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I have ventured for the first time to the Local History Library for the Stepney area of London.
Spent most of the day looking through old Electoral Rolls, which they have going back to 1901. Found a few family facts using addresses from certificates and from cemetery registers, but just wanted to share with you how interesting the whole thing was – I’m sure most of you know, anyway.
In the early registers (l looked at 1906, 08 and 09), there were a number of sections under each Ward: one showed the owner/occupier of the house, male entitled to vote in parliamentary elections; another showed lodgers, with e.g. two rooms, first floor, unfurnished; another showed women entitled to vote in local government and parochial elections – these seemed to be householders in their own right; yet another showed businesses; and another owners of several houses, with their address e.g. out in Essex.
In the 1918 register, at the end was a list of absent voters. This was short enough to make it practicable to skim through to pick up family names, and then use that address to check back to the main register to see if the rest of the family was right. Also, the absent voter names gave their Army or Navy Number and Merchant Marine name of ship. I already had my GF’s number, but a lady next to me was very excited to find her Father’s navy number which she said she had not been able to find elsewhere.
The 1945 similarly had absent voters, but the service number was not given.
It was all quite a long process, especially as the staff had to go and fetch the various tomes you asked for, but an interesting and worthwhile day.
Carol
Spent most of the day looking through old Electoral Rolls, which they have going back to 1901. Found a few family facts using addresses from certificates and from cemetery registers, but just wanted to share with you how interesting the whole thing was – I’m sure most of you know, anyway.
In the early registers (l looked at 1906, 08 and 09), there were a number of sections under each Ward: one showed the owner/occupier of the house, male entitled to vote in parliamentary elections; another showed lodgers, with e.g. two rooms, first floor, unfurnished; another showed women entitled to vote in local government and parochial elections – these seemed to be householders in their own right; yet another showed businesses; and another owners of several houses, with their address e.g. out in Essex.
In the 1918 register, at the end was a list of absent voters. This was short enough to make it practicable to skim through to pick up family names, and then use that address to check back to the main register to see if the rest of the family was right. Also, the absent voter names gave their Army or Navy Number and Merchant Marine name of ship. I already had my GF’s number, but a lady next to me was very excited to find her Father’s navy number which she said she had not been able to find elsewhere.
The 1945 similarly had absent voters, but the service number was not given.
It was all quite a long process, especially as the staff had to go and fetch the various tomes you asked for, but an interesting and worthwhile day.
Carol
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