Wigtownshire, Scotland Genealogy

Scotland Wigtonshire



History
Wigtonshire (or Wigtownshire) is a maritime county in the southwest of Scotland, bounded on the north by Ayrshire, on the east by the stewartry or county of Kirkcudbright and by Wigton Bay, and on the south and west by the Irish Sea. It is about 32 miles in length and 29 miles in extreme breadth, comprising an area of nearly 480 square miles or 305,000 acres.

The county, which forms the western portion of the ancient district of Galloway, appears to have derived its name from the situation of its chief town on an eminence whose base was washed by the sea. After the departure of the Romans, the province became part of the territories of the Northumbrian kings until the ninth century, when it fell into the power of the Picts who continued to exercise a kind of sovereign authority, even after the union of the two kingdoms by Kenneth II. But the original Celtic inhabitants retained their ancient customs and heroic character which caused them to be known as the "wild Scots of Galloway."

The county consists of 17 parishes. There are three royal burghs of Wigtown (the county town), Stranraer, and Whithorn; the burghs-of-barony of Newton-Stewart, Garliestown, Glenluce and Portpatrick, and several small ports and thriving villages.

The surface, though generally level, is diversified with numerous hills. The coast is deeply indented with bays. The rivers abound with salmon. The ancient woods have almost entirely disappeared, but of late years the deficiency has been supplied by plantations. The soil is generally rich and considerable portions of the land are fine pasture. The richest land is near the coasts. The chief crops are oats, barley, turnips, and potatoes.

Considerable attention is paid to the rearing of cattle, sheep, horses, and swine, which are sent to southern markets. There is little coal and other rock and ore are not wrought. From the scarcity of fuel, the manufactures are very inconsiderable. The principal public works are distilleries. Flax-spinning for domestic use, weaving by hand-looms, and embroidering of muslin are carried on. The chief trade consists in the fisheries off the coast, and the export of grain and other produce and of live-stock and wool.

The population in 1851 was 39,195.

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

Parishes
Here is a list of historic parishes for the county of Wigtown with their parish numbers. Click on the parish name to see information about records.

Census Records
A census is a count and description of the population, taken by the government, arranged by locality and by household. In 1841, the British government began taking censuses of the population of Scotland every ten years, listing all persons by name. The census records must be 100 years old before they are released to the public, so the 1841 through 1901 are currently available. Read more about Scotland Census Records.

Most available census records have been indexed by surname. Indexes are online at these Web sites:


 * http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk (includes images; accessed for a nominal fee)
 * http://www.freecen.org.uk (very incomplete for Perthshire, but growing; free)

Here is a list of the known county-wide census indexes for Wigtonshire which are available at the Family History Library (FHL) in Salt Lake City.

For census records for individual parishes, see the parish pages by clicking on the links above.

Civil Registration Records
Government or civil registration of births, marriages, and deaths (also called statutory records) began on January 1, 1855 in Scotland. Annual indexes are available for the whole country. See the article on Scotland Civil Registration for more information and to access the records.

Court Records
The county of Wigton was in the Sheriff's court of Wigtown (SC19). The Registers of Deeds for Sheriffs' courts contain much valuable information for family history research such as marriage contracts and deeds of 'disposal and settlement' (or assignment) of property, which both give names and relationships. The records are deposited at the National Archives of Scotland in Edinburgh and are not indexed.

Probate Records
Probate records are those which deal with the settlement of the estate of a deceased person. In Scotland, until 1868, a person could only pass movable property such as household furniture, farm equipment, livestock, money and clothes through a document known as a 'testament.' Immovable property such as land was passed to the eldest son or heir through a document known as a 'Service of Heir,' which is not a record of probate. Read more about Scotland Probate Records.

Until 1823, the parishes of Wigtownshire were under the probate jurisdiction of the Commissary Court of Wigtown (CC22). Since 1823, the county has been under the jurisdiction of the Sheriff's Court of Wigtown (SC19).

Probate records for 1513-1901 (including inventories of goods) 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 Family History Library. To find the microfilm numbers, search in the library catalog for the 'Place' of Wigtown and the subject of 'Probate records.' Then click on the link to the 'Testaments registers.'

Map


Click here to see an outline map of the parishes of Wigtonshire.

[Return to county list.]