20 Most Common Surnames - New Feature on Parish Pages

I've always been fascinated by the diversity of surnames and their geographical distribution, and my mind takes a leap when I speak to somebody with a surname new to me. This week's new names were DRAGE, ABLITT and QUICKFALL.

When I was a child holidaying in West Mersea, Essex, the dominance of particular surnames was really obvious; MUSSETT by a long way the most common, other common names being PAYNE, COX, CLARKE.

There is a new feature on our parish pages that shows the 20 most common surnames in the burial places that we've recorded and published. For example, on the Galashiels parish page, the 20 most common surnames on gravestones recorded by us in the Galashiels - Eastlands and St Peter's monumental inscriptions volume are (number of gravestones in brackets): SCOTT (132), BROWN (109), THOMSON (71), WILSON (69), MURRAY (67), DAVIDSON (57), ANDERSON (54), SMITH (53), HENDERSON (53), ROBERTSON (48), SANDERSON (47), TURNBULL (41), BELL (41), DOUGLAS (39), STEWART (38), DICKSON (37), WOOD (37), HALL (35), McLAREN (35), WELSH (35),

and the 20 most common surnames on gravestones recorded by us in the Galashiels - Old Ladhope monumental inscriptions volume are (number of gravestones in brackets): BROWN (29), SANDERSON (21), SCOTT (20), ROBERTS (14), PATERSON (13), HALL (13), MURRAY (12), THOMSON (10), WALKER (9), WILSON (9), DICKSON (9), MARK (8), CAIRNS (8), SIME (8), LAIDLAW (8), CLARK (7), HEWAT (7), HOGARTH (7), MAXWELL (7), ANDERSON (7).

Some of our monumental inscriptions volumes include burial grounds in more than one parish, for example, Channelkirk and Legerwood . As the composite index for the volume is included in the Gravestones Index, the parish pages for these parishes show the 20 most common surnames in the composite index.

We've created this list for each of our publications and we'll add more lists as we revise or issue new monumental inscriptions books and CDs. See our parish pages for the parishes that interest you.

However, it’s not a totally accurate guide to the popularity of surnames in a parish. Obviously, the surnames of people for whom there is no gravestone aren’t included, and the burials in each cemetery are over a long period of time, so some surnames might have been more common in the 1820s than they were in the 1920s.

Innerleithen Wins Competition for Fastest Broadband

Earlier this year, Innerleithen was one of six winners in a BT competition to find communities where there was highest demand for super-fast broadband. All the other winners are in England.

According to the BBC "BT has announced that Innerleithen is to become the first place in the country to benefit from fibre to premises superfast broadband".

More about the BBC News item 'Innerleithen to get fastest broadband speed in Scotland'.

That's good for our chairman, David Rudram, because he lives in Innerleithen but it's good for the town as well, because business will be attracted by the availability of super-fast broadband.

It's also good for another of our trustees, Gwen Stein, who provides family history research at The Wells, Innerleithen from March till October and maintains a photographic archive of people and events after World War II for Innerleithen, Traquair, and Walkerburn and can help with your research in those localities.

Innerleithen was in the news last July, too, when we announced the completion of our Innerleithen Monumental Inscriptions (gravestone inscriptions) volume.

Minto Monumental Inscriptions

Minto Monumental Inscriptions is the 24th volume of Roxburghshire Monumental Inscriptions to be published by us.

The parish of Minto lies to the north of the River Teviot and to the east of Hawick, surrounded by the parishes of Lilliesleaf to the north, Ancrum to the east, Cavers to the south and Wilton to the west. Part of the old parish of Hassendean was transferred to Minto in the 17th century.

Monumental (gravestone) inscriptions are listed for the 249 of the 257 gravestones at the Parish Church, together with those in the old churchyard which were recorded by the Hawick Archaeological Society.

There are 257 gravestones listed in the volume with colour photographs of all.
Names of householders listed in the Hearth Tax of 1694 are included, together with the Militia Lists of 1813 and 1831, which show an interesting mix of occupations within the parish, reflecting the demands of a rural community and an estate.
There are lists of ministers of Hassendean and Minto, and photographs of Minto War Memorial together with the inscriptions.
Surnames, place names and occupations have been indexed and there are plans of both churchyards showing the location of the stones.

The surnames included are:
Ainslie, Aitchison, Aitken, Aitkin, Anderson, Armstrong, Bain, Ballantine, Barbour, Baring, Bayne, Beattie, Bell, Berry, Biggar, Black, Blackie, Blaikie, Blair, Blake, Blythe, Boa, Borthwick, Brack, Briggs, Brokie, Brown, Brunton, Brydon, Buchan, Budgen, Buglass, Bunyan, Burn, Burnet, Burton, Cairns, Campbell, Caskie, Clark, Cockburn, Cook, Cowe, Craig, Cranston, Crawford, Crichton, Dalgleish, Davidson, Davies, Dawson, Deans, Derham, Dickinson, Dickson, Dilnot, Dobson, Dods, Doherty, Donald, Donaldson, Douglas, Drawhill, Dryden, Duguid, Earle, Easton, Eliot, Elliot, Ewart, Fairbairn, Fergusson, Forsyth, Frame, Gage, Galbraith, Galloway, Gardner, Garnet, Gault, Gibson, Glen, Gotterson, Graham, Gray, Greive, Grey, Grieve, Hall, Halliday, Hanbury, Harvey, Heatlie, Helm, Henderson, Hendry, Herkes, Hill, Hislop, Hobbs, Hogg, Hope, Houd, Hughes, Hume, Hymers, Inglis, Irvine, Jackson, Jardine, Jeffrey, Jewell, Kennedy, Ker, Kerr, Kirkland, Korkis, Lambert, Lambie, Landell, Lang, Lariston, Larner, Lascalles, Lawrie, Lawson, Lillico, Livingstone, Logan, Lowrie, Luke, Macdonald, Mack, Mackie, Mackintosh, Mader, Magson, Matthe, Mauchlen, Maxwell, Mcculloch, Mckenzie, Mckerrow, Mclean, Mcvittie, Melrose, Merchant, Middlemiss, Miller, Minto, Montagu-Douglas-Scott, Montgomery, Murray, Naismith, Newington, Nichol, Norman, Notman, Oliver, Olszowka, Pages, Paterson, Patterson, Peden, Plenderleith, Pollock, Purdie, Ramage, Rennie, Renwick, Rich, Ritchie, Ritson, Robertson, Robson, Romanes, Ross, Routledge, Rutherford, Sanderson, Scott, Selby, Shakespeare, Shanks, Sharp, Shiel, Simson, Skeugh, Smail, Smaill, Smith, Somerville, Spiers, Spindie, Sprott, Steel, Steele, Stenhouse, Stewart, Stirling, Stopford, Strachan, Tait, Taylor, Telfer, Temple, Thomson, Troops, Trotter, Turnbul, Turnbull, Tweedie, Waddell, Wale, Wallis, Ward, Watson, Whitaker, White, Whitelaw, Williamson, Wilson, Witherington, Wood, Wyllie, Young.

Search for surnames in which you're interested in our Gravestones Index Search.

The CD is priced at £7 (plus postage). To buy a copy, please contact Mary Thomson on the Contacts page using the contact type 'Order for Publications'.

Our thanks to all Society members, and friends who assisted in the recording and transcribing.

October 2011 Issue of Borders Family History Society Magazine

The latest issue of our 44 page magazine was despatched to members on 21st October.
I understand that due to the labour dispute at Canada Post, there is a backlog of mail, so Canadian members may experience additional delays before receiving their October 2011 magazine.

