cc-by-sa/2.0 – © Walter Baxter – geograph.org.uk/p/806767
I define Eskdale as the Dumfriesshire parishes of Langholm, Westerkirk, Eskdalemuir and Ewes. Much of the land has been owned by the Dukes of Buccleuch since the 17th century. It was the home of family names such as Beattie, Little and Glendinning. Inevitably, there were Armstrongs, Elliots and Scotts present too.
Resources provided here include transcriptions of Buccleuch Estate rental documents covering the year 1714 and also 1814-15 , a list of those eligible for local militia service (men aged 18-45) during the Napoleonic Wars in 1802 and a transcription of the 1692 hearth tax returns.
There are full indexes for the kirk session records in both Westerkirk, Eskdalemuir and Ewes parishes. These detail all the irregular marriages, ante-nuptial fornication and illegitimate births which are recorded in many hundreds of pages within the kirk session records. Using this index information, you can quickly view the original handwritten records of the kirk session free of charge on the Scotlandspeople website.
These resources are designed to complement the information that can be got from the conventional genealogical resources that you might use such as Old Parish Registers, Censuses and Monumental Inscriptions. Hopefully, they may help you in your family history search. Some documents are free of charge and there is a small Paypal charge for others. This helps to support my goal of making further indexed kirk session documentation available soon.
Find here a list of farms/locations on the Buccleuch Estates as recorded in the rentals of 1814/15.
Also check out our Canonbie Resources or Liddesdale resources
Downloads
____________________________________________________________________
Eskdale Militia List 1802 men in the parishes of Eskdalemuir, Ewes, Langholm and Westerkirk age 18-45 eligible for militia service in 1802. Includes addresses and occupations of over 500 individuals.
______________________________________________________________________________
Eskdale Farm Rental 1714 transcribed from Buccleuch Estate Records. Includes about 100 rentals in the parishes of Wauchope, Stablegordon, Eskdalemuir & Ewes. This includes farms which were later part of Langholm and Westerkirk parishes.
______________________________________________________________________________
Eskdale Farm Rental 1814-1815 transcribed from Buccleuch Estate Records. Includes about 100 rentals in the parishes of Eskdalemuir, Ewes, Langholm and Westerkirk
______________________________________________________________________________
Kirk Session Indexes for Eskdalemuir parish 1703-1823 Birth and marriage events as recorded in the Kirk Session records for Eskdalemuir parish. Fully indexed which allows quick and easy access via Scotlandspeople. Names, dates and places included. Includes about 200 ‘events’ including Illegitimate Births, Irregular Marriages and Antenuptial Fornication.
__________________________________________________________________________________
Kirk Session Indexes for Ewes parish 1694-1817 Birth and marriage events as recorded in the Kirk Session records for Ewes parish. Fully indexed which allows quick and easy access via Scotlandspeople. Names, dates and places included. Includes about 180 ‘events’ including Illegitimate births, Irregular marriages and antenuptial fornications.
_________________________________________________________________________________
Kirk Session Indexes for Westerkirk parish 1693-1799 Birth and marriage events as recorded in the Kirk Session records for Westerkirk parish. Fully indexed which allows quick and easy access via Scotlandspeople. Names, dates and places included. Includes about 135 Illegitimate births, 50 Irregular marriages and 40 antenuptial fornications.
________________________________________________________________________________
Eskdale & Canonbie Hearth Tax 1690-1692 list of hearths as recorded in 1690. The lists are somewhat incomplete especially for Canonbie parish but still a useful resource.
_______________________________________________________________________________