Wigtownshire Old Parish Registers & Censuses - Reference Numbers

This table gives the reference numbers used by the National Records of Scotland, Edinburgh when referring to the pre-1855 Old Parish Registers (OPRs) and the censuses for the Wigtownshire parishes. The numbers are also used on the microfilms used in libraries and the LDS Family History Centres.

The numbers are for Parishes up to 1854 and for Registration Districts from 1855 onwards.

The 1841 and 1851 censuses were organised on a parish basis. The census reference number will be the same as the Old Parish Register (OPR) reference number.

In 1855 Registration Districts were created, initially with the same reference numbers as the parishes. However the registration districts and their numbers changed frequently as the towns grew. The parish pages give the registration districts which covered the area of each parish over the years.

From 1861, censuses were organised on a registration district basis. Because there were some differences between the two different administrative areas, some addresses will therefore appear in a different area, under a different reference number, from one census to another. Differences are noted in the table below and on the relevant parish pages.

The 1921 census is closed for 100 years.