This issue contains articles about

• the successful tracing of the family of a relative of an American lady's late husband, a John Robert Grant who had been born in Galashiels in 1885, and transferring personal papers and photographs to the family
• the Stewarts of Kelso
• a family bible reunited with the family of the original owner, who wrote in it in 1812
• the cholera epidemic of 1849
• rules of intestate succession
• the first part of the talk 'Granny’s Bawbees' about Scottish coinage that I gave on 29th May (including 4 colour illustrations of Scottish and British coins)
• reviews of 4 books
• this summer's work on transcribing gravestones

The cover shows part of the old ruined church and graveyard at Stow.

Recording at Edrom

Recording at Edrom

The weather forecast for our day of recording had not been good and indeed as the day dawned it seems to have been raining heavily in other parts of the Borders not all that far away. This no doubt accounted for several members deciding against coming along.

Nevertheless over the day no fewer than fourteen members and friends did appear and by and large the weather held although there was some disruption for the odd shower and our picnic had to be taken indoors.

Notwithstanding the enforced weather disruptions good progress was made and perhaps 60%/70% of the stones were recorded. By popular request a further recording day will be arranged probably about the end of July but an exact date will be advised shortly.

Edrom is a very old graveyard, the original Church dating back to something like 1105, and a number of the stones proved very challenging but we did have our successes.

One very early stone had previously been recorded by Cargill and his transcription contained text which could only have been below soil level. Scraping away literally trying to unearth this we discovered the stone had been laid against and had preserved an even earlier one which read “here lyes Janet Younger 1697”. Not too much information but satisfying to discover – there are several stones going back to the late 17th century.

Another stone had initially been effectively written off as totally illegible indeed “no visible inscription”. Some persistence however unearthed text which was initially was quite baffling until it dawned that it was upside down. This had obviously been a slab stone which had lain horizontally but had at some point had been raised, probably to gain space, although unfortunately from our point of view the wrong way up. Considerable perseverance and contortion did finally result in the deciphering of a much of the text although try as could not a surname which being at the head of the stone is probably now underground. – we shall be continuing in our efforts.

Earlier while photographing some of the more modern stones I was befriended by a very conceited black and white cat who insisted on appearing in every shot. The above is only one of several in which he features.

Ronald Morrison

Roxburghshire Monumental Inscriptions - No 20: Kelso Rosebank Cemetery

Contains a militia list, as well as the monumental inscriptions/gravestone inscriptions from the 2454 gravestones in the cemetery. There is an index to the surnames. Covers stones installed between 1870 and 2002.
Available as a CD or an A4 format book, each has the same content. 2454 gravestones. Book 202 pp including index and illustrations. ISBN 1 874232 07 0.
CD price £10.00 plus postage. Weight 70g.
Book price £21.00 plus postage. Weight 620g.

See our Publications Sales List to buy.

Roxburghshire Monumental Inscriptions - No 19: Cavers & Kirkton (including Denholm)

Contains a hearth tax list, a list of kirk ministers, as well as the monumental inscriptions/gravestone inscriptions from the 820 gravestones in Cavers Old churchyard and new cemetery, Kirkton churchyard and Denholm cemetery. Includes War Memorials.
There is an index to the surnames.
138 pp including index and illustrations. ISBN 1 874232 06 2. 820 gravestones. Price £8.50 plus postage. Weight 205g.

See our Publications Sales List to buy. 

Roxburghshire Monumental Inscriptions - No 21: Melrose Abbey

This volume was researched and published by us.
It's available as a CD or an A4 format book, each has the same content.
It contains a hearth tax list and a militia list, as well as the monumental inscriptions/gravestone inscriptions from the 564 gravestones in the churchyard, and a plan of the Abbey burial ground. Includes photographs of gravestones. There is an index to the surnames.
We regard monumental Inscriptions, gravestone inscriptions, tombstone inscriptions to be identical terms.
See Monumental Inscriptions for this and other volumes produced by the Society.
Search the Gravestones Index for names in which you're interested.

Surnames in the index: Aitchison, Aitkin, Akenhead, Alexander, Allan, Amas, Amos, Anderson, Angus, Armstrong, Bainbridge, Ballantyne, Barham, Barrie, Bartleman, Bathgate, Bell, Belly, Bennetts, Biggar, Bilton, Black, Blaikie, Blakie, Blythe, Borthwick, Boston, Bourdon, Bouston, Boustone, Bower, Boyd, Brack, Brewster, Broadwood, Brodie, Broomfield, Brown, Bruce, Brunton, Brydon, Brydone, Buchanan, Bunyan, Bunyie, Burn, Burnet, Burton, Butler, Cairncross, Campbell, Carmichael, Carr, Charters, Chisholm, Church, Clapperton, Clark, Cochran, Cochrane, Collier, Common, Cook, Cornel, Craik, Cranston, Cranstoun, Crawford, Crosbie, Cully, Cumming, Cunningham, Curle, Dalgleish, Dalgliesh, Darling, Davidson, Dawney, Dick, Dickenson, Dickinson, Dickison, Dickson, Dirom, Dodds, Dods, Donaldson, Douglas, Drummond, Drysdale, Duncan, Dunlop, Easton, Eddington, Edgar, Elder, Elliot, Ellis, Ewart, Fair, Fairbairn, Fairbarn, Fairgrieve, Falla, Farbairn, Ferguson, Fetherstonhaugh, Fiddes, Fisher, Fleming, Forbes, Ford, Forest, Forsyth, Forsythe, Fowler, Fraser, Freer, Frier, Galloway, Gardener, Gardiner, Gibson, Gill, Gillies, Gladstone, Glen, Glendinning, Goddard, Goodfellow, Graham, Grant, Gray, Greig, Grieve, Guthrie, Haig, Hall, Halliburton, Hamilton, Hardie, Harken, Harper, Hart, Hatton, Hay, Heath, Heiton, Henderson, Hepburn, Heriot, Hervie, Hill, Hogg, Hoke, Holland, Home, Hope, Hopkirk, Hoppringle, Howden, Hudson, Hunter, Huntly, Hutchison, Inglis, Innes, Ireland, Isaac, Jackson, Jamieson, Jenkins, Johnston, Karr, Keddie, Keith, Kells, Ker, Kerr, Ketchin, Kirkwood, Knox, Laidlaw, Laidlow, Lamb, Landreth, Lauder, Laurie, Law, Lawrie, Lawson, Lawton, Layell, Leadous, Learmonth, Lee, Lees, Legge, Leith, Lillico, Lillie, Lindsay, Linton, Little, Lockhart, Lockie, Lookup, Lukup, Lumgair, Lumisdon, Lundie, Lyal, Lyall, Mabon, Mack, Macpherson, Mahoney, Main, Mann, Manuel, Marr, Martin, Mather, Matheson, Mathieson, Mathison, Matthewson, Maxwell, Mcaulay, Mcewan, Mckenzie, Mclean, Mcnair, Mcneil, Mebon, Mein, Melville, Mercer, Merton, Middlemas, Mien, Miles, Mill, Millar, Miller, Millne, Mills, Milne, Mitchelhill, Mitchell, Mofet, Moffat, Monteath, Moodie, More, Morow, Morris, Morton, Moss, Muir, Mulvie, Munro, Murray, Myles, Nelson, Nepean, Newton, Nichol, Nicholson, Nicol, Nimmo, Noble, Oliver, Ommanney, Ormiston, Park, Paterson, Pawson, Pigot, Pitman, Pott, Preston, Price, Pringle, Purdie, Purves, Rae, Ramsay, Rankine, Redpath, Reid, Renolson, Richards, Richardson, Riddell, Riddle, Rintoul, Robertson, Robson, Rogers, Romanes, Ronaldson, Rule, Russell, Rutherford, Ruttledge, Sandilands, Scerven, Scoon, Scott, Sharp, Shelley, Shiel, Shields, Shillinglaw, Shultz, Sibald, Sibbald, Simson, Sinclair, Skinner, Skirving, Smail, Smith, Somervile, Spence, Spiers, Steel, Stenhouse, Stephenson, Stevenson, Stewart, Stoddart, Sutherland, Swanston, Tain, Tait, Taket, Taylor, Thin, Thinn, Thompson, Thomson, Thorburn, Tinlin, Tocher, Tod, Trotter, Tudhope, Turnbull, Turner, Usher, Vair, Vogan, Waldie, Walker, Wallace, Walsh, Watson, Wauchope, Waugh, Wayness, Weatherston, Weatherstone, Weir, Welsh, Whiteford, Whitehead, Whitworth, Wight, Wilkinson, Wilkison, Williamson, Willson, Wilson, Winter, Wintrup, Wood, Wybergh, Yellowlees, Young, Zair.
Book 73 pages including index and illustrations. Photos contained in CD attached to back cover. Card Covers. A4 size.
ISBN 978-1-874232-11-7.
CD price £10.00 plus postage. Weight 70g.
Book price £12.00 plus postage. Weight 285g.
See our Publications Sales List to buy.

