Where did your Scottish Ancestors Live?

New Abbey Village

Once you have found your ancestor’s entry in the census you may decide to find out more about the house and the general area where they lived. Here are a few sources that could help you.

The National Library of Scotland has a great collection of Ordnance Survey maps available for free on their website. If your ancestors lived in a town the high detail 1:500 scale maps might even show trees in your family’s garden! 

 NLS: http://maps.nls.uk

The ScotlandsPlaces website can add another piece of the jigsaw. Available for free on their website are the ‘Ordnance Survey Name Books’. These volumes give information about placenames and building names on the first edition Ordnance Survey mapping which took place in the mid-19th century. They also give a description of each place. An example is East Lodge in Dumfriesshire, Volume 1, “A small cottage one story high slat[t]ed & in good repair. Occupied by Mary Dalziel who keeps the gate. It is the property of the Trustees of Hoddam Castle it being at the eastern entrance of Hoddam Demesne.” 

ScotlandsPlaces: www.scotlandsplaces.gov.uk

Scottish property records, called sasines, can also add more detail. Sasines are held by the National Records of Scotland and from 1781 there are indexed abridgements which can be searched by place or name. These give a description on the boundary of each property and often mention the neighbours in this description. Don’t expect to find plans though, or at least not in the older records. The extent of each property is usually described in words. 

NRS: www.nrscotland.gov.uk