Lanarkshire, Scotland Genealogy Genealogy

Scotland



Introduction
Lanarkshire is an extensive inland county in the south of Scotland, bounded on the north by the counties of Dumbarton and Stirling, on the east by the counties of Linlithgow, Edinburgh and Peebles, on the south by Dumfries-shire, and on the west by the counties of Renfrew, Ayr and Dumfries. It is about 52 miles in length and 33 miles in extreme breadth, comprising an area of 926 square miles or 592,640 acres.

The county, also called Clydesdale (or Strathclyde), from the valley of the river Clyde, was--after the departure of the Romans--part of an extensive independent kingdom which consisted of nearly all of Scotland south of the river Forth. The inhabitants were ancient British tribes who lost their independence after their metropolis of Dumbarton was taken by the combined forces of the Picts and Saxons in the eighth century. After the subjugation of the Picts by Kenneth II in about the year 971, the whole area came under the authority of the Scottish kings.

During the twelfth century, numerous Flemish families settle in the Strathclyde. In the reign of James I (1603-1625), a portion of Strathclyde was separated from the rest of the county of Lanark and formed into the county of Renfrew.

Lanarkshire consists of 50 parishes and, for civil purposes, is divided into the Upper, Middle and Lower wards, each under a sub-sheriff based at Lanark, Hamilton, and Glasgow. The county includes the royal burghs of Glasgow, Rutherglen, and Lanark, and eight towns and numerous villages.

The surface is greatly varied. In the Upper ward, which is the largest division, is it principally mountainous. In the Middle ward the land is of a lower level but undulated, leaving little level ground except in the valleys of the river Clyde.

Crops of all kinds are abundant. Cattle and sheep are raised. There are freestone, limestone, and whinstone, and coal is extensively wrought, as well as ironstone and limestone. Mines of lead are found in the south. The principal manufactures are cotton (the most extensive), linen, woollen, lace, and iron. There are large cotton mills at Glasgow, Blantyre and New Lanark. Lace is manufactured at Hamilton. There are many ancient remnants and ruins. The population of the county in 1851 was 426,972.

(Source: Samuel Lewis' Topographical Dictionary of Scotland, 2nd ed., 1851.  Family History Library book )

Parishes
Here is a list of historic parishes for the county of Lanark 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 parishes of Lanarkshire.

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