Tag Archives: Portsmouth

Access to over 2 Million Portsmouth Records

I have a keen interest in Portsmouth records as I have several family members who lived in the area. I was pleased to read that earlier this month Findmypast published over 2.4 million new records in partnership with the Portsmouth History Centre.

Access to over 2 Million Portsmouth Records

Fully searchable transcripts of each original document are also included, enabling anyone to go online and search for their Portsmouth ancestors by name, location and date.

Hampshire, Portsmouth, Portsea Island Rate Books

Search through over a million pages of poor rate books from as early as 1700 through to 1921. The books recorded the amount of rates paid at each property, ownership of the property, and its location in the parishes of Portsea and Portsmouth. Discover the history of your ancestral home, today. With each record you will find a transcript of the vital facts and an image of the original rate poor.

Poor rate books were records of the amount of rates paid and by whom. Rates were levied annually and collected from both property owners and occupiers. The money was used for local poor relief. The Poor Law Act of 1598 made the parish responsible for the poor. The original records are held at the Portsmouth History Centre.

Hampshire, Portsmouth Hospital Records

Search for your ancestors in this fascinating collection of assorted hospital records and medical journals from St James Hospital between 1878 and 1918. At that time, the hospital was known as the Portsmouth Lunatic Asylum. Each result will give you a transcript of the vital facts and an image of the original hospital document. Images may provide you with even more information about your ancestor’s life, condition and treatment.

The Portsmouth Hospital Records have been digitised by Findmypast from the collection held by the Portsmouth History Centre. The collection includes a range of documents from the years St James Hospital operated as the city’s lunatic asylum including civil registers, deaths, indexes to admissions and discharges, maintenance ledgers, patient notes, registers of discharge and transfers.

Patient notes recorded the individual’s progress from their condition when they first entered the hospital and how or if the person improved. You will find notes such as, ‘delusions of grandeur’, ‘excited’, ‘clean’, or one patient was recorded as claiming she was the ‘Queen of Brighton’.

Hampshire, Portsmouth Police Staff Records, 1908-1924

Discover your English police heritage in this collection of police records from Portsmouth. The collection has been digitised by Findmypast from the records held at the Portsmouth History Centre. The Portsmouth Police Service was formed in January 1836. The city had its own police force from 1836 until 1967. The city’s fire brigade was also a branch of the police force when it was first formed.

With every results you will find an image of the original document and a transcript of the vital facts. The transcripts may include a combination of the officer’s age, birth year and birth place as well as their trade or calling, years of service and dates of appointment and discharge. Images may contain a variety of additional details including physical descriptions, photographic portraits, service histories and reasons for discharge/retirement.

Hampshire, Portsmouth Quarter Sessions Browse

Explore thousands of criminal records from these court Quarter Sessions, discover if your Portsmouth ancestors had been caught up in a criminal activity. Findmypast’s browse search allows you to search each Session register from beginning to end. As well as the accused’s age, aliases and home parish, the records will provide you with a wide variety of details relating to their offence, trail and sentencing.

The courts of quarter sessions were held over a number of days in rotation at different locations at four set times each year. They dealt with serious non-capital crimes, and formed the middle tier of the court system. Quarter sessions were presided over by unpaid magistrates, also known as justices of the peace, appointed by the Lord Chancellor. At each session, two juries would be elected. The Grand Jury’s job was to hear the evidence against the accused and to decide whether the case should go to trial. If they sent it forward it was the turn of the Trial or Petty Jury who would decide guilt.

Hampshire, Portsmouth Burials

Was your ancestor buried in Portsmouth, Hampshire? Discover your ancestor’s burial entry in over 129,000 additional Portsmouth parish records to uncover the location of their final resting place. The new additions cover Portsea, Highland Road and Kingston cemeteries between the years 1831 and 1902.

Results will provide you with transcripts and images of the original register entry. Transcripts will reveal a combination of the deceased’s birth year, death year, age at death, burial date, burial location, denomination, occupation, residence and relatives names. Image may provide additional details such as the name of the minister who performed the ceremony.

England & Wales, Electoral Registers 1832-1932

Over 64,000 additional images covering the Parliamentary Borough of Portsmouth have been added to the collection. You can search the records by personal name, polling district, county and constituency, as well as by keyword search to discover the history of your family home in the nineteenth and twentieth century.

Electoral Registers are lists created annually of people who are eligible to vote and include their reason for eligibility, such as their residence or ownership of a property. Until 1918, the right to vote was closely linked to property ownership. The details in the registers may vary slightly, but in most you will find a combination of your ancestor’s address, qualification to vote and occasionally a description of the residence, their occupation and age.

Hampshire, Portsmouth Trade Directories 1863-1927

Explore more than 30,000 pages of Portsmouth trade directories. Trade directories are an excellent resource for anyone researching their family history and want to understand more about their ancestor’s life. They provide insights into local business owners, trades people, civil servants, church leaders, school teachers and much more.

Each record includes an original image of the trade directory that will list your ancestor’s company name, occupation and address.

I haven’t had time to use any of the new records yet, really hoping for some time over New Year!

Over 1.3 million new Portsmouth records available

Findmypast today (27th October 2017) published online for the first time more than 1.3 million historical records in partnership with the Portsmouth History Centre. The publication marks the first phase of Findmypast’s new Portsmouth collection, a rich archive spanning the years 1538 to 1917 comprising beautifully scanned images of original handwritten documents. When complete, the collection will from the largest repository of Portsmouth family history records available online.

Made up of a variety of fascinating documents including parish baptisms, marriages, burials and Workhouse records, the collection will continue to grow as additional Portsmouth records including electoral rolls, rate books, crew lists and World War One military exemption records are added in later phases.

