The Poor Rate collected in the parishes was used to establish and fund workhouses for the poor, the beginnings of the welfare state in England. In 1834 revisions to the Poor Law acts called for the establishment of Union Workhouses, providing for the poor on a regional rather than a parish basis. It has to be said that the quality of life in these institutions was very variable; many were grim, but many more were places of decent refuge for the poor in times of need.
The records of the workhouses are often
to be found in the County Record Offices; perhaps offering a glimpse of your ancestor’s circumstances when life was financially difficult.
Electoral Registers have been compiled from 1832 to the present day. Not all have survived; those that do show all
those eligible to vote living at a particular address on an annual basis. They are particularly useful in tracing families, and their
addresses, after the date of the latest released census (currently 1901).
Newspapers provide a valuable source of material that can enrich the basic knowledge that you may already have about your ancestor. Although newspapers such as the London Gazette date back to the 17th century, those of value to most family historians date from about the middle of the nineteenth century. Whilst the archive of national newspapers is in London, the County Record Offices have archives of local papers that are usually of more interest to family historians.
If the newspapers carry a report, or announcement, of your ancestor’s birth, marriage or death; the information provided will often
add interest to the very basic information derived from the civil certificates.
Newspaper reports of legal proceedings, such as law courts or coroner’s inquests, tend to focus on the individuals concerned in the matter, rather than, as found in the court records, the crimes committed.
Directories began
to be published in the larger towns towards the end of the 18th century with smaller communities appearing in the 19th century. Many
continued to be published into the 20th century. The directories provide a wide range of information about the community and its inhabitants,
typically providing both business and residential addresses. Like the Electoral Registers they can fill in gaps in census and civil
registration records.