Traquair Parish is situated in the west of Peeblesshire being bounded on the north by the Parish of Innerleithen, on the east and south by the Parish of Yarrow in Selkirkshire and on the west by the Parish of Peebles. In 2000 it became part of the Parish of Innerleithen, Traquair and Walkerburn.
Traquair House is the oldest inhabited house in Scotland and the lairds were long time supporters of the Stewart Monarchy.
Old Parish Records cover the periods:
Births: - 1694 to 1854. (Mothers' names are rarely recorded)
C.D. Traquair and Kailzie Vol 1 Peeblesshire Monumental Inscriptions edited by Gweneth Stein, David Baird, Evelyn Baird, Nancy Collins and Bubs Robertson (includes Militia List, School Records 1872 - 1876, War Memorial transcription. list of ministers and maps of 1859)
1841 census Traquair.
1851 census Traquair.
1861 census Traquair.
(see sales list for full details and cost of postage)
Volumes available for consultation within our Archive
Old Innerleithen, Walkerburn and Traquair by Alex. F Young published by Stenlake Publishing Ltd.
Pre 1855 Monumental Inscriptions of Peeblesshire by S.A. Scott published by Scottish Genealogical Society 1971.
Rutherford's Southern Counties Register and Directory 1867.
County Directory of Scotland 1912 - Borders Towns and Villages.
Magazine Articles
Please note that the heading Author includes persons who have compiled or transcribed records; and that the topics indexed, and the synopses are subjective opinions. See the Sales List to buy copies of the magazines containing articles in which you're interested.
Title
Synopsis
Size Description
Issue No
Author
The poor, crime and punishment,and the power of the Kirk in the Borders, 17th & 18th Centuries
When paupers died, the contents of their houses were sold by public roup. This is an account of one sale and the strength of the Kirk.
2 pages or more
31
M. C. Lawson
Shillinglaw Walls
Shillinglaw Tower not far from Traquair it is not only a heap of stones - an interesting tale.
2 pages or more
38
Jean Shillinglaw Ridley
Map of Traquair from Quarter-inch to the mile, Scotland, 1921-1923 or One-inch to the mile, Popular edition, Scotland, 1920-1930 by kind permission of the National Library of Scotland. Use the control at the top left of the map to zoom in or out and drag the map left, right, up, or down as you wish.
20 Most Common Surnames
The 20 most common surnames on gravestones recorded by us in the Traquair and Kailzie monumental inscriptions volume are (number of gravestones in brackets): SCOTT (17), BROWN (14), DALGLEISH (10), ANDERSON (10), TENNANT (8), WILSON (8), NICOL (8), TAIT (8), BRODIE (7), BALLANTYNE (7), JACKSON (6), SMITH (6), BELL (5), MELROSE (5), PATERSON (5), MILLER (5), DOUGLAS (5), LITTLE (5), HOPE (5), WILLIAMSON (4).
Other Sources
The Buildings of Scotland - Borders, Cruft, Dunbar & Fawcett, Yale University Press, London 2006
Reminiscences of Innerleithen and Traquair by T Dobson - Innerleithen 1896
The Cleikum being interesting reminiscences of Old Innerleithen by J.A. Anderson - Galashiels 1933
Innerleithen and Traquair , Ancient and Modern by H Anderson - Bognor Regis 1984
The Statistical Accounts of Scotland 1791-99 vol.12 pp.369:
Traquair, County of Peebles
The Statistical Accounts of Scotland 1834-45 vol.3 p.36:
Traquair, County of Peebles
