Morham, East Lothian, Scotland Genealogy

Parish #712

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

History
MORHAM, a parish, in the county of Haddington, 3½ miles (S. E. by E.) from Haddington. This place appears to have derived its name from its situation at the head of an extensive tract of land which was formerly an uncultivated moor. The date of the foundation of the ancient church is unknown; it was taken down, and the present edifice erected in 1724, a neat and substantial structure affording sufficient accommodation for all the parishioners, and capable of being much enlarged at an inconsiderable expense.

 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 is a count and description of the population, taken by the government, arranged by locality and by household. Read more about census records.

is a list of the FS Library microfilm numbers for the census records of Morham, as well as the library numbers for any available.

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.

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 FamilySearch Library in Salt Lake City. Some records may also be indexed in other FamilySearch collections for Scotland. Births &amp; Marriages: Births and marriages are intermixed with other matters until 1805, and intermixed with each other after 1805. Mothers’ names are not recorded in births until 1722. Deaths: Mortcloth Dues are intermixed with births and marriages. Names of deceased persons not specified in the entries of Mortcloth Dues 1742–1783, and not unfrequently omitted after 1842. Source: Key to the Parochial Registers of Scotland, by V. Ben Bloxham, pub. 1970. British Book 941 K23b. Note: The New Statistical Account of Scotland for Morham 1837 states that there were at one time earlier records, but that they are “irrecoverably lost.”

Established Church—Kirk Session Records
The Kirk session was the court of the parish. The 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 1832–1957 Poors’ Fund Accounts 1805–1849 Heritor’s Minutes and Accounts 1810–1861 Note: Available at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh, record CH2/1382.

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.

There are none

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
Morham was under the probate jurisdiction of the Commissary Court of Edinburgh until 1823, and since then has been under the Sheriff's Court of Haddington. 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 FamilySearch Library. To find the microfilm numbers, search in the library catalogfor the 'Place-names' of East Lothian and the subject of 'Probate records.' Then click on the link to the records of the Commissariat of Edinburgh. The library also has some post-1823 probate records for East Lothian. Look in the library catalog for the 'Place-names' of East Lothian and the subjects of 'Probate Records' and 'Probate Records - Indexes.'

Read more about Scotland Probate Records