Place:Caddonfoot, Selkirkshire, Scotland

source: Family History Library Catalog

From 1898 Caddonfoot was a parish in the former county of Selkirkshire, which ceased to exist following the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1974. The parish had an area of 78.4km² (30.2 sq. miles) and had 7 neighbouring parishes: Galashiels, Selkirk, and Yarrow in Selkirkshire, Innerleithen and Traquair in Peeblesshire, Melrose in Roxburghshire, and Stow in Midlothian. The boundaries of this parish were modified as a consequence of the Local Government (Scotland), 1894.

Caddonfoot is now located in the Scottish Borders Council Area, some 8 miles (12 km) west of Melrose and 11 miles (18 km) east of Peebles. It included the settlements of Ashiestiel, Caddonfoot, Clovenfords, Fairnilee, and Windydoors.

According to the Borders Family History Society:

"Previously partly in the County of Midlothian and partly in the County of Peebles, Caddonfoot existed as an administrative unit from 1898 to 1975. The ecclesiastical parish of Caddonfoot is now linked with Galashiels Trinity."

As a result, there are no Old Parish Registers for Caddonfoot and the FamilySearch Wiki and GENUKI do not cover it.

Research Tips

Sources for Old Parish Registers Records, Vital Records and Censuses

• FamilySearch (Indexes only)

• Scotland's People This is a pay website providing vital statistics and census data for all of Scotland with original images. There is a description at Scotland under Genealogical Resources.

• In the case of Caddonfoot, for records prior to 1898, consult Traquair in Peeblesshire and Stow in Midlothian.

Notes for Selkirkshire

• GENUKI has a list of references for Selkirkshire. Some of these may be superseded by more modern material.

• The Borders Family History Society provides a page of facts and publications for each of the parishes in its area. They have a lot of material and they publish monumental inscription books or CDs for many parishes. On each parish page is a map of the local area taken from either the Ordnance Survey Quarter-inch to the mile, Scotland, 1921-1923 series or the Ordnance Survey One-inch to the mile, Popular edition, Scotland, 1920-1930 series. These maps are not visible immediately upon opening a page, but worthwhile scrolling down to find.

• The FreeCen Project has transcriptions of the whole of Selkirkshire online for 1841, 1851 and 1861.

Further Sources of Reference

Please note and respect the copyright warnings on these websites.

• Scottish Places article on the parish of Caddonfoot. The tabs of the right provide more information, and a map of the parish within its surrounding area, with small settlements highlighted and linked to more information.

• The National Library of Scotland have a website devoted to maps from the 1600s right up to the present. Comparisons of modern-day and old maps of the same place can be made. From the home page click on "Find by place" and then follow the instructions on the next page. Once you are viewing the place you want, use the slider <----> at the top of the map to compare the layout of roads and the place names of smaller areas, perhaps even farms, with the landscape today. The website takes some getting used to. The One-inch 2nd edition, Scotland, 1898-1904 OS is a series of maps with the parishes delineated. Each of these maps cover an area of 18 x 24 miles and will zoom to comfortable reading size with a couple of mouse clicks on the map itself. Unfortunately, they are not geo-referenced, and it is necessary to go to the OS One Inch 1885-1900 series to locate places by latitude and longitude.

• The Statistical Accounts for Scotland In the 1790s and again in the 1830s, the ministers of the all the parishes of the Church of Scotland were asked to provide a description of their parish to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. The original account request included 160 questions to be answered. These accounts are available in print in 20 volumes and are also online where it is freely available to browse. The browsing portal is below the viewing area of most computer screens. Scroll down to "For non-subscribers" and click on "Browse scanned pages". This brings you to another page on which one can enter the name of the parish in which you are interested.

• Excerpts from The Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland: A Survey of Scottish Topography, Statistical, Biographical and Historical, edited by Francis H. Groome and originally published in parts by Thomas C. Jack, Grange Publishing Works, Edinburgh between 1882 and 1885 are provided by Scottish Places. Selections from Groome and other gazetteers from the 19th century are also found on GENUKI.