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Liverpool, England Catholic Registers Online

30 May By Leave a Comment

The Liverpool, England Catholic registers are online at Ancestry.com. However, they are easy to miss! It’s important to realize that on most databases for English records, when the term “parish” is used, it typically refers to the Protestant Church of England parish system. Although there were English Catholics who survived the Protestant Reformation, they met quietly, often in houses, and were considered non-conformists, just like any number of other churches. Prior to World War I, Catholic churches would have been considered a “chapel” rather than a parish.

The Church of England, which is part of the Worldwide Anglican Communion, became the state religion in 1559. Until 1829, when the Catholic Relief Act was passed, Catholics faced discrimination.

The Liverpool Catholic Records Collections

The collections, which are indexed and connected with the scanned images can be found in four Ancestry collections:

“Liverpool, England, Catholic Baptisms, 1802-1906”

“Liverpool, England, Catholic Confirmations, 1813-1920”

“Liverpool, England, Catholic Marriages, 1754-1921”

“Liverpool, England, Catholic Burials, 1813-1988”

The Liverpool Diocese was established in 1850, and most of the christenings, marriages and burials in these database would date from that time. It’s important to remember, it was the Irish Catholics flooding into the city, which would create huge parishes. The indexes can be searched by name and even by parent’s names if you know them. Also keep in mind that burial is not a sacrament in the Catholic Church, so parishes did not have to keep them. However, baptism and marriages were sacraments.

Importance of the Liverpool Databases

Liverpool was a major drawing place for ships leaving Ireland. Often passengers would disembark and either board another vessel, or they would stay for a while prior to moving elsewhere. This makes the Liverpool collections very important in your quest to document Irish ancestors.

Although Liverpool had one of the largest Catholic populations in England, it’s important to remember, that Catholics tended to register births, marriages and deaths less often with the government. Registration with the government became mandatory in 1874. The sketchy nature of Catholic registration with the government makes these Catholic databases a viable substitute. These are major databases for Irish immigrant research.

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Old Bailey Court Records

25 Mar By Leave a Comment

London’s Central Criminal Court was known as Old Bailey. This was an important court from which to document the Irish who settled in London.

Records of Old Bailey

The records have been indexed in a searchable database, with digitized images, from 1674-1913. These are known as the Old Bailey Proceedings. Also on the database are the Ordinary of Newgate’s Accounts from 1673-1772. The database provides accesses to 197,000 trials along with biographical information on the 2,500 executions of men and women at Tyburn. The Old Bailey Proceedings databases are free of charge.

Additional Old Bailey Research Helps

Due to their historical nature, the website has a Glossary which can help you understand the older English as well as the legal terms. There are also guides to help you sort through what constituted crime and punishment as seen in the records. If this wasn’t enough, then check out the section on “Gender in the Proceedings.”

Searching the Old Bailey Database by Category

Aside from the general name search, there is a category search. You can search by offence. From different types of theft to different types of sexual crimes; this section alone provides a rare window into the world of the people on trial. It also can help us understand what a “religious offence” was all about. One interesting offence category is labeled “Miscellaneous” with attached sub-categories to it. Here we get a glimpse into the lives of people charged with infanticide, illegal abortion, piracy and return from transportation. An offence category under “Violent Theft” includes “Highway Robbery.” That was not just an expression in the world these people lived in.

As far as thought provoking databases, this one is hard to beat. Even if your ancestors never went to London make sure you explore this resource. Their world was very foreign to us; yet at the same time, these Proceedings teach us how little things have changed. People are still people and we just have new ways of doing what they did back then.

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The Censuses of England and Wales (1841-1911)

16 Jul By Leave a Comment

The censuses for England and Wales were taken every ten years. The years released to the public include: 1841, 1851, 1861, 1871, 1881, 1891, 1901 and 1911. These are scanned and online on two major subscription databases; www.ancestry.com and www.findmypast.co.uk They are also indexed on www.familysearch.org with links to the Findmypast website. They make a wonderful tool for hunting down Irish immigrants.

While usually, the censuses will simply say “Ireland” as the place of birth, sometimes, they actually provide county and parish of birth. Two of my favorites are the 1841 and 1851 enumerations. These are important as they are pre and post Potato Famine. My rule of thumb is that if a family had immigrated by 1841 they left for reasons other than hunger, and they had enough money to leave. In short, they were not always among the poor of the poor. The story in 1851 was different. It was towards the end of the Potato Famine, and massive migration was still underway. Both tell the story of very different migrations out of Ireland.

Now continuing with my examples, there’s some quirks you need to be aware of in 1841 schedule. In that census, only “I” is listed for Ireland and nothing else for birthplace. Always double check that with a later census to make sure the census taker was accurate. Other quirks include relationships not being provided, and the age of individuals older than 15 years being rounded down to the nearest five years. When you compare this with 1851, a clearer picture emerges. Both Ancestry and Findmypast have helpful guides to the censuses, including a listing of census areas known to be missing from the 1841 collection.

With the censuses so readily available at the fingertips, it’s an exciting time to be a family historian!

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