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Midlothian
Midlothian, more commonly referred to in the 19th Century as
Edinburghshire, houses most of the Scottish government offices and the
national agencies. Edinburgh is also now the home of the devolved Scottish
Parliament. The County lay to the south of the Firth of Forth and included
the small towns of Dalkeith, Musselburgh and Penicuik. Leith was the main
port of Edinburgh.
Apart from fishing and agriculture, the main industries were coal mining,
papermaking and, in Edinburgh, publishing and brewing. Edinburgh is now a
separate unitary authority.
Clan and Family Heartlands
You can get a feel for the lives your ancestors lived by visiting the area
they came from. These are areas where, for centuries, families lived
together in a tightly-knit community. In the Highlands they are linked to
clan heartlands, whereas, in the rest of Scotland the names are often those
of the local landed families. Although it is unlikely that family
historians can link their ancestry to clan chiefs or family dynasties, it
can still be a moving experience to tour the clan and family heartlands.
Here is a selection of the most common names in this area.
Anslie
Balfour
Borthwick
Heriot
Parishes
The Parish Church can unlock many secrets for ancestral researchers. Not
only was it the place where children were baptised, proclamations of
marriage announced and the dead buried, it was also the centre of most
social activity within the Parish. There is, however, no such thing as a
definitive list of parishes. Over the decades they have merged, divided,
been renamed and had changes made to their spelling. The following list is
based largely on the situation at the time of publication of the New
Statistical Account (1834-1845).
Borthwick,
Calder Mid (Mid-Calder),
Currie,
Dalkeith,
Lasswade,
Leith (Leith North)(Leith South),
City of Edinburgh,
Kirknewton,
Inveresk,
Ratho,
Penecuik,
Glencorse
* subsequently divided into seperate parishes, ( ) denotes alternative
name or spelling
Detailed information on life and work within each of these parishes can be
found in the Old (1791-99) and the New (1834-45) Statistical Account of
Scotland. These are freely accessible on http://edina.ed.ac.uk/statacc. Part of their charm
is the individual views of the minister, which can include some
fascinating accounts of a parish's history, topography, employment,
landowners, communications, agriculture and even the morality of the
parishioners
Local Studies Libraries
Almost every municipal authority in Scotland has a collection of local
history publications, maps and archives. Although most of these libraries
are prepared to undertake a limited amount of searching on your behalf, it
is far more fulfilling to visit them yourself. You could lose yourself for
hours, pouring over old newspapers and photographs.
The following is a list of the libraries in your chosen area:
Edinburgh is the home of the National Library of Scotland
www.nms.ac.uk. This entry is however restricted to
libraries holding publications and records relating to Edinburgh and the
surrounding county of Midlothian.
Edinburgh Room
Edinburgh Central Library
George IV Bridge
Edinburgh
EH1 1EG
Tel: +44 131 242 8030
Fax: +44 131 242 8035
E-mail:
edinburgh.room@edinburgh.gov.uk
www.edinburgh.gov.uk/Libraries
Open: Mon 09:00 - 17:00 & 18:00 - 20:00, Tue-Thu 09:00 - 17:00 &
Fri 09:00 - 15:45.
Midlothian Local Studies Centre
Library
Headquarters
2 Clerk Street
Loanhead
EH20 9DR
Tel: +44 131 271 3976
Fax: +44 131 440 4635
E-mail:
local.studies@midlothian.gov.uk
www.midlothian.gov.uk/Article.aspx?TopicId=54&ArticleId=16877
Open: Mon 0900-1700, 1800-2000; Tue-Thu 0900-1700; Fri 0900-1545
An extensive collection of local history material covering all aspects of
the County except Edinburgh. Newspapers include the Dalkeith Advertiser
(1869-), South Midlothian Advertiser (1932-52; 1960-73) and the Midlothian
Journal (1884-1932). Other material includes Post Office directories, press
cuttings, photographs and engravings.
Local Archives Centres
Almost every municipal authority in Scotland has a collection of local
history publications, maps and archives. Although most of these libraries
are prepared to undertake a limited amount of searching on your behalf, it
is far more fulfilling to visit them yourself. You could lose yourself for
hours, pouring over old newspapers and photographs.
The following is a list of the archive offices in your chosen area:
Midlothian Council Archives
Library headquarters
2 Clerk Street
Loanhead
Midlothian
EH20 9DR
Tel: +44 131 271 3976
Fax: +44 131 440 4635
E-mail:
local.studies@midlothian.gov.uk
www.midlothian.gov.uk/Topic.aspx?TopicId=54
Open: Mon 09:00 - 17:00 & 18:00 - 20:00, Tue-Thu 09:00 - 17:00 &
Fri 09:00 - 15:45.
Records include Valuation Rolls, Poll Tax (1694) listings and local
authority records of the County, except Edinburgh.
Museums and Heritage Centres
Scotland is a country with a remarkable history. So it should come as no
surprise that Scotland is home to a remarkable collection of museums and
heritage centres. These range from the major, internationally renowned
collections in Edinburgh's Royal Museum of Scotland to hundreds of small
centres that specialise in the history of local communities. The
following museums are all in your chosen area. A visit to any one of
them may well shed new light on the lives led by your ancestors.
