Nearly nine million entries on The Original Record

With the records added this week, The Original Record now has 8.7 million entries available online.

The Original Record has added the following records to its database:

1195-1214 Cumberland, Derbyshire, Devon and Dorset Feet of Fines

Pedes Finium – law suits, or pretended suits, putting on record the ownership of land in these counties. This transcript was prepared for the Commissioners of the Public Records by Joseph Hunter, and printed in 1844. It covers entries for the county from the surviving rolls from the 7th year of the reign of king Richard I to the 16th year of king John. Each county is indexed separately.

1774 Sussex Poll Book

A poll of freeholders to elect two knights of the shire to represent the county of Sussex was taken at Chichester in 1774. This poll book lists each voter’s full name; abode; where the freehold lay and of what it consisted (b., barn; f., farm; g., garden; h., house; l., land; m., mill; o., orchard; r., rectory; w. sh., workshop); and the name of the occupier (if any) (often surname only); with dashes in the right-hand columns indicating votes for the candidates, Lord George Henry Lennox, Sir Thomas Spencer Wilson and Sir James Peachey. The franchise was limited to freeholders of 40 shillings per annum and more.

1815-1836 Unstamped Publications: Return of Convictions

The 1815 Stamp Act increased the tax on newspapers to fourpence a copy. Many radical newspaper publishers and the booksellers and newsagents who sold their popular papers ignored the law, and were liable to suffer prosecution either by authority of the Stamp Office which regulated the tax or by a common informer. In 1836 the House of Commons ordered these returns to be made from each prison, giving details of the convictions that had been made under the Act. The returns are not entirely consistent from one gaol to another, but most give names, dates, and period of imprisonment. There are returns from Alnwick, Appleby, Borough Compter (Southwark), Brecon, Bridewell Hospital, Bristol, Carlisle, Clerkenwell, Derby, Durham, Exeter, Giltspur Street, Glasgow, Hexham, Horsham, Hull, Kingston-on-Thames, Kirkdale, Knutsford, Lawford’s Gate, Leicester, Liverpool, Louth, Middlesex, Monmouth, Newcastle-on-Tyne, Northallerton, Northampton, Norwich, Petworth, Portsmouth, Preston, Salford, Salop, Southwell, Spilsby, Stafford, Stamford, Tynemouth, Usk, Warwick, Westminster, Wilts. and York, each indexed separately.

1822 Members of the Association Incorporated for Discountenancing Vice and Promoting the Knowledge and Practice of the Christian Religion

This society had an extensive membership in Ireland, of which this list was published as the 13th appendix to a Sermon preached before the members and their president, the Lord Lieutenant, in St Peter’s church by Charles R. Elrington, D. D., his chaplain. The list gives each member’s full name, surname first, with the year of admission to the society. This index also covers the fourteenth appendix, listing the members’ subscriptions received in 1821, but some for previous years’ arrears as far back as 1817, and whether paid in diocesan committees or in Dublin. Most of the members were gentlemen or clergy.

1824 London Bankruptcy Proceedings

English bankrupts could be dealt with in the provinces (Country) or London (Town). Town proceedings covered not only London but many provincial cases. The weekly Law Advertiser included this section entitled Results of Last Week’s Meetings, giving date, name (surname first, in capitals), stage of the process (such as last examination, appointment of assignees, dividend) and the prospective date of the next meeting (sine die when the case was, effectively, closed).

1859 Class Lists of Trainee and Established Schoolmasters and Schoolmistresses

The Committee of Council on Education set examinations for candidates for admission into training colleges, and to become teachers. Class lists for the various categories of candidate were printed for the examinations at Christmas 1859. Firstly, there are class lists of examinations of trainee teachers at the various training colleges in Britain. The names are given for the second year first, arranged by division in the examination (in order of merit for the first and second divisions), and then for the students of the first year, arranged similarly. Full names are given (with initials for middle names). The letter (D.) indicates that the candidate had obtained a certificate of competency as a teacher of drawing; an asterisk a prize in drawing. There were training colleges for masters at Bangor, Battersea, Borough Road, Carnarvon, Chelsea, Cheltenham, Chester, Durham, Edinburgh, Exeter, Glasgow, Hammersmith, Highbury, Peterborough, Ripon, Saltley, Westminster, Winchester and York; and for mistresses at Cheltenham, Derby, Durham, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Ripon, Salisbury, Southlands, Truro, Warrington, Westminster, Whitelands and York. There are also lists of Queen’s Scholars: first class scholarships of £17, with a personal allowance of £3, were awarded to pupil teachers and others for their teacher training. The scholarship lists are arranged in order of merit, with full names (surname first), and the name of the school at which the candidate was teaching. Those candidates who were not pupil teachers have their names in italics. Thirdly, there are lists of established teachers who had also taken the examination and gained the qualification: these lists are divided into schoolmasters and schoolmistresses; within those by denomination of school; and within those in turn by whether the teachers were aged under or over 35. All the colleges, scholarship lists and school lists have been indexed separately.

1864 Gun’s Unclaimed Money Register

Gun & Co. of 17 Charlotte Street, London, published this ‘List of Next of Kin & Heirs, &c., who have been Advertised for in the English, Irish, Scotch, United States of America, Canadian, Australian, East and West Indian, and other Newspapers, since 1704. Money & Property to the value of many Millions Sterling want Claimants’. The list of 4076 names gives surname, christian name, and, occasionally, locality. Copies of the actual advertisements were furnished to enquirers by the company at a cost of six shillings.