Borders Family History Society

Hounam

The Parish of Hounam is situated on the English Border in the south east of Roxburghshire between the Parishes of Oxnam to the west, Eckford to the north and Morebattle to the east. Across the border to the south is the County of Northumberland.

Hownam along with Morebattle, Linton & Yetholm comprise the combined Cheviot Churches

Old Parish Records cover the periods:

Births: 1698 to 1854.
Marriages: 1703 to 1851.

Hounam Parish Church.

Sales List

1841 census Hounam.
1851 census Hounam.
1861 census Hounam.
CD-ROM Roxburgh Memorial Inscriptions Hounam and Linton 2008 (3rd. edition) edited by Liz Leitch and Jean Fleming - includes:
- Hearth Tax
- War Memorial transcription
- List of Ministers

(See our sales list for full details and cost of postage.)

Volumes available for consultation within our Archive

Hounam and Linton Monumental Inscriptions No 1 Roxburghshire transcribed by Elspeth Ewan 1995, reprinted 1990 - includes:
- Hearth Tax
- War Memorial transcription
- List of ministers
From Kelso to Kalamazoo - the life and times of John Taylor born Hounam 1803 died 1891.
The Churches and Graveyards of Roxburghshire by Dr. G.A.C. Binnie 2001.
Rutherford's Southern Counties Register and Directory 1867.
County Directory of Scotland 1912 - Borders Towns and Villages.
CD-ROM Pigot's 1837 Directory of Berwickshire and Roxburghshire.
CD-ROM Land Ownership Commission Report 1872 -1873.

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
Know your Parish--Morebattle	A history of Morebattle Parish. And the surrounding area.	1 page or more	18	Elespeth Ewan
Jean Fleming	A young shepherd gets lost in the snow and is frozen to death. There's also a specification for shepherds boots.	2 pages or more	69	Snowstorm in the Cheviots
Know your Parish--Hounam	The history of Hounam.	1 page or more	16

Map of Hownam (Hounam) 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 Hounam and Linton monumental inscriptions volume are (number of gravestones in brackets): DOUGLAS (24), RUTHERFORD (22), HALL (22), TURNBULL (19), OLIVER (16), SCOTT (14), SMITH (11), BELL (10), DAVIDSON (10), WAKER (9), ROBSON (9), TELFER (9), ELLIOT (7), PURVES (6), TROTTER (6), HENDERSON (6), MURRAY (6), PRINGLE (5), ANDERSON (5), LEISHMAN (5).

Other Sources

The Rules from Hounam Mill by E Goddard 1991.
The History and Antiquities of Roxburghshire and adjacent Districts by Alexander Jeffrey 1864.
Two Centuries of Borders Church Life by J Tait Kelso 1891.
The Statistical Accounts of Scotland 1791-99 vol.1 p.48: Hounam, County of Roxburgh (click "browse scanned pages" and insert Parish name)
The Statistical Accounts of Scotland 1834-45 vol.3 p.188: Hounam, County of Roxburgh (click "browse scanned pages" and insert Parish name)

The Scottish National Archives

Hounam Parish Church (Ref - CH2/666

Minutes 1728 to 1772, 1775 to 1782 and 1829 to1832.
Accounts 1739 to 1768, 1776 to 1836.

Scottish Borders Archives, The Hub Hawick

School Records

Hounam School Log Book 1873 to 1941 (Ref - R/ED/2/36-38).
School Admission Register 1868 to 1941 (Ref - R/ED/15-16.
School Board Minute Book and Ledgers 1873 to 1919 (Ref - R/ED/1/38-40).

Poor Law Records

Hounam Parish - Pay Roll Registered Poor 1855-1931 (Ref - R/PR/1/27/3.

Hawick Archaeological Society

1877 The Shearers and the Ring.
1922 The Hounam Shearers.

The Berwickshire Naturalists' Club

Vols. 5, 10 and 41 - Visited, 1865, 1882 and 1976.
Vol. 28 Davisons of Hounam.
Vol. 40 Salmon Poachers.

Websites

Morebattle Website includes A history of Hownam Parish.
19th Century Description of the Parish.
Stobie's Map of Roxburghshire of 1770.
The RCAHMS website Scotland's Places contains details of;

Farm Horse Tax 1797-1798.
Medical Officer's of Health Reports 1891.

Place and Farm names in Census Records

1841 census: Greenhill, Heatherhope, Mainside, Capehope, Thimblehall, Hounam Village, East Grange, West Grange, Boughtrig, Peelenick, Woodenstreet, Towford, Swinelaws, Nether Chatto, Over Chatto, Philogarhillhead, Beirhope, Whitton Townhead, Over Whitton, Heatherlands, Sharpelaw.

1851 census: Hownam, Philogarhillhead, Philogar, Over Chatto, Nether Chatto, Swinelaws, Streethouse, Boughtrigg, Preelanick, Greenhill, Mainside, Heatherhope, Sharplaw, Over Whitton, Burnhope Moor-house, Heatherlands, Chester House, Howgate, Hounam Mains, South Cote, East Grange, West Grange, Henderson's House.

1861 census: Hownam, Henderson's Knowe, Shepherd's Arms, Sharplaw Bridgend, Over Whitton, Beirhope, Muirhouse, Neatherlands, Chesterhouse, West Grange, East Grange, Howgate, South Cote, Nether Chatto, Philogar, Upper Chatto, Swinelaws, Towford, Streethouse, Boughtrig, Peelanick.

Population;

The population has been recorded as follows:

1755 - 632
1791 - 365
1801 - 372
1811 - 373
1821 - 327
1831 - 260
1841 - 280
1861 - 289

Roxburghshire map