The Assize courts were the higher courts – equivalent to today’s Crown Court. This document includes information on accessing Assize court records together with an example: the case of Frances Ellen Aldred.
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Resources
In addition to their roll in trying criminal cases, the Quarter Sessions had many administrative functions. These have left many useful records for family historians, including: Issuing licences a whole range of activities: from pubs and guns to non-conformist meeting houses. Records of the local militia and
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Quarter Sessions had two types of functions – judicial and administrative. The types of information in the criminal records are discussed in this article, which is illustrated using the case of Robert Ranson from 1857. Information on the records from the administrative functions of the Quarter Sessions
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A brief discussion on the history of schooling and the records which are available for researching your family history. If you are lucky you may find a school photograph such as the one above – the trick is to identify your ancestors!
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Very few of Catholics own records survive much before the mid-18th century and most Catholic parish registers start only around 1840-1850. However there can be useful information in other sources, including Anglican records and court records. This article provides some ideas and sources for tracing your Catholic ancestors.
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The Quakers or Society of Friends were founded in 1647, with one of the earliest meetings being in County Durham. Quakers kept excellent records and this article discusses the resources available if you are lucky enough to find Quakers in your family tree.
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Trade guilds or companies to support and control tradesmen in similar professions date back to medieval times, if not before. The North East has excellent collections for records for these Guilds, particularly those of the cities of Newcastle and Durham. This article provides information on these records
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The New Poor Law of 1834 established that most feared institution: The Workhouse. Unfortunately, many of our ancestors were forced to enter these forbidding places at some time in their lives. This article includes information on the New Poor Law, the Workhouse and how to find people
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Today, if we are looking for goods and services we might use a website or a local newspaper or magazine. Those of us who are somewhat older will remember Yellow Pages and the like. However, such sources of information are nothing new and before the advent of
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World War I lasted from 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918 and impacted the lives of everyone in the UK, whether or not they actually fought in the war. Often the starting point for researching a WWI ancestor is an item of memorabilia such as a
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