Our Hidden Histories project explored records to find Disabled people on the Census and other records in the archives

The Census, Parish Records and Newspapers
An Introduction by Wolverhampton City Archivist Heidi McIntosh 

Three types of sources held at Wolverhampton Archives

All available on microfilm or microfiche and Some also available online

Sources that are held on microfilm & microfiche - Saves on space (rather than 300 years of newspapers piled up!)

Protects the original records

Means that we can make records available here when the original is housed elsewhere, e.g. census and parish registers

 

Census

Began in 1801 and was taken every ten years, and are still completed to this day (the latest being 2011).

Not much use before 1841, as this is the first one that lists individuals by name.

Because of the amount of detail contained in them, they are closed for public view for 100 years, hence the latest available in 1911.

 

If people aren’t where they should be…

Nowadays, the census records residents of each property in the UK.

The nineteenth century censuses recorded details of people in each property on a specific night, so if they were staying elsewhere that is where they were listed.

Some people were also suspicious of the Government taking these details about them, and apparently some spent the night on boats in the

middle of rivers to avoid the enumerators on census

night!

 

Things to remember

Some of the entries on the census can be incorrect for many reasons including:

Many people were illiterate, so the enumerator would often write down what they thought they heard and spell it how they thought it should be spelt.

Sometimes the person giving the information to the enumerator may not know all the information about everyone in the household and may have guessed.

The end of each building is shown with two slashes

// and the end of each household in a building is shown with one slash /.

 

1841 census

This census was taken on 6 Jun 1841 and contains the following information:

Information	Notes
Street	but no house number
Name
Sex
Age	ages above 15 years old are rounded down to the nearest 5 years
Place of birth	but only stating whether they were born in the county or not
Occupation

 

1851 census onwards

This census was taken on 30th March 1851, which was the weekend of Mothering Sunday; so many families were staying elsewhere. It contained the following information:

Street

name

sex

age

relationship to head

marital status

place of birth

occupation

Infirmity (deaf, blind, dumb, lunatic or imbecile)

 

Later censuses

Later censuses have similar information to the 1851 census, and were taken on the following dates:

7th April 1861

2nd April 1871

3rd April 1881

5th April 1891

31st March 1901

2nd April 1911

 

1911 census

This is the first available census to be filled in by individual householders, rather than census enumerators, enabling you to view ancestors handwriting.

Additional pieces of information included for the first time are nationality, duration of current marriage, number of children born within that marriage, number of living children and the number of any children who had died. Extra occupation information may show details of the industry in which they worked.

This is the first census to record full details of British Army personnel stationed overseas which, given its proximity to the start of the First World War, makes this census particularly important.

 

Using the census

There are various surname and street indexes available for the census.

We have the census on microfilm for 1841 until 1901

The 1911 census is available online, although you have to subscribe or buy a voucher: www.findmypast.co.uk

 

Activity

Look at the census entries for 1841 and for 1901 and for each one

Note down 3 facts that you can glean from these documents

Note down 3 areas where you would like to know more

What sort of research could you use these records for

 

GRO indexes

From 1 July 1837 onwards, registration of births, marriages and deaths was compulsory.

From this date onwards, we have a surname index for these events for the whole country.

Although this does not give you a huge amount of detail, it gives you a reference that you can then use to order birth, marriage or death certificates

from the Registry Office

 

Further points to note

From 1875, parents had up to 6 weeks to register the birth of a child, otherwise they could face prosecution.

After September 1911 the maiden name of the mother is included in the birth index

After March 1912 the maiden name of the bride is included in the marriage index

From the March 1866 to June 1969, the age at death is added to the deaths index

From June 1969 onwards, the deceased's date of birth is added to the death index

 

Using the GRO indexes

Up to 1984, each year was divided into quarters (March, June, September and December), and within each quarter entries were listed alphabetically by surname.

This means that a birth in July 1978 will appear in the September quarter.

From 1985 onwards, the alphabetical listing covers the whole of each year.

Just look up the name of the person you are seeking, and the when you have found it, you will have all the information you need to purchase a copy birth,

marriage or death certificate, either from the local

register office or from the General Register Office (GRO) itself.

 

GRO Overseas indexes

GRO also has records with the details of births,

marriages and deaths of some British citizens that have taken place abroad since the late 18th

century.

These include people registered with British consuls, High Commissions, HM Forces, the Civil Aviation Authority and the Registrar General of Shipping and Seaman.

 

FreeBMD as an alternative

The Freebmd website is useful for finding the GRO reference to births, marriages and deaths and the quarter of the year the event was registered in, which you need to know in order to obtain a copy certificate.

The index is being put on to the Internet by volunteers and is being updated all the time.

