Hundeby, Keith-Hundebey, Keith-Humbie, Keith-Symmars
Humbie is a parish in the south-western extremity of Haddingtonshire, consisting of a main body and a small detached section. The main body is bounded by Ormiston, Salton, Bolton, Yester, Berwickshire, Soutra, and Edinburghshire. The detached part is wholly embosomed in Edinburghshire, and lies about a mile south-west of the nearest part of the main body. (1867: The Imperial Gazetteer of Scotland, by John Marius Wilson).
Blackshiels, Humbie, Upper Keith,
The parish of Humbie had a detached part which was at the same time a detached part of the county of Haddington. This detached part has been transferred to the county of Edinburgh and to the parish of Fala and Soutra. See affected properties and landholders. (1892: Boundary of counties and parishes in Scotland as settled by the Boundary Commissioners under the Local Government Act, 1889, by Hay Shennan)
PRE-REFORMATION GOVERNANCE:
POST-REFORMATION GOVERNANCE:
Keith. Previous to the Reformation the church belonged to the Abbey of Kelso.
Keith-Marischal. The parish was disjoined from Pencaitland in 1588. United to Humbie in February 1618.
Includes ministers, licentiates, assistants, readers, and clerks.
(1928: Fasti Ecclesiæ Scoticanæ, by Hew Scott, D. D.)
Parish registers turned over to the Registrar-General, as a result of the Registration of Births, Deaths, and Marriages (Scotland) Act of 1854. The letters B. D. and M. indicate Births (or Baptisms), Deaths (or Burials), and Marriages (or Proclamations of Banns) respectively. Numbers indicate separate volumes or books. Note: These records are by no means complete or without damage; consult the Detailed List of the Old Parochial Registers of Scotland (1872) to learn more about the condition of the records.
| OPR and RD Numbers | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date Range | Name | Number | Type |
| 1643-1854 | Humbie | 710 | OPR |
| 1855-1967 | Humbie | 710 | RD |
| 2009 | East Lothian, Haddington | 722 | RD |
| 2026 | East Lothian Council; Humbie, East & West Saltoun, and Bolton Community Council | ||
(2009: Parishes and Registration Districts of Scotland - Old and New, National Records of Scotland)
Local community councils (2026) are provided as a potential source of additional information for settlements within the original boundaries of the parish. (Source)
Statistics from informal and official censuses
Aitken, Anderson, Brown, Cockburn, Currie, Dickson, Redpath, Rutherford, Stewart, Thomson
Note: Names appearing in research materials, other than censuses. Simple names (First name, surname only) have been omitted unless they appear associated with large properties. All women's names, and men's names with occupations, military ranks, or peerage titles are included.
By the Reverend Mr Henry Sangster.
"The return to Dr Webster, in 1755, was 570 souls; at present, there are 676 in this parish. In a district like this, where the sole occupation of the inhabitants has always been agriculture, the numbers must be nearly stationary. There are 3 Seceders, and 1 Episcopal family.
There are 10 farmers, 1 innkeeper, 3 weavers, 5 smiths, 4 carpenters, 4 tailors, 1 baker, 1 shoemaker, and 1 dyer. The other inhabitants are employed in the different operations of husbandry.
The inhabitants are industrious, and satisfied with their condition. It is not in the recollection of the oldest person among them, that an inhabitant of this parish has been punished for any crime. Dram-drinking, so prevalent in other parts of Scotland, is a vice utterly unknown, as might be expected from a people, among whom no manufacture has ever been established, and whose sole employment, that of a very few individuals excepted, is agriculture."
(This section contains excerpts, at times restructured or paraphrased, from an article appearing in Statistical Account of Scotland, Sir John Sinclair, 1791-1799)
Primary Sources:
Statistical Account of Scotland (1791-1799), Volume 6, p. 156
New Statistical Account of Scotland (1834-1845), Volume 2, Section II, p. 100
See Parish Page Sources for all source information and links.
