East Lothian (or Haddingtonshire), Scotland Genealogy

Background
East Lothian, or Haddingtonshire, is a maritime county in the south-east of Scotland, bounded on the north and east by the Firth of Forth, on the south by the county of Berwick, and on the west by Edinburghshire. It is about twenty-five miles in length and sixteen in extreme breadth, comprising an area of 224 square miles or 144,510 acres.

The county is the eastern part of Lothian, an extensive district including also the shires of Linlithgow on the west and Edinburgh in the middle. It was erected into a separate county during the reign of James VII (1603-1625). It consists of twenty-four parishes and contains the three royal burghs of Haddington (the county town), Dunbar, and North Berwick, as well as several populous villages and numerous smaller villages.

The county was once part of the Saxon kingdom of Northumbria until the year 1020 when it was ceded to Malcolm II and annexed to Scotland. In 1296 it was the scene of the battle of Dunbar and again in 1650 it suffered from the English under Cromwell. In 1745 it was the scene of the battle of Prestonpans between the forces of the Pretender and the English.

The surface of the county is varied. Towards the shores of the Firth of Forth it is nearly level but rises by gentle undulations towards the south, and into ridges of moderate elevation which extend from east to west, and along the southern boundary form part of the Lammermoor hills. On the west is the fruitful valley of the river Tyne. About two-thirds of the land is arable and the remainder is in meadow and pasture with some extensive woodlands and plantations. Several crops are grown with wheat as the staple. The county has long been distinguished for the excellence of its produce. Cattle and sheep are also raised. Coal, limestone, ironstone clay, and sandstone are all wrought and quarried. The manufactures carried on are unimportant compared to the agriculture. There is a herring-fishery with accommodation at the harbour of Dunbar.

The population in 1851 was 35,886.

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

Parishes
Here is a list of historic parishes for the county of East Lothian or Haddingtonshire with their parish numbers. Click on the parish name for 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 East Lothian for 1851 and 1881.

Maps


Click on the map to see a larger version, then click again on the larger map. Click 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 East Lothian.

[Return to county list.]