The records are full of fascinating details of Portsmouth life through the ages and will provide researchers from all over the world with the opportunity to uncover the stories of the inhabitants of the UK’s only island city for the very first time. Fully searchable transcripts of each original document are also included, enabling anyone to go online and search for their Portsmouth ancestors by name, location and date.

 

The parish registers held at Portsmouth History Centre pertain to Church of England parishes in the deaneries of Portsmouth, Gosport, Fareham, and Havant. Workhouse records consists of admission and discharge (Creed) registers spanning the years 1879 to 1953. Due to privacy concerns there is a 100-year closure period for all records.

Hampshire, Portsmouth Baptisms

Search over 555,000 original Portsmouth Parish Baptisms to find out. Each result will include both a transcript and an image of the original document. Transcripts will reveal your ancestor’s birth date, baptism date, baptism place, residence and the names of both parents, including mother’s maiden name. You may be able to glean additional details from the original register entry so be sure to view the image attached to each transcript.

Hampshire, Portsmouth Marriages

Add another branch to your family tree by uncovering the details of your Portsmouth ancestor’s spouse with over 379,000 parish marriage records. Search transcripts of these original parish registers to discover when your ancestor married, where they were married and the name of their spouse. Records will also reveal the couples’ birth years, residences, occupations, marital statuses, marriage type (banns or license), the names of both their and fathers and their father’s occupations. Images of the original register are also included with each result and may reveal additional information such as the names of any witnesses or the minister who performed the ceremony.

Hampshire, Portsmouth Burials

Discover the final resting place of your Portsmouth ancestors with over 312,000 brand new parish burials. Each record includes both a transcript and an image of the original document. Transcripts will list your ancestor’s death date, residence, occupation, burial date and burial location. Most will also reveal their residence, occupation and religious denominate as well as the names of their parent’s, spouse or next of kin.

Hampshire, Portsmouth Parish Registers Browse

Browse through 873 volumes of original parish registers of baptisms, marriages and burials. The majority of these registers pertain to Anglican records, but there are a few that relate to other denominations: Congregational, Presbyterian, Roman Catholic, Unitarian, United Methodist, and Wesleyan Methodist. All denominations were required to register life events with the established church until 1837.

Hampshire, Portsmouth Workhouse Registers

Were your ancestors admitted to the workhouse on Portsea Island? Explore over 60,000 admission and discharge registers spanning the years 1879 to 1953 and uncover details of the relief they received. Each record includes both an image and a transcript of the original document. Transcripts will reveal when your ancestor was admitted, when they were discharged and their home address. Images may be able to offer you additional details such as religious denomination, informant’s name, and any additional written notes.

New Portsmouth electoral rolls 1835-1873

New records released by Find My Past may be of interest to those with Portsmouth ancestors like me.

The Hampshire, Portsmouth electoral rolls 1835-1873 contain over 198,000 transcripts covering six parishes of Portsmouth: All Saints, St George, St John, St Mary, St Paul and St Thomas. Electoral rolls were registered annually, which means that you may find multiple entries for your ancestor. The Portsmouth electoral roll wasn’t published in 1836 and 1837, and those from 1866, 1870 and 1871 have not survived. The electoral registers are from six parishes of Portsmouth: All Saints, St George, St John, St Mary, St Paul and St Thomas.

The registers include the names of those who were eligible to vote in local and parliamentary elections. By using the keyword field you can search for your home address and discover who lived in your house before you. Or you can search a street name and discover the neighbours who lived alongside your ancestor.

Baptism record from Portsmouth New Chapel, Green Row, Portsmouth

William Benger was present at the baptism of his first son Thomas Benger at Portsmouth New Chapel in Green Row, Portsmouth. Thomas was born 16th April 1837, baptised 1st May 1837 by Robert Sherwell.

Portsmouth New Chapel in Green Row, Portsmouth

I’m not sure where the Portsmouth New Chapel in Green Row, Portsmouth actually was so I shall have to do some detective work about this place.

The Admiralty Badge

I love this little buttonhole brass badge, found amongst the buttons in my grandmother’s button tin. I have no idea who it belonged to.

On War Service 1914

On War Service badge.JPG

The Admiralty Badge was issued to war workers in shipyards during 1914. In 1916 Admiralty badges were numbered to control their issue amongst the numerous shipyard and related employers.

The 1914 On War Service badge was the first official badge issued during the First World War to identify non-combatant persons whose services were deemed necessary for war work. The badge was issued late 1914 to “workmen whose services are indispensable for the rapid completion of HM Ships and Armaments”.

The issue of this badge to individuals considered essential for war work was left to the shipyards and related employers and if the employee were to cease that employment, the badge had to be handed back.

I think the badge may have belonged to one of my paternal great grandfathers, either George James Benger, who worked in Naval Ordnance in Portsmouth, or Mansel Young who worked as a Dockyard Labourer also in Portsmouth, during the First World War.

Wooden box

I inherited this lovely wooden box which belonged to my paternal grandmother, Viola Margaret Benger. I presume it was originally for jewellery.

wooden box

I’ve had it a long time and still use it for storing my treasures. It has its’ original label on the bottom, stating it came from  the Landport Drapery Bazaar which was based in Commercial Road, Landport, Portsmouth and started trading in 1870.

Landport Drapery Bazaar

The Landport Drapery Bazaar was bombed in the Second World War and subsequently rebuilt a couple of times. It was brought out by United Drapery Group in 1965, in 1982 changed its name to Allders and in 2005 taken over by Debenhmas.