Changes to the Site

The Website Committee has been discussing changes to this website, the Borders Family History Society website. The changes will be introduced gradually over the next 6 to 8 weeks, as time permits; we are all busy people.

Eventually, the What's New page will disappear; the details of publications changed into blogs, and the Changes section removed, as we think that it's more informative to announce major changes in our blog.

We're also going to be adding more informative descriptions about our monumental inscriptions (gravestone inscriptions) and poor law records volumes.

Lastly, if there are any changes you would like to see, please let us know.
If you use the 'Comments about the website' contact type on our Contacts page, your comment will get right to me.

Recording Gravestone Inscriptions at Edrom Churchyard - Saturday 18th June 2011

We have another day planned for recording gravestone inscriptions/monumental inscriptions; in Edrom churchyard, Edrom, Berwickshire on Saturday 18th June from 10am to 4pm.

Even if you have not been involved in transcribing stones before, do consider joining us, as training can be given.

You’ll need a notebook and a pencil and also it can be helpful if you have a soft brush, chalk, water spray and a kneeling mat.

Most people coming for the whole day bring along a picnic, and a bottle of water; deciphering faded and weathered inscriptions can be thirsty work.

If you would like to take part, even for a few hours on either day, please contact our organiser, Ronald Morrison via our Contacts page using the contact type Gravestone Recording.

Gravestones Inscriptions Recording at Manor, Edrom, and Lilliesleaf

Morag and Ian Carter Recording Stones at Jedburgh Abbey

Like last year, we will be holding open weekends to record gravestone inscriptions/monumental inscriptions in cemeteries and churchyards.

The events planned for this year are:

Saturday 21st May and Sunday 22nd May at Manor Kirkyard, Kirkton Manor, Peeblesshire, EH45 9JH;

Saturday 18th and Sunday 19th June at Edrom, Berwickshire, TD11 3PX; and

Saturday 27th and Sunday 28th August at Lilliesleaf, Roxburghshire, TD6 9JD.



In each case, we will probably work from 10am to 4pm on the Saturday, and 1pm to 4pm on the Sunday.

Even if you have not been involved in transcribing stones before, do consider joining us, as training can be given. Everybody who took part last year thoroughly enjoyed themselves. You’ll need a notebook and a pencil and also it can be helpful if you have a soft brush, chalk, water spray and a kneeling mat. Most people coming for the whole day bring along a picnic, and a bottle of water; deciphering faded and weathered inscriptions can be thirsty work.

If you want to come but don’t have transport, we may be able to arrange a lift.
If you would like to take part in any of the events on one or both days, even for a few hours on either day, please contact our organiser, Ronald Morrison either on 01361 882166, or via our Contacts page, using the contact type Gravestone Recording. This will allow us to coordinate the work, confirm to you more precisely what is involved and advise in the event of any change in the arrangements.

New Monumental Inscriptions for Galashiels Eastlands and St Peter’s Episcopal Church

  Only 2 years in the making, from planning to publication, we are pleased to have completed the Monumental Inscriptions for Galashiels Eastlands and St Peter’s Episcopal Church.  With almost 3,300 gravestones in Eastlands, the recording has been virtually the solo effort of a very dedicated volunteer, and long-standing member of the Society, Cyril Corcoran. The checking and photography of all gravestones, carried out by Society members and friends, has been both challenging and interesting.

Opened in 1863, Eastlands is typical of so many cemeteries of the late 19th and the 20th centuries, where the Victorian fashions dominate.  Many large mural monuments and plaques are found around the perimeter walls, memorials to the manufacturers and merchants of the town.  Large stone and granite obelisks are found throughout.  The white marble and limestone memorials, many with intricate carving, were favoured in the 1920s and 1930s and into the 1950s and although blackened over the years, remain in excellent condition to this day.  Lead lettering used on many 20th century stones is disappearing, leading to difficulties in reading the inscriptions.  Some stones, which have fallen from their original position, have been reset directly into the ground and the lower part of the inscription is buried and unreadable.  The trees and bushes planted throughout the cemetery are cut back regularly but the regrowth doesn’t take long to hide the stones again.

There are many stones that have been placed by fellow workers, friends and neighbours of the deceased. Some remind us of the dangers of working in industrial environments as in the case of one young man "killed accidentally at Dalmeny Oil Works".  The mills, the foundation of the town, are recorded on many of the memorials, not only for the mill owners and managers.  Small memorials have been placed by workers from several of the mills in memory of their colleagues. One, which appears to be the only memorial on the grave, simply says "From the neighbours".  Many of the graves remain unmarked. 

Memorials in the burial ground that lies to the south of St Peter’s Episcopal Church have also been recorded.  This small, peaceful area, with less than 30 stones is a haven for wildlife.  St Peter’s has an unusual memorial window, which includes an infantryman, a kiltie, an air force subaltern and a chaplain to the Forces in memory of the members of the congregation who fell in the 1914-1918 war and of their own Rector.

Transcriptions of the Galashiels War Memorial, together with War Memorials in Galashiels Academy, St Peter’s Church and the Old Parish and St Paul’s Church, have all been included in our publication.

