Berwickshire

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Berwickshire Directories

Directories can be very useful for finding out about the history of a town or village, or finding references to forebears in the past. Like many parts of Scotland, Berwickshire was covered by national directories such as Pigots, Slaters etc. Full details of these can be found in publications such as:

• British Directories: A Bibliography and Guide to Directories published in England and Wales (1850-1950) and Scotland (1773-1950) by Gareth Shaw and Allison Tipper, published by Leicester University Press, 1988. ISBN 0-7185-1292-8

To help Berwickshire researchers, here are details of some of the more local directories covering the Berwickshire area:

• Pigot's 1825-6 directory for the whole of Scotland (including Berwickshire), reproduced on CD-ROM by Archive CD Books

• Pigot's 1837 directory for Berwickshire, reproduced on microfiche by Nick Vine Hall, available from Gould Genealogy in Australia. In the UK the company Stepping Stones has released an 1837 directory CD including Berwickshire, Banffshire (extreme north of Scotland), Peeblesshire, Roxburghshire and Selkirkshire, although I do not know if this is the same Pigot's directory as available on microfiche.

• The Southern Counties Register and Directory for Roxburgh, Berwick & Selkirk Published by J & J.H. Rutherfurd in Kelso, 1866. In addition to providing considerable detail about each parish, many residents and tradesmen are listed, as well as societies, burgh officers etc. The book was republished in a facsimile edition in 1990 by the Borders Regional Library, Selkirk, Scotland. A microfilm version of the 1990 reprint is listed in the LDS Family History Library catalogue (listed in the catalogue under Scotland - Berwick/Roxburgh/Selkirk - Almanacs/Directories, so it is hopefully available worldwide in LDS family history centres. A microfiche facsimile edition (covering ROX and SEL) has been published by Nick Vine Hall of Australia, and is available from Gould Genealogy in Australia. The counties are separated out in this edition.

• Roxburghshire, Selkirkshire, Peeblesshire and Berwickshire Business Directory, published in 1893 by C. Lamburn at Edinburgh.

• The Border Counties ... Business Directory, published in 1897 by C. Lamburn at Glasgow.

• Edinburgh and South of Scotland Trades Directory published in 1900 by Trades' Directories Ltd. at Edinburgh. This covers Edinburgh and the counties of Berwickshire, East Lothian, West Lothian, Peeblesshire, Roxburghshire and Selkirkshire.

• Murray's Edinburgh & South East of Scotland Trades Directory published in 1935 and 1936 by the Mercantile and Commercial Directory Ltd., Glasgow. This includes Berwickshire, Midlothian, Peeblesshire, Roxburghshire, Selkirkshire, East Lothian and West Lothian.

Copies of some of these will be available in local libraries in the Scottish Borders, including the Scottish Borders Archive and Local History Centre in Hawick. Copies will also be available in the National Library of Scotland in Edinburgh and other large libraries around Scotland and Britain.

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