Morningside parish records
The records of the Kirk Session contain a variety of documents which detail many aspects of the daily lives of all types of people throughout Scotland from the 16th century onwards. We are pleased to be able to offer a search service in some of the records available for this parish. We will search for a given name in any of the record sets in the table below, and provide you with transcripts of any matching entries for just £1 per name per year.
| Reference | Title | Dates | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|
| CH2/486/1 | Kirk session minutes (1838-1842, 1864-1891) and Proposal to build Church (1837) and List of Subscribers (1837) and Constitution (1838) Minutes 1839-1842 Minutes 1865-1891 (including proposals for building church at Morningside, list of subscribers, 1837, constitution, extracted from minutes of presbytery of Edinburgh, 1838, Confession of Faith, formula for elders, 1839-1888, report and statement for 1868-69). | 1837-1891 | Request lookup |
| CH2/486/3 | Communion Roll and Role of Male Heads of Families (Including Roll of heads of families 1839-1841) | 1839-1841 | Request lookup |
| CH2/486/4 | Communion Roll (1871-1877) and Abstract of Numbers of Communicants (1867-1878) | 1867-1878 | Request lookup |
| CH2/486/6 | Communion Roll (Scroll) | 1877-1889 | Request lookup |
| CH2/486/7 | Communion Roll (Scroll) | 1889-1895 | Request lookup |
| CH2/486/8 | Communion Roll (Scroll) | 1896-1900 | Request lookup |
| CH2/486/22 | Congregational fund accounts Lists of subcribers and donors | 1892-1907 | Request lookup |
| CH2/486/23 | Congregational fund accounts Includes extensive lists of subscribers and donors | 1891-1931 | Request lookup |
| CH2/486/38 | Baptismal register | 1888-1933 | Request lookup |
| CH2/486/39 | Proclamation register | 1875-1901 | Request lookup |
| CH2/486/45 | Communion roll | 1900-1907 | Request lookup |
Rolls of Male Heads of Families
In 1834, the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland passed the Veto Act, removing the absolute right of landowners to appoint ministers to their parish. The Act gave male heads of families who were communicants with the parish the right to veto the appointment of a new minister if a majority of them objected. To this end, the Assembly instructed kirk sessions to draw up rolls of the male heads of families in each parish. We have transcribed the surviving rolls, and are publishing them here. They are significant as they pre-date the earliest nominal census, which took place in 1841.
In 1834, the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland passed the Veto Act, removing the absolute right of landowners to appoint ministers to their parish. The Act gave male heads of families who were communicants with the parish the right to veto the appointment of a new minister if a majority of them objected. To this end, the Assembly instructed kirk sessions to draw up rolls of the male heads of families in each parish. We have transcribed the surviving rolls, and are publishing them here. They are significant as they pre-date the earliest nominal census, which took place in 1841.