There are over 1,360 different surnames included in the inscriptions on the gravestones for the Galashiels Eastlands and St Peter’s Episcopal Church Monumental Inscriptions CD, and they are: Ackroyd, Adam, Adams, Adamson, Addie, Addison, Affleck, Aikman, Aimers, Ainslie, Aird, Aiston, Aitchison, Aitken, Alison, Allan, Allison, Allister, Alstone, Amos, Anderson, Andison, Andrew, Andries, Angus, Archer, Archibald, Armitage, Armstrong, Arnot, Arnott, Arrol, Arthur, Ashton, Assman, Atkinson, Auchincloss, Babington, Baillie, Bain, Baird, Bairstow, Bak, Baker, Balfour, Ballantyne, Balmer, Banks, Baptie, Barbour, Barker, Barr, Barrett, Barrie, Barron, Barrow, Bartlett, Batchan, Bateman, Bathgate, Baxter, Beaton, Beattie, Beck, Bedford, Begg, Bell, Bennet, Bennett, Benzie, Benzies, Berg, Berry, Bertram, Beveridge, Biggar, Birbeck, Bird, Birnie, Bishop, Bisset, Black, Blackie, Blacklaw, Blackley, Blacklock, Blackstock, Blackwood, Blaikie, Blain, Blair, Blake, Blakie, Blanch, Blyth, Bohmke, Boland, Bold, Bolton, Bookless, Booth, Borthwick, Boswell, Boudrea, Bowers, Bowes, Bowie, Bowman, Boyce, Boyd, Boyle, Bradley, Bradly, Brady, Braid, Bramhall, Brand, Brander, Brannan, Bremner, Briggs, Broad, Brockie, Brodie, Brogan, Brotherston, Brotherstone, Brotherton, Brough, Brown, Brownlee, Bruce, Brunton, Bryce, Bryden, Brydon, Bryson, Buchan, Buchanan, Buckham, Bulloch, Bullock, Bunyan, Burgess, Burian, Burn, Burnett, Burns, Burnside, Burrell, Burton, Bushfield, Butler, Byers, Cairney, Cairns, Calder, Caldwell, Cameron, Campbell, Candlin, Cannon, Cardno, Carlyle, Carney, Carr, Carradice, Carrie, Carruthers, Carss, Carter, Carver, Cass, Cassie, Cavine, Cessford, Chalmers, Chamberlain, Chambers, Chapman, Charters, Chesney, Chirnside, Chisholm, Christie, Christopherson, Chrobak, Chruszcz, Church, Civis, Clancy, Clapperton, Clark, Clarke, Cleeson, Cleghorn, Clelland, Clerk, Clinton, Close, Clubb, Clyde, Clynick, Cochrane, Cockburn, Codd, Coldwell, Cole, Collier, Collins, Collyer, Colquhoun, Coltart, Colthard, Coltman, Combat, Common, Compton, Conacher, Connell, Connelly, Connochie, Connolly, Connor, Conroy, Cook, Cooper, Corcoran, Cornish, Cornwall, Corry, Cossar, Coulthard, Coutts, Cowan, Cowburgh, Cowe, Cowie, Cox, Crabb, Craig, Craighead, Craigie, Craise, Cramb, Cramond, Cran, Cranston, Crawford, Creamer, Crerar, Cribbes, Crichton, Croan, Crombie, Crooks, Crosart, Crosbie, Cross, Crossan, Crossart, Crowe, Crozier, Cruickshank, Cuerden, Culbertson, Cullinan, Cumming, Cunningham, Curle, Curran, Currie, Curtis, Cuthbertson, Dalgetty, Dalgleish, Dalgliesh, Dalglish, Dallas, Dalziel, Daniel, Darling, Darnley, Darrie, Davidson, Davie, Davies, Dawidowski, Dawson, Deans, Dees, Delgaty, Dembinski, Denby, Denham, Denholm, Denoon, Dew, Dewar, Dewing, Dewison, Dewsnap, Diaz, Dick, Dickie, Dickinson, Dickson, Dilger, Dillon, Din, Dinnell, Dixon, Dobbie, Dobson, Docherty, Dodds, Doherty, Doig, Donachie, Donald, Donaldson, Donalson, Donochue, Donoghue, Doogan, Dorward, Dotherty, Douglas, Doull, Dove, Dow, Downie, Drum, Drummond, Dryden, Drysdale, Du Bois, Dudgeon, Duff, Dumble, Dun, Dunbar, Duncan, Duncanson, Dunlop, Dunn, Dunnachie, Dunnett, Dunse, Duthie, Eakron, Easson, Easton, Eckford, Eddington, Eden, Edgar, Edington, Edmunds, Effingham, Eggie, Elder, Elliot, Ellis, Elwes, Emmerson, Emond, Emslie, Entwistle, Erskine, Espie, Esson, Euman, Ewart, Faichney, Fair, Fairbairn, Fairgrieve, Fairley, Fairweather, Falconer, Faragher, Farish, Farrell, Farrer, Faulkner, Fenton, Fergus, Ferguson, Ferrier, Fiddes, Findlay, Finlay, Finlayson, Finney, Finnie, Fisher, Fitch, Flach, Flanders, Flannaghan, Fleming, Fletcher, Flucker, Flynn, Foley, Forbes, Ford, Forrest, Forson, Forsyth, Forsythe, Forte, Fortune, Foster, Fowler, Fox, Franck, Fraser, Frater, French, Friel, Frier, Frost, Fulton, Fusciardi, Fyfe, Fyffe, Gall, Galloway, Gardiner, Gardner, Garnock, Garrett, Gash, Gass, Gavin, Gear, Gebbie, Geddes, George, Gerrard, Gethin, Gibb, Gibson, Gilchrist, Gilday, Gill, Gillan, Gillespie, Gillie, Gillies, Gilmartin, Gilmour, Gilroy, Girvan, Given, Gladstone, Glen, Glendinning, Glover, Godwin, Gold, Goodbrand, Gooder, Goodfellow, Goodman, Goodsir, Goodwill, Gordon, Gorman, Gotterson, Gourlay, Graham, Grahamslaw, Grainger, Grant, Gray, Green, Greenwood, Gregory, Greiner, Grey, Grieson, Grieve, Grosart, Grossart, Gueldner, Gulland, Gunn, Gunter, Guntert, Gurr, Guthrie, Haberstein, Haddow, Haig, Haigh, Hainsworth, Hair, Haldane, Hall, Halliday, Halliwell, Hamilton, Hancock, Hannah, Hannan, Hannay, Hardie, Hardy, Harkin, Harkness, Harley, Harrison, Harrower, Hart, Harte, Hartey, Hartley, Harvey, Hastie, Havery, Hawkins, Hay, Hayward, Hazard, Heaney, Heard, Heatley, Heatlie, Henderson, Hendry, Henry, Henson, Hepburn, Herbert, Herbertson, Hercik, Hermiston, Heron, Heslop, Hessel, Hewat, Hewitson, Hewitt, Hey, Hilbert, Hill, Hinchcliffe, Hincklieff, Hislop, Hitchins, Hobkirk, Hodge, Hoey, Hogarth, Hogg, Hoggan, Hoggarth, Holmes, Home, Homson, Honig, Hood, Hookes, Hope, Hopkirk, Hopton, Hopwood, Horsburgh, Hossack, Housler, Howden, Howie, Howieson, Hoy, Huck, Hudson, Hughan, Hughes, Humble, Hume, Hunter, Huntley, Hurst-hodgson, Hush, Hutcheson, Hutchison, Hutton, Hymers, Hynes, Hyslop, Illingworth, Illis, Imrie, Ingles, Inglis, Innes, Ireland, Irvine, Irving, Iwasiow, Jack, Jackman, Jackson, Jaffney, Jagger, Jameson, Jamieson, Jardine, Jaworski, Jeffrey, Jenkins, Jobson, Johnston, Johnstone, Jones, Jordinson, Juler, Kay, Keaney, Keddie, Keen, Keith, Kellock, Kelly, Kemp, Kennedy, Keppie, Ker, Kerr, Ketchion, Kidd, Kigie, Kilburn, Kilcannon, Kimber, Kimberley, King, Kinghorn, Kinnaird, Kinnear, Kinross, Kirkpatrick, Kirkwood, Kitching, Kittel, Kivlichan, Klein, Knowlson, Knox, Knuth, Kozakiewicz, Krzeminski, Kuzmierkiewicz, Kyle, Lacon, Laidlaw, Laing, Lamb, Lambert, Lambton, Lamont, Lanchbury, Langford, Langsdon, Lassen, Latham, Lauder, Laurie, Law, Lawman, Lawrence, Lawrie, Lawson, Layzell, Lazzari, Leadbetter, Learmouth, Leask, Lee, Lees