list.]