Newlands, Peeblesshire, Scotland Genealogy

Newlands (#767)

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

History
NEWLANDS, a parish, in the county of Peebles, 4 miles (S. by E.) from Linton. This parish, which is unconnected with any historical event of importance, is about eleven miles in length and two miles in average breadth. The late church, an ancient edifice containing details of the Norman and of the early and later English styles of architecture, having become dilapidated, a new church was erected, which was opened for divine service in December, 1838; it is a handsome structure in the later English style. There is a place of worship at Mountains-Cross for members of the Relief.

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 Newlands. Also available at the

Census Records
A census 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 here for a list of the FS Library microfilm numbers for the

Below is information for any known surname indexes:

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 indexes through the library.

Church Records
The Established Church of Scotland was Presbyterian. Read more about Scotland Church Records.

Here are the pre-1855 records that exist for this parish.

Condition of Original Registers
Indexed: 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: Only two entries exist November 1753–February 1755. Mothers' names are not recorded until about 1809. Marriages: The record prior to 1705 is mainly proclamations intermixed with other matters. There are no entries for March 1708–January 1709, November 1753–June1790, and December 1790–1838. 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 session was made up of the 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:

Records—                                   FS Library Film Number  Minutes      1650–1694   1068238 item 1 Accounts   1709–1759    1068238 item 1 Other: Heritors' Minutes 1790–1832, 1836–1927 Accounts 1850–1893 Papers Concerning Kirk Session and Heritors 1754–1844 Source: A Brief Chronicle of Old And New Churches Of Newlands and Its Ministers, by Bertie Patterson. Note: Available at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh, record CH2/543.

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 Lists.

Newlands United Presbyterian Church
History— When an unpopular minister was settled in 1791, some parish members left the Established Church and obtained supply of sermon from the Relief Presbytery of Edinburgh and built a church in 1793. 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— Transcript Minutes 1822–1853 Session Minutes 1850–1910 Collections Transcript 1819–1824 Note: Available at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh, record CH3/373.

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

Read more about Scotland Probate Records.

Return to the Peeblesshire parish list.