, Leeson, Leete, Leid, Leighton, Leishman, Leitch, Leithead, Lennox, Leslie, Lethbridge, Lewis, Liddle, Lillico, Lillie, Lind, Lindley, Lindores, Lindsay, Linton, Lister, Litster, Little, Livingston, Livingstone, Locke, Lockhart, Lockie, Lockwood, Lofthouse, Logan, Logie, Lorimer, Lorraine, Lothian, Lough, Lountain, Love, Low, Lowe, Lowes, Lowrie, Lucas, Ludlow, Lugton, Lumsden, Lunn, Lyall, Lynch, Lynn, Lyon, Lyons, Mabon, Macari, MacDonald, MacDougall, MacFarlane, MacGilvray, MacGown, MacGregor, MacIntyre, MacIvor, Mack, Mackay, Mackenzie, Mackie, Mackintosh, Mackison, MacLachlan, MacLachlin, MacLaren, Macleod, MacNab, Macnamara, Macnaughton, Macphail, Macpherson, Macrae, Madder, Magee, Maguiness, Maguire, Mahon, Main, Mair, Malley, Manderson, Manderston, Mann, Manson, Marchbank, Mark, Mars, Marshall, Marshall-roberts, Martin, Mason, Massie, Mather, Matheson, Mathew, Mathieson, Mathison, Matthew, Matthewson, Mauchline, Maule, Maxwell, May, Maywood, Mcadam, McArdle, McArthur, McAulay, McAuley, McBain, McBride, McCafferty, McCaig, McCall, McCallum, McCann, McCartney, McClory, McCord, McCormack, McCracken, McCready, McCrirrick, McCubbin, McCudden, McCuire, McCulloch, McDonald, McDonouch, McDougal, McDougall, McDowall, McElroy, McEwan, McFadyen, McFadzean, McFarlane, McGee, McGennis, McGhee, McGill, McGillivray, McGinniss, McGirr, McGlasson, McGliskie, McGlynn, McGregor, McGuire, McGurie, McInnes, McIntosh, McIntyre, McKay, McKean, McKellar, McKendrick, McKinney, McLachlan, McLagan, McLaren, McLauchlan, McLauchlin, McLaughlan, McLaughlin, McLay, McLean, McLeish, McLellan, McLelland, McLeod, McMahon, McMillan, McMorran, McMorrin, McMurdo, McNab, McNairn, McNeill, McNish, McPartlin, McPherson, McQueen, McQuillan, McRae, McRay, McRobie, McRuvie, McSeveney, McVinnie, McWalter, Meadows, Mearns, Meenan, Meikle, Meiklejohn, Meiklejon, Mein, Melchers, Meldrum, Melrose, Melville, Menzies, Mercer, Messer, Methven, Michie, Middlemas, Middlemass, Middlemiss, Middlemist, Milivoyevich, Mill, Millan, Millar, Miller, Milligan, Mills, Milne, Milroy, Milven, Mirtle, Mitchelhill, Mitchell, Moffat, Moir, Moncreiff, Montgomery, Moodie, Moody, Mooney, Moonie, Moor, Moran, More, Morgan, Morison, Morris, Morrison, Moultrie, Mowat, Mraz, Mucklie, Mudie, Muir, Muirhead, Muldoon, Mulligan, Mulvie, Mundle, Munro, Munsie, Murdie, Murdoch, Murphy, Murr, Murray, Mycock, Myles, Nairn, Naismith, Napier, Naylor, Neil, Neill, Neilson, Nelson, Nemeth, Ness, Nevin, Newbigging, Newlands, Nichol, Nicholson, Nicol, Nimmo, Nisbet, Niven, Nixon, Noble, Norrie, Notman, O’Brien, O’Donnell, O’Hara, O’Kane, O’Malley, O’Neill, O’Reilly, Oakley, O'Donoghue, Officer, Ogilive, Ogilvy, Ogle, Oldham, Oliver, Ormiston, Orr, Outerson, Ovens, Owen, Owens, Padkin, Paisley, Park, Parker, Pastor, Paterson, Paton, Patterson, Pattie, Pattison, Paull, Payne, Peacock, Pearson, Peden, Pegler, Pender, Penman, Penny, Pentelton, Pentland, Pepler, Petisme, Petrie, Philips, Phillips, Philp, Phimister, Phin, Pietrzak, Pirie, Pirrie, Pitman, Pittar, Pittillo, Playfair, Plenderleath, Plenderleith, Plummer, Pocknall, Poddubecki, Pollock, Polson, Porteous, Potts, Poulton, Poustie, Pow, Power, Prentice, Preston, Pretsell, Pringle, Prior, Pritchard, Proctor, Proud, Proudfoot, Pryde, Pudlik, Purdom, Purves, Quarry, Quinn, Rae, Raeburn, Ragg, Raley, Ralston, Ramage, Ramsay, Rankin, Rankine, Rathie, Rattray, Rayner, Reavely, Redpath, Reed, Reid, Reilly, Rendall, Renney, Rennie, Renton, Renwick, Riach, Richardson, Richter, Riddell, Riddle, Rieple, Rigg, Rintoul, Ritch, Ritchie, Roach, Roalfe, Robb, Roberts, Robertson, Robeson, Robinson, Robson, Rochford, Roddan, Roden, Rodger, Rodgers, Rodgerson, Roebuck, Rogerson, Romanes, Romanis, Ronald, Rooney, Roseburgh, Ross, Rothschild, Rowan, Roy, Royds, Runciman, Russell, Rutecka, Rutherford, Ruthven, Salton, Salvesen, Samolej, Sanderson, Sands, Scholan, Schulze, Scott, Screen, Segesdi, Selkirk, Semple, Senior, Service, Sewell, Shand, Shanks, Shannan, Sharp, Shaw, Shearer, Sheldrick, Shepherd, Sheridan, Sherriff, Shiel, Shields, Shiell, Shiels, Shillinglaw, Short, Shortreed, Sibbald, Sidell, Silver, Sim, Sime, Simpson, Sinclair, Sinton, Skea, Skene, Skillen, Skinner, Slack, Slater, Slight, Smail, Small, Smart, Smellie, Smibert, Smith, Smyth, Sneddon, Snowden, Sojka, Solan, Somerville, Sommerville, Souter, Sowman, Spalding, Sparks, Speed, Speirs, Spence, Spiers, Spouse, Sprat, Spratt, Spreng, Sprott, Squair, Stalker, Stanners, Stark, Stavert, Steel, Steele, Stein, Steinbach, Stenhouse, Stephen, Steven, Stevens, Stevenson, Stewart, Stillie, Stimson, Stirling, Stobie, Stoddart, Storie, Story, Strachan, Strang, Stratford, Stronach, Stuart, Stubbs, Sutherland, Swan, Swanson, Swanston, Swatton, Sweeney, Swinton, Syme, Symington, Tacket, Taddei, Tait, Taket, Taylor, Telfer, Telford, Temple, Templeton, Tennant, Tereszczyn, Terry, Tetulics, Teviotdale, Thom, Thomarson, Thomas, Thompson, Thomson, Thorburn, Thripland, Thwaites, Thwaits, Tilston, Tinlin, Tinline, Tocher, Tod, Todd, Tomlinson, Tomsett, Torrie, Tough, Townley, Towns, Townsend, Trilloe, Trotter, Tudhope, Tully, Turbett, Turkington, Turley, Turnbull, Turner, Tweedie, Tyson, Upton, Ure, Valentine, Vanhegan, Vannan, Vaughan, Veitch, Vuckovic, Waddell, Wade, Wagstaffe, Wait, Wakeford, Waldie, Walker, Wallace, Ward, Wares, Warrington, Warwick, Waters, Waterson, Watherston, Watson, Watt, Watters, Waugh, Wear, Weatherhead, Weatherson, Weatherston, Weatherstone, Webb, Webster, Weddell, Weir, Wells, Welsh, Wemyss, West, Weston, Whamond, Whelan, White, Whitecross, Whitefield, Whitehead, Whitelaw, Whitie, Whiting, Whitson, Whittaker, Whittle, Whitton, Whyte, Wight, Wightman, Wilk, Wilkie, Wilkinson, Williams, Williamson, Willison, Willocks, Wilson, Windram, Wingate, Winlaw, Winslow, Winter, Wintrup, Wood, Woods, Wotton, Wray, Wren, Wright, Wylie, Wyllie, Wyper, Yeaman, Yellowlees, Yorkston, Young, Younger, Youngson, Yule, Zawadecky, Zerek, Zielinski, Zumbusch, Zumwalt, Zwozdiak.