| Forename | Surname | Occupation | Address | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| William | Anderson | labourer | Tipperlin | From United Ass Synod Nicolson St |
| Archibald | Allan | labourer | Blackford | from St Cuthberts |
| James | Bertram | farmer | East Merchiston | from Lady Yesters; Removed, returned to Lady Yesters Church |
| James | Bertram | coachman | Falcon Hall | |
| Archibald | Bisset | cowfeeder | Morningside | from St Cuthberts |
| Archibald | Bisset | joiner | Home Street | from St Cuthberts |
| Thomas | Baxter | farm servant | Whitehouse | |
| John | Briggs | gardener | Millbank | from U A S Dean Street |
| George | Baillie | gardener | Grange Loan | |
| Charles | Chalmers | Merchiston Castle | from Buccleugh | |
| Dick | Campbell | shoemaker | Morningside | |
| J A | Dalzell | Whitehouse | ||
| Willm | Denholm | smith | Morningside | from Leith Wynd |
| James | Denholm | smith | Morningside | from Leith Wynd |
| John | Deuchar | Morningside | ||
| James | Dick | farm servant | Greenbank | |
| John | Dempster | hostler | 14 Wrights Houses | from Biggar |
| Adam | Fowler | baker | Morningside | from St Georges |
| James | Fergie | gardener | Canaan Lodge | |
| Gilbert | Fowler | gardener | 13 Bruntsfield Links | |
| Walter | Graham | Merchiston Lodge | from St Cuthberts | |
| James | Gilbert | tailor | Jordan Lane | from Relief St James' Place |
| James | Gourlay | gardener | Bruntsfield House | |
| Archibald | Hunter | labourer | Morningside | from St Cuthberts |
| Alexander | Harrower | farm servant | Myreside | |
| Charles | Hunter | wright | 5 Steeles Place | |
| William | Hunter | builder | Goshen | |
| William | Jackson | labourer | Tipperlin | |
| John | Johnston | gardener | Braids Burn | |
| Laurence | Jackson | labourer | Boroughmuirhead | |
| Alexr Jardine | Lizars | MD | Kirkbank | from High Church; removed to Aberdeen Sept 1841 |
| Alexander | Lawrie | hind | Greenbank | from Colinton |
| John | Liddel | gardener | Canaan House | from UAS Dean Street |
| John | Mathewson | gardener | Plewlands | from St Cuthberts; elder of Morningside parish |
| Archibald | Mathewson | gardener | Plewlands | from St Cuthberts |
| William | Munoch | late manufacturer and elder | Tipperlin | from St Cuthberts; died February 1841 |
| John | Millar | of Stewartfield | 9 Bruntsfield Place | from Jedburgh; removed |
| Benjamin | Mitchell | gardener | St Roque | from St Cuthberts |
| William | Monilaws | gardener | Canaan Cottage | Removed |
| David | Manners | gardener | Canaan Lane | |
| John | Mccraw | merchant | Westerhall Cottage | from High Church; elder of Morningside parish |
| Alexr | Mcdonald | late sergeant | Morningside | from St Johns Episcopal; died 29th April 1841 |
| James | Mcglashan | Grange Loan | ||
| David | Mcgill | labourer | Boroughmuirhead | |
| Donald | Mcintyre | Jordan Bank House | from Stockbridge | |
| Lauchlan | Mckinnon | Boroughmuirhead | ||
| Peter | Ogg | gardener | Greenhill | |
| John | Porteous | labourer | Tipperlin | from Colinton |
| Andrew | Porteous | cowfeeder | Boroughmuirhead | from St Cuthberts |
| Willm | Porteous | farmer | Morningside Bank | from St Cuthberts |
| Alexander | Porteous | farm servant | Morningside Bank | from St Cuthberts |
| David | Phillips | gardener | Grange Loan | from St Cuthberts |
| John | Porteous | grieve | Craighouse | |
| Thomas | Robb | butler | Jordan Lane | |
| Alexander | Russel | Grangebank | ||
| James | Reid | labourer | Blackford | from St Cuthberts |
| James | Ritchie | hind | Greenbank | from Colinton; removed to England |
| Edward | Reid | labourer | Grange Loan | |
| James | Robertson | 1 Montpelier Viewforth | from St Georges; elder of Morningside parish; died 31st Aug 1840 | |
| Murdoch | Robertson | Montpelier Cottage | from St Georges | |
| William | Robertson | joiner | Morningside | from U A S Vennel; removed, returned to UAS Vennel |
| Tod | Morningside Place | |||
| Alexander | Thomson | WS | Canaan House | from St Andws Church |
| John | Tweedie | agent | Goshen Bank | |
| David | Wilson | gardener | Canaan Park | |
| James | Wilkie | labourer | Tipperlin | |
| Alexander | White | coachman | Canaan House | from Jedburgh; removed |
| Thomas | Wood | gardener | Falcon Hall | from St Cuthberts |
| James | Watson | grocer | Morningside |
