Go back to 19th-century Scotland with our latest releases
2-3 minute read
By Niall Cullen | March 27, 2020
Findmypast is home to the fastest-growing collection of Scottish family records online.
If your clan has origins in Ayrshire, Scotland, you'll want to see what's new this Findmypast Friday. These latest record releases are only available online at Findmypast and have been published in partnership with East Ayrshire Family History Society.
Scotland, Ayrshire, Kilmarnock Valuation Roll 1874
Trace ancestors who owned or rented land in Kilmarnock with these valuation roll records from 1874. Transcripts with the most important family tree details, as well as digital copies of the original records can reveal:
- Landlord's and/or tenant's names
- Addresses
- Description of the property
- How much rent was paid
Scotland's valuation rolls recorded the people, properties and taxes for each county and burgh in the country between 1855 and 1996.
Scotland, Ayrshire, Kilmarnock Ratepayers 1838-1846
These unique records of ratepayers in Kilmarnock could reveal your Scottish ancestors' names, occupations and addresses.
Hint: Try marriage records or censuses.
Local and central government officials collected these property records until The Lands Valuation (Scotland) Act, 1854 established a uniform process for valuing tenancies across the country.
Scotland, Ayrshire, Kilmarnock Voters Lists 1837-1852
We're rounding-off our exclusive Kilmarnock collection with these fascinating electoral records. A combination of the records' transcripts and digitized images of the original documents can reveal:
- Names
- Occupations
- Addresses
- Your ancestor's chosen candidate
- Those who didn't vote
At the time these records were taken, the right to vote in Scotland was not universal. Only owners or tenants of residences worth more than £10 could vote, provided all of their taxes had been paid for the previous year.
Cross-referencing our new Kilmarnock records with Scottish censuses from surrounding years is a useful way to discover more details about your family and make sure you're focusing on the right person.
Newspapers
We've added almost a century's worth of pages from one new newspaper along with substantial updates to 10 titles from England and Ireland this week. Brand new to the site is:
- Crewe Chronicle covering the years 1874-1887 and 1889-1972
As well as that, here is the list of papers that have had more pages added and the years covered:
- Halifax Evening Courier has been updated with editions from 1893-1896
- Midland Counties Advertiser has been updated with editions from 1854-1875, 1881, 1885, 1892-1896, 1941, 1943 and 1946
- Scarborough Gazette has been updated with editions from 1850, 1855 and 1868
- Newcastle Journal has been updated with editions from 1936-1937
- Huddersfield Daily Examiner has been updated with editions from 1874
- Torbay Express and South Devon Echo has been updated with editions from 1958-1967 and 1969-1972
- Leicester Daily Mercury has been updated with editions from 1926 and 1931
- Harrow Observer has been updated with editions from 1980
- Kensington Post has been updated with editions from 1986
- Newcastle Evening Chronicle has been updated with editions from 1893
We'd love to hear about your discoveries from this week's records and newspapers. Share your finds on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter, tagging them with #WhereWillYourPastTakeYou?
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To keep you busy with family history, our program of live Facebook events continues every Tuesday and Thursday at 16:00 BST. We're also sharing useful tips for these challenging times and setting family-finding challenges to fill your time at home. Come join us and get involved.
