History of the County of Ayr

With a Genealogical Account of the Families of Ayrshire.

By James Patterson.

Originally published 1847, 1852. 2 volumes. 466, 535 pages. Book on CD-ROM or downloadable pdf.

This enormous study of the local and genealogical history of this county grew out of and goes well beyond the earlier Ayrshire Families by Robertson. That book chiefly related to the district of Cunninghame, while this much larger work covers literally every parish within the county. It begins with a general history of the county and then turns to each parish before continuing with an account of the principal families within that parish. It is impossible to include even a small portion of the families included within each parish, but the Parish of Ayr may act as a guide to the level of material included on such families as: Ballantine, Cochrane, Cunningham, Dalrymple, Dunlop, Hamilton, Hunter, Hughes, M'Neight, and Wallace.