The recording of Galashiels Old Ladhope burial ground was completed in 2007 and is also available on CD, price £10 plus postage.  The older Gala Aisle burial ground has been recorded by Selkirk Genealogy, in booklet form, price £4.95 plus postage.

Galashiels Eastlands and St Peter’s Monumental Inscriptions are available on CD at £15 plus postage.

To buy these publications, please contact Mary Thomson on our Contacts page using the contact type Order for Publications.

Monumental Inscriptions Recording at Stow and Coldingham Priory

We had planned another weekend recording gravestone inscriptions in the new graveyard at Stow (near Galashiels) on 11th and 12th September. Already, though, tremendous progress has been made with this project. Gwen Stein has photographed all the stones and this being a very modern graveyard it has been possible to transcribe about 95 % of them from the photographs.

All that is now required is final checking for which we have enough people.

Accordingly, unless anyone is particularly interested in being involved and no offer of help is ever spurned, you are all excused and we hope nobody is too disappointed.

However, transcription work at Coldingham Priory is far from complete with much still to be done and we have arranged for a further session for  the following Saturday 18th September from 10am to 4pm. We have received a lot of assistance from The Friends of Coldingham Priory who are anxious to push on. We hope as many as possibly of you, refreshed from your week-end off, will be able to join us then. Anyone who would wish to join us, do please come along (even for a couple of hours).
Further details from Ronald Morrison via our Contacts page, using the contact type Gravestone Recording.

Recording Gravestone Inscriptions at Coldingham Priory

Following on from our successful weekend in June recording the monumental inscriptions in and around Jedburgh Abbey, we’ve got another training weekend on the 14th and 15th August and this will be at Coldingham Priory, Coldingham. Berwickshire jointly with the Friends of Coldingham Priory.  This will run from 10am to 4 pm on Saturday, and on Sunday from 1pm to 4 pm.  The Priory isn’t often open, so this is a chance to see inside, as well as testing your skills deciphering the inscriptions on the gravestones.

If you would like to take part at Coldingham Priory on one or both days, even for a few hours on either day, please contact our organiser, Ronald Morrison via our Contacts page, using the contact type Gravestone Recording. This will enable us to coordinate the work, confirm to you more precisely what is involved and advise in the event of any change in the arrangements.

To comment on this article, please click the 'comments' link below.  

New Monumental Inscriptions volume for Innerleithen, Peeblesshire

We’re pleased to report that we have just published another new Monumental Inscriptions volume on CD, this time for Innerleithen in Peeblesshire; the compiling of which has been a mammoth task.

The first record of a parish church in the parish of Innerleithen was during the mid 12th century when Malcolm IV gave the church to the monks of Kelso. He later granted the right of refuge to the church after the body of his young son, drowned in the River Tweed, was carried there and lay in the church overnight.

In the early 1700s, Innerleithen was a village of a few thatched cottages close to the church, all built in the narrow haugh between Pirn Craig and Lee Pen.
The discovery of the mineral water springs on Lee Pen, together with a visit from Robert Burns in 1787, made Innerleithen a popular destination. Alexander Brodie, a native of Traquair, and a blacksmith to trade, had been successful in the iron industry in Shropshire and was acquainted with the Dumfriesshire born engineer, Thomas Telford. He used his wealth to build a mill in Innerleithen in 1791. The population of the parish was under 600 at the time and provided a pool of workers for his mill, while the farmers in the district, provided the wool. It was the ample supply of clean water from the Leithen and the Tweed that allowed the growth of the textile industry and the subsequent growth in population in the village of Innerleithen and the building of the new village at the Walker Burn.

By 1881, the population in the parish had grown to over 3,600 with more than 1,000 living in the village of Walkerburn.
The building of churches, within the town, mirrored the growth in the population. The parish church at Kirklands was built in 1791. Between 1844 and 1879, St John's Free Church in Horsburgh St, the United Free Presbyterian Church in Princes Street, the Second Free Presbyterian Church in Pirn Road, the Congregational Church and the St James Roman Catholic Church in the High Street, and the new parish church were erected.

This volume on CD comprises a plan of Innerleithen in 1849, historical notes on Innerleithen parish, transcription of the Poll Tax of 1694 which lists 264 people including many couples, a list of the ministers of Innerleithen and Walkerburn churches, plans of Kirklands in Leithen Road and Traquair Road cemetery, interments in the Old Kirkyard, inscriptions on over 1200 gravestones in Kirklands and Traquair Road cemetery, photographs of all the gravestones, Innerleithen War Memorial, Walkerburn War Memorial, rolls of honour and other memorials, an obituary of Nannie Kirk, the Pipers Grave, list of Standard Bearers, as well as indexes of the surnames in the Poll Tax and the gravestone inscriptions.