Museum of Edinburgh
142 Canongate
Royal Mile
Edinburgh
Tel: +44 131 529 4143
www.cac.org.uk
Open: Daily Mon-Sat, 10:00 - 17:00, August, Mon-Sat, 10:00 - 17:00 &
Sun 14:00 - 17:00.
Scottish Mining Museum
Lady Victoria Colliery
Newtongrange
Midlothian
EH22 4QN
Tel: +44 131 663 7519
E-mail:
enquiries@scottishminingmuseum.org
www.scottishminingmuseum.com
Open: February-October, daily 1000-1700; November-January, daily 1100-1600
The Lady Victoria Colliery, which was built over the period 1890-94, was
considered to be the jewel of the Lothian coalfield. After the closure of
the colliery a museum and visitor centre were formed within the buildings.
The museum houses the archives and artifacts from all over the Scottish
coalfields. The visitor centre has 2 permanent major exhibitions - "The
Story of Coal" and "A Race Apart" - the largest winding engine in Scotland,
a pithead tour, operations centre and 2 audio visual theatres showing
safety films, training films and life in the mining villages.
The Peoples Story
Canongate Tolbooth
163 Canongate
Edinburgh
EH8 8DE
Tel: +44 131 529 4057
Fax: +44 131 557 3346
www.cac.org.uk
Open: October-May, Mon-Sat 1000-1700; June-Sept, daily 1000-1800
The museum uses oral history and written sources to tell the story of the
ordinary people of Edinburgh. Topics covered include a prison cell,
cooper's workshop, fishwives domestic service, wash-house, pub and
tea-room.
Family History Society
Scottish Family History Societies vary greatly in scope. Some have their
own premises and libraries, whereas others are much more modest. A common
feature of virtually all societies is a register of members' family
interests and a regular newsletter. Membership fees are extremely modest.
Family historians should join the relevant FHS and make contact with the
Secretary in advance of a visit.
Lothians Family History Society
c/o Lasswade High School Centre
Eskdale Drive
Bonnyrigg
Midlothian
EH19 2LA
Fax: +44 131 663 6634
E-mail:
lothiansfhs@hotmail.com
www.lothiansfhs.org.uk
Open: Mon-Fri (during term time) 08:30 - 12:00 & 13:00 - 16:00, Tue-Wed
(during term time) 18:15 - 21:00.
Burial Information
It may seem a little odd, but a visit to the burial ground of an ancestor can make you feel more closely connected to them. However, tracking down the specific plot, or lair as they were referred to in Scotland, depends on the period of time when the deaths occurred.
Up to the mid-19th century it was the normal practice for people to be interred in the Parish Kirk burial ground - although this was only rarely marked with anything as grand as a headstone. The Scottish Association of Family History Societies (SAFHS) is currently co-ordinating a major project to develop a National Burial Index, relating to pre-1855 records. This will eventually be available on CD ROM. Although this will help to confirm that burials took place in parish burial grounds, it will not, unfortunately, indicate the location of the lair.
If your ancestor was wealthy enough, their grave may have been marked by an inscribed headstone. Over the years, family history societies and other volunteer groups have painstakingly transcribed and indexed such inscriptions - and these are nearly always held in the relevant local history libraries or family history research centres.
By the mid-19th Century, many parish burial grounds had become seriously overcrowded, especially those in urban areas, and this led to the creation of both private and municipal cemeteries. If you know the place and date of death, you should be able to discover the location of a lair, although not all cemeteries and records have survived.
The concept of cremation started to gain popularity in the late 1940s and has increased ever since. Ashes may be taken away by the family, scattered in the garden of remembrance or buried either in the crematorium or in a family plot.
Commercial Services
Midlothian Council
62A Polton Street
Bonnyrigg
EH19 3YD
Tel: +44 131 561 5280
Fax: +44 131 654 2797
Personal searches of cemeteries undertaken at no charge.
Bereavement Services Division
Environment & Consumer Services
Mortonhall Crematorium
Howdenhall Road
Edinburgh
EH16 6TX
Tel: +44 131 664 4314
Fax: +44 131 664 2031
Details of place of burial are provided free of charge if precise details of the death are known. Enquirers may alternatively search through the records themselves - by appointment only. Postal enquiries can be made to the Bereavement Services Division for which a fee of £36.43 per hour is payable.
There are also some private cemeteries which maintain their own records.
City of Edinburgh
Bereavement Services Division
Environmental and Consumer Services
Mortonhall Crematorium
Howdenhall Road
Edinburgh
EH16 6TX
Tel: +44 131 664 4314
Fax: +44 131 664 2031
Details of place of burial are provided free of charge if precise details of the death are known. Enquirers may alternatively search through the records themselves - by appointment only. Postal enquiries can be made to the Bereavement Services Division for which a fee of £36.43 per hour is payable.
There are also some private cemeteries which maintain their own records.
