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Berwickshire |
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"A parish in Berwickshire, about 4 miles long and 3 1/2 broad, containing about 1900 acres. The surface is in general level, declining towards the S. The soil is remarkably good, except towards the N., where it is poor moor ground, on a cold tilly bottom. There is plenty of whin and freestone, fit for building, and clay and shell marl are found in considerable quantity. Population in 1801, 395." from Gazetteer of Scotland published 1806, Edinburgh.
View a Map of the Area.
The Borders Family History Society has published a booklet of monumental inscriptions for Gordon, Nenthorn and Westruther.
Pre-1855 inscriptions for the parish are contained in the Scottish Genealogy Society's volume of Berwickshire Monumental Inscriptions (Pre-1855).
Graham and Emma Maxwell have transcribed and indexed the 1841 and 1851 census returns for this parish.
Rutherfurd's Southern Counties Register and Directory of 1866 lists the following non-conformist churches:
There may have been other non-conformist churches at different times.
According to Rev. William Ewing's Annals of the Free Church of Scotland (published 1914 in Edinburgh):
"The congregation formed here [Nenthorn] in 1843 embraced adherents also from the parishes of Stitchel, Smailholm, and Ednam. A site for a church in Smailholm was refused. The congregation at Nenthorn was therefore largely drawn from that parish."
Rev. Ewing writes that by 1848 the membership of this congregation was 170; by 1900 it was 115.
The parish church (Church of Scotland) has registers dating from 1715. Old Parish Registers (before 1855) are held in the General Register Office for Scotland in Edinburgh, and copies on microfilm may be consulted in local libraries and in LDS Family History Centres around the world. Later parish registers (after 1855) are often held in the National Archives of Scotland as are any records of non-conformist churches in the area (often unfilmed and unindexed, and only available there).
Registration of Births, Marriages and Deaths began in Scotland on 1st January 1855. For further details of this see the General Register Office for Scotland website.
A short article on Nenthorn's geography and history was printed in the June 1992 edition of the Borders Family History Society magazine, written by Audrey Mitchell.
The National Archives of Scotland holds the following as part of its collection of maps and plans:
Here are some figures showing the parish's population through time:
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