There are almost 800 different surnames included in the inscriptions on the gravestones, and they are: Aaronson, Adam, Adams, Adamson, Aiken, Ainslie, Aird, Aitchison, Aithie, Aitken, Alexander, Allan, Amos, Anderson, Angus, Archibald, Armstrong, Arthur, Atkinson, Austin, Baigrie, Baillie, Bain, Ballantyne, Banks, Bannatyne, Baptie, Barber, Barbour, Barnett, Barr, Barrett, Barrie, Bastianelli, Baxter, Bean, Beattie, Beck, Becker, Bell, Bennett, Berridge, Berry, Bertram, Beveridge, Bewsey, Biggar, Binnie, Birch, Birnie, Bishop, Bisset, Bissett, Blackie, Blacklaw, Blair, Blake, Blakie, Bly, Blyth, Blythe, Booth, Borthwick, Bowie, Boyd, Bradford, Braidwood, Branston, Brett, Bridgeford, Broadfoot, Broadley, Brockie, Brodie, Brown, Brownlee, Bruce, Brunton, Bryce, Brydone, Buchan, Buchanan, Bulloch, Burnett, Burns, Bursby, Burton, Butters, Cadenhead, Cairncross, Cairns, Calder, Caldwell, Cambridge, Cameron, Campbell, Carr, Carrie, Cattanach, Chalmers, Chapman, Cherry, Cheyne, Chisholm, Chisholme, Christie, Christison, Cieszynski, Clapperton, Clark, Clarke, Cleghorn, Clifford, Clive, Cluggie, Clyde, Cochrane, Cockburn, Coia, Collier, Collins, Colquhoun, Condie, Connelly, Constable, Conway, Cook, Cooksey, Cornish, Cornwall, Corsie, Cossar, Cotter, Coulthard, Couper, Cowan, Cowe, Cowen, Cox, Coyle, Craig, Crainiey, Cranston, Crawford, Crichton, Crombie, Crosbie, Crozier, Cuerden, Cumming, Cummings, Cunningham, Currie, Dalgleish, Dalgliesh, Dalling, Darling, Davidson, Davies, Dawidziak, Dawson, Deans, Dempster, Denver, Devine, Dewar, Dewhurst, Dick, Dickison, Dickson, Dobie, Dobson, Docherty, Dodd, Doherty, Doig, Donald, Donaldson, Douglas, Dryden, Drysdale, Duffy, Dunn, Dyer, Easson, Easton, Eaton, Eckford, Eddy, Elder, Elliot, Elliott, Ellis, Erskine, Euman, Evans, Fairbairn, Fairfull, Fairgrieve, Fairley, Falconer, Farnie, Farrant, Faulds, Fayrer, Featherston, Ferguson, Finlayson, Finnie, Finugane, Fionda, Fishburn, Fisher, Fleming, Flett, Flynn, Foot, Ford, Forrest, Forrester, Forsyth, Foster, Frame, Fraser, French, Frizzel, Fullarton, Fulton, Galbraith, Gallocher, Galloway, Gardner, Garrett, Gasson, Gdula, Geddes, Gerrard, Gerry, Gibb, Gibson, Giegerich, Gilchrist, Gill, Gillespie, Gillon, Gilroy, Glass, Glendinning, Goldie, Goodfellow, Gordon, Goskirk, Goudie, Gow, Gowans, Graham, Granger, Grant, Gray, Green, Greenwood, Gregor, Greig, Grierson, Grieve, Hackett, Haig, Hailstone, Halapup, Halkett, Hall, Hamilton, Hammell, Hannah, Hannestad, Harbottle, Hardie, Hare, Harkes, Harkess, Harris, Harrold, Harrower, Hart, Harvey, Haston, Hawley, Hay, Heaney, Heath, Heatlie, Hegarty, Henderson, Hendry, Henry, Henshaw, Herbertson, Heuch, Hewitson, Highland, Hill, Hinshelwood, Hislop, Hobson, Hodge, Hogg, Hojda, Holt, Honeyman, Hook, Hooper, Hope, Horsburgh, Howie, Howieson, Howitt, Hume, Hunnam, Hunter, Husband, Hutcheson, Hutchison, Hutton, Hymers, Hyslop, Imrie, Inch, Ingles, Inglis, Ingram, Inman, Innes, Irvine, Irving, Jack, Jackson, Jamieson, Jardine, Jarvis, Jeffrey, Jenkinson, Johnston, Johnstone, Jones, Kane, Kasperczyk, Keddie, Keith, Kelly, Kennedy, Kerr, Ketchen, Ketchin, Keyden, Kidd, King, Kinnear, Kinnon, Kinross, Kippie, Kirk, Knox, Kolodziej, Kruger, Kurowski, Kurys, Kydd, Kyle, Laidlaw, Laing, Lamb, Lambert, Landers, Lauder, Laurie, Lawson, Lawton, Learmond, Learmonth, Leask, Lees, Leithead, Lennie, Leonard, Leslie, Lessel, Lewis, Liddle, Lindsay, Linton, Little, Livingston, Lloyd, Lockhart, Lockie, Logan, Lorimar, Lorimer, Lothian, Lowrie, Lumsden, Lunn, Lyle, Lynn, Maben, Macadam, Macalister, Macartney, Macdiarmid, Macdonald, Macdougall, Macfarlane, Macgregor, Mack, Mackay, Mackenzie, Mackinnon, Mackintosh, Maclellan, Macleod, Macnaught, Macnaughton, Macqueen, Maguire, Maher, Main, Mair, Makin, Malcolm, Manson, Marjoriebanks, Marr, Marshall, Martin, Mastalerz, Mathie, Mathieson, Mathison, Matthews, Maul, Maule, Mcadam, Mcbeath, Mccaig, Mccall, Mccallum, Mcclune, Mcclure, Mccormack, Mccormick, Mccowan, Mccrorie, Mccutcheon, Mcdonald, Mcdougall, Mcdowell, Mcewan, Mcfadzean, Mcgill, Mcginley, Mcginn, Mcglashan, Mcglasson, Mcgovern, Mcgowan, Mcgregor, Mcintosh, Mcintyre, Mckay, Mckean, Mckellar, Mckelvie, Mckenna, Mckie, Mckimmie, Mcknight, Mclaren, Mclauchlan, Mclean, Mclellan, Mcleman, Mclennan, Mcleod, Mcmichael, Mcmillan, Mcmorran, Mcmurchie, Mcmurdo, Mcnab, Mcnairn, Mcnaught, Mcnaughton, Mcnee, Mcnie, Mcpake, Mcphail, Mcpherson, Mcskimming, Mcteir, Mcwhirter, Meail, Meikle, Mellross, Melrose, Melville, Menzies, Mercer, Michie, Middlemas, Middlemist, Millar, Miller, Miller-thomas, Mills, Milne, Milns, Mirtle, Mitchelhill, Mitchell, Moffat, Molus, Montgomery, Moon, Moore, Morison, Moritz, Morrice, Morris, Morrise, Morrison, Mortan, Morton, Motion, Mowat, Mowatt, Muir, Muirhead, Mungai, Munro, Murray, Myers, Myles, Nairn, Naylor, Naysmith, Neil, Neilson, Nelson, Newall, Newlands, Nichol, Nicholson, Nicol, Nimmo, Nisbet, Nisbett, Noble, Norman, Norris, Norval, Notman, Oliphant, Oliver, Ormiston, Ostrowski, Overend, Owen, Page, Paisley, Pajak, Palmer, Panter, Park, Parker, Parson, Paterson, Paton, Patterson, Paxton, Payne, Pearce, Peat, Peden, Pederson, Pendrich, Pennel, Pentland, Percy, Phaup, Philip, Phillips, Philp, Pickles, Plastow, Poll, Porteous, Potts, Pow, Pownall, Preston, Pretsell, Pringle, Prosser, Proudfoot, Purslow, Purves, Purvis, Pyrzyk, Rae, Raeburn, Ralston, Ramage, Ramsay, Ramsey, Rangecroft, Rathie, Rawbon, Readman, Redpath, Reid, Rendle, Rennie, Renton, Renwick, Richardson, Rickettes, Riddell, Riddle, Ridgway, Ritchie, Roberts, Robertson, Robson, Rodger, Rosie, Ross, Rowntree, Roxburgh, Roy, Ruickbie, Russell, Rutherford, Rydak, Salton, Samuel, Sandeman, Sanderson, Sandiland, Sands, Schofield, Scot, Scott, Scougal, Scougall, Scullion, Sewart, Seymour, Shand, Shanks, Sharland, Sharpe, Shaw, Shearer, Shearme, Shiel, Shiell, Shortreed, Sibbald, Silk, Simmons, Simpson, Sinclair, Sivewright, Sked, Slide, Slingsby, Smail, Small, Smart, Smeeth, Smelt, Smibert, Smith, Sneddon, Snowdon, Somers, Somerville, Sommerville, Soroka, Spence, Stalker, Stalkers, Stark, Stavert, Stebie, Stein, Stenhouse, Stephenson, Sterricks, Steuart, Stevenson, Stewart, Stirling, Stobie, Stoddart, Storie, Storrie, Strachan, Strasser, Strathie, Stroyan, Struthers, Strutthers, Stuart, Sudden, Sutherland, Swan, Swanston, Sword, Sykes, Taggart, Tait, Tarbet, Taylor, Telfer, Tempelton, Temple, Temporal, Tennant, Thatcher, Thomas, Thompson, Thomson, Thorburn, Tod, Todd, Todrick, Toulman, Townend, Trevor, Tucker, Tulloch, Tully, Turnbull, Turner, Turyk, Twining, Umpherston, Urquhart, Vallance, Varrie, Veitch, Vernon, Virtue, Waddell, Wagstaff, Waldie, Walker, Walkingshaw, Wallace, Wallis, Ward, Waters, Watson, Watt, Waugh, Weatherston, Weir, Weir, Weston, Wheeler, White, Whiteford, Whitehead, Whiteley, Whitson, Wight, Wilkin, Wilkins, Wilkinson, Willett, Williams, Williamson, Willison, Wilson, Winks, Winter, Winton, Wintrope, Wood, Wright, Wyper, Yeatts, Yorke, Young, Yuill-walker, Yule, Ziegler.