It is NOT a complete index and therefore should not be used instead of the GRO.

At present the site covers 1837 to about 1960 and gives the same information as the GRO.

www.freebmd.org.uk

 

Parish records

Prior to 1837, the only records available are parish records for baptisms, marriages and burials.

We hold the Church of England parish registers for Wolverhampton, some of which have been indexed

We also hold the registers of some Non-conformist and Roman Catholic churches.

 

Parish registers

In general births were not recorded but children were normally baptised within 2 to 3 months of their birth. These baptism records will usually give the name of the child's parents and their 'abode'.

You can then use this information to find the marriage record of the parents which hopefully are in the same parish or surrounding area. The marriage record will usually tell you the name of both parties and their

parents names. Use that to then find the baptism records

of the parents and so on.

However, some baptisms occurred later in childhood (parents having all their children baptised at the same time) or in adulthood, so its not always straightforward.

 

Key dates for parish registers

1538 - A mandate is issued requiring that every parish was to keep a register. Many parishes ignored this order. Only about 800 registers exist from this time period.

1643-1659 - Registers were poorly kept during the English Civil War and the Commonwealth period which followed, or abandoned  altogether.

1733 - The use of Latin in registers is prohibited.

1751 - Calendar reform. Prior to this the year commenced on 25th March, so any register entry for December 1750 would have been followed by January 1750.

1754 - Lord Hardwicke’s Marriage Act. A separate marriage register is enforced which records witnesses, signatures of all parties, occupation of groom and the residences of the couple marrying. It also enforced Banns and made clandestine marriages illegal.

1763 - Minimum age for marriage set at 16 (previously the Church accepted marriage of girls of 12 and boys of 14). Those under 21 still needed the consent of parents. On marriage records individuals that are over 21 often have their age listed as "full age" rather than an exact year.

1812 - George Rose’s Act. New pre-printed registers were to be used for separate baptism, marriage and burial registers as a way of standardizing records.

 

Anglican parish registers

Wolverhampton Archives & Local Studies holds microfiche copies of registers for most of Wolverhampton’s Church of England (Anglican)

parishes. In almost all cases, the original parish registers

are held at Staffordshire Record Office

Occasionally, registers are retained by the parish church itself. The date-ranges covered by the microfiche copies vary from church to church, beginning when the churches opened and in most cases ending in the late nineteenth or early twentieth centuries.

In addition to the microfiche copies, published transcripts of many other Staffordshire parishes, up to around 1812, are available.

 

Parish register indexes

Our parish register indexes are now available on the Black Country History website (http://www.blackcountryhistory.org)

 

Nonconformist records

Some families did not have a baptism, marriage or burial performed in the Church of England.

We have a large collection of nonconformist registers, including Methodists, Presbyterians, Baptists etc.

Lord Hardwicke’s 1754 Act required that couples had to be married in the Church of England for their marriage to be legal, regardless of what religion they belonged to (apart from Jews and Quakers). The law lasted until 1837 when civil registration began.

You may find that some records are deposited at Staffordshire Record Office, or are even still held by the church. Many of these chapels have moved and merged with other churches so it may take some time to track down the records.

 

Roman Catholic registers

We hold some Roman Catholic registers

Please note that most Roman Catholic registers are in Latin, although they follow certain phrases and a certain pattern so are relatively easy to understand.

Catholic baptisms often include details of the godparents and marriage entries give the woman's maiden name.

 

1851 Religious Census

This gives details of when the church was established and where it was located.

Wolverhampton Archives & Local Studies holds printed copies of the census for local areas.

 

Activity

Spot the differences in Baptisms and Burials over different years

How can these parish registers help your research?

What other avenues could you follow if you found an entry in the parish registers/

 

Local Newspapers

Wolverhampton Chronicle 1789-1793  and 1811-

1970, on microfilm; 1970-1980 and 1986 to date, in the original

Express & Star (Wolverhampton Town Final edition) 1884 to July 2011 on microfilm and August 2011 to date in the original

Midland Counties Express 1867-1950, on microfilm

Midland Evening News April 1884-July 1915, on microfilm

Bilston Herald/Midland Weekly Herald October 1871-September 1906, on microfilm

 

Local newspapers

Things to remember about newspapers

They have an angle – are written from a certain point of view, not necessarily all the facts

They sometimes anonymise people, e.g. the military tribunals during the First World War

A snapshot in time, i.e. a later edition may add, embellish or even contradict the earlier one.

Very few photos until the twentieth century

On the plus side, they give a lot more detail than pure facts and figures

 

Activity

Have a look at the two newspaper articles

How can newspapers assist in your research?

What sort of things do you think newspapers will cover?

Are there any areas that you wouldn’t find in newspapers?