This week’s release of the Teesside, England, Electoral Registers, 1832–1974 collection on Ancestry is valuable for genealogists researching Middlesbrough residents eligible to vote. As shown below, I found records for my ancestry.
Electoral rolls were created annually (with exceptions during wartime) and offer key details about individuals and their voting eligibility. The Teesside collection, similar to others, includes:
– Name and Address: Identify where an ancestor lived and track changes in residence over time.
– Parliamentary Division and Parish: Provides the voter’s electoral area.
– Nature of Qualification to Vote: Revealing how individuals qualified, such as through property ownership, occupation, or residency. Abbreviations in these records include R (residence qualification), B or BP (business premises qualification), O (occupation qualification), HO (qualification through husband’s occupation). NM (naval or military vote).
This collection joins electoral roll records from various places and sources, including Ancestry, Findmypast, FamilySearch and The Genealogist. Besides Teesside, counties and areas with significant electoral roll coverage include:
– Kent (Registers from 1570–1907)
– Norfolk(1832–1915)
– Cheshire (1842–1900)
– Greater Manchester (1820–1940)
– London, Lambeth (1832–1886)
– Hampshire, Portsmouth (1835–1873)
– Leicestershire (1836–1970)
– Somerset (1832–1914)
– Devon, Plymouth & West Devon (1780–1973)
– City of York (1848–1938)
For Teeside, I found my step-great grandfather included in 1885-86, 1906-1914, and 1918- 1939 entries filling in the chasm between censuses. The latter years include my great-grandmother — after women got the vote.
Local archives and libraries often house original registers, offering additional resources for those areas and times not online.
Oh yeah!!!!