The CD costs £12 plus 51p for 2nd class UK postage.

In Innerleithen, you can get a copy at Smail’s Printing Works, alternatively, please contact Mary Thomson on our Contacts page using the contact type Order for Publications.

To comment on this article, please click the 'comments' link below. 

Recording Gravestone Inscriptions at Jedburgh Abbey

This last weekend, 19th and 20th June, a group of volunteers from the Society were recording the gravestone inscriptions at Jedburgh Abbey, Roxburghshire.

In 1118, the Earl of Huntingdon, later king David I of Scotland, with the help of the Bishop of Glasgow founded a priory for Augustinian monks from Beauvais in northern France and elevated it in 1152 to the status of an abbey.  The abbey is a superb example of Romanesque architecture in Scotland, and is thought to have taken about 120 years to build.  The abbey and Jedburgh were frequently damaged in wars and skirmishes with the English.  In 1416, 1464, and 1523, the town and abbey were damaged and / or burnt by the English, and it was burned in 1523 and ruined again in 1544, and in 1548, French troops occupied the town.  The abbey was suppressed in 1559 and eventually purchased in 1637 by the third Earl of Lothian. A new parish church was built into the west part of the nave of the abbey from about 1671 and used until 1875 when a new parish church was erected a short distance away.


We've had groups recording gravestones before at Minto, near Denholm, Roxburghshire and at Duns, Berwickshire, and earlier this year, Stobo, Peeblesshire. We see these days as both an enjoyable day out for members and family, and as a training event for volunteers new to recording gravestones.

In spite of some "call offs", there were 13 of us working from 10am to 3.30 pm on Saturday, and 8 on Sunday from 1pm to 4.00 pm.

Including the gravestones in the abbey, there are about 400 gravestones in total. Saturday morning was unusually cold and windy for a June day, but the afternoon was much warmer. Sunday was a lovely warm sunny day, which proved slightly difficult for those trying to read faded inscriptions.

Checking inscriptions on the gravestones that Norma and I tackled on Sunday was hard work, and we managed only about 12 stones in about two and a half hours. There's still a lot of work to be done, but at least we've made a start.

The picture shows Morag and Ian Carter hard at work on one of the gravestones.

Our thanks to Historic Scotland for providing free entry for us to do the work.

To comment on this article, please click the 'comments' link below.

Learn a New Skill - Recording Gravestone Inscriptions

In May last year, a group of volunteers from the Society met to record the gravestone inscriptions at Minto church, near Denholm.

This was a training event for volunteers new to recording gravestones, and something of an experiment for the Society. There were 11 of us working on Saturday, and 8 on Sunday.  There are 214 gravestones in the churchyard, and we divided ourselves into 5 pairs to record stones. One person entered inscriptions straight into our recording database on a laptop set up next to the church.

It was an unusually hot and very sunny day, which proved slightly difficult for those trying to read faded inscriptions.  Reading inscriptions on the older stones was harder than I expected. We spent a lot of time gently rubbing the weathered lichen converting inscriptions to uncover them, and almost as much time trying to puzzle out the inscriptions. It is greatly tempting to guess what the inscription is, and a huge mistake. One stone took us nearly an hour, as we tried to decipher the text.



Here's an example of one of the inscriptions:
In loving memory of ELIZABETH NORMAN wife of THOS INGLIS who died Teviotbank Cottages 8?.7.18?? aged 68 years. Also the above THOMAS INGLIS who died at Denholm 15.7.18?? Aged 60 years.

Having entered all the inscriptions, they were printed out for us to check, most of which was done on the Sunday. We found a few mistakes, which we corrected.  Apart from several people adding to their skills, we also managed to record most of the inscriptions and check some of them, we had a picnic at lunch-time, and we all found it a fun day out. There is other work to be done, like taking photographs of the stones, compiling historical notes, and transcribing the militia list, hearth tax list, and the list of ministers, however, we hope to publish the results soon.

We are going to repeat these training and recording days at Stobo Church, Peeblesshire, this coming weekend (8th and 9th May), from 10am to 3.30 pm on Saturday, and on Sunday from 1pm to 3.30 pm.

Stobo Church is situated in the village of Stobo on the B712 off the A92 (signposted Broughton) approximately 6 miles south west of Peebles. See this map for directions.

The Church is about two miles from the recently refurbished award winning Dawyck Botanic Garden Visitor Centre with its own Tea Room – unfortunately also the site of the nearest toilet. Even if you have not been involved in transcribing stones before, do consider joining us, as training will be given. Please also bring along a notebook and a pencil and also it can be helpful if you have a soft brush, chalk, water spray and a kneeling mat.

If you would like to take part at Stobo on one or both days, even for a few hours on either day, please contact our organiser, Ronald Morrison either on 01361 882166, or via our Contacts page and send us a message, choosing the contact type Gravestone Recording. This will allow us to coordinate the work, confirm to you more precisely what is involved and advise in the event of any change in the arrangements.

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Top gift is not an iPhone, iPod Touch or XBox

Talking to one of my neighbours, I was interested to learn that her young son's Christmas wish list contained no mention of iPhone, iPod Touch, Wii, PS3 or XBox, and it's not because he's already got them, he hasn't.

She's a pious woman who frequently visits churches on her days out, and she takes her son with her. About 6 months ago he told her that he was bored and she allowed him to wander around the churchyard.

He became interested in the gravestone inscriptions and symbols, and they have become a major interest. He started off a project to do his family history with the help of his mother, other kids, and a teacher.

Clearly, it's useful for him to have started young, as there are still plenty of the older generations to tell him their stories. So this Christmas, Santa's been asked for family history software, various volumes of monumental inscriptions, and a paper record book.

He hasn't completely ignored modern technology; he's asked for a mobile phone - he says it's so he can let his mother know when he's ready to be collected from a graveyard.

His mother, thinks that Santa will deliver on most of his wishes, though perhaps she'll just lend him a mobile phone for when he's researching in remote places.

Have a great Christmas !

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Recording Gravestones at Minto (Ruberslaw Parish Church)

On the last weekend of May, a group of volunteers from the Society met to record the gravestone inscriptions at Minto church, near Denholm.

This was a training event for volunteers new to recording gravestones, and something of an experiment for us.
There were 11 of us working from 10am to 3.30 pm on Saturday, and 8 on Sunday from 1pm to 3.30 pm.

There are 214 gravestones in the churchyard, and we divided ourselves into 5 pairs to record stones. One person entered inscriptions straight into our recording database on a laptop set up next to the church.

It was an unusually hot and very sunny day, which proved slightly difficult for those trying to read faded inscriptions.

Reading inscriptions on the older stones was harder than I expected. We spent a lot of time gently rubbing the weathered lichen covering inscriptions to uncover them, and almost as much time trying to puzzle out the inscriptions. It is greatly tempting to guess what the inscription is, and a huge mistake. One stone took us nearly an hour, as we tried to decipher the text.

Having entered all the inscriptions, they were printed out for us to check, most of which was done on the Sunday. Just to be sure, we checked transcriptions on stones we hadn't recorded; and we found a few mistakes, which we corrected.

All in all, a very enjoyable couple of days, and we did some useful work which will be published soon, another volume in our hugely popular Monumental Inscriptions volumes.

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