Explore East Midlands records this Findmypast Friday
2-3 minute read
By Daisy Goddard | August 9, 2024
These new additions may help you to trace the lives of East Midlands ancestors in more detail than ever before.
We added over 28,000 Northamptonshire records to our collection this week. Consisting of tax lists, poll books and licenses, these three brand-new sets can help you trace the lives of your East Midlands ancestors like never before.
But that's not all - we also added a new Yorkshire title to our newspaper archive this Findmypast Friday, with a total of 245,806 historical pages for you to explore.
Northamptonshire Land, Poll & Window Tax Lists
These 15,995 transcriptions document various taxes paid by Northamptonshire residents in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries.
'A Vision of the Repeal of the Window Tax', Wellcome Images via Wikimedia Commons.
The taxes included are:
- Land Tax: These 18th and 19th-century records can help you identify the head of a household.
- Window Tax: Introduced in 1696 and repealed in 1851, this banded tax was based on the number of windows in a house.
- Poll Tax: This was taxation on goods and/or income - the index of names can act almost like a census, with heads of households for each parish listed. These records document many of those who paid the poll tax in Northamptonshire's administrative areas
Northamptonshire Poll Books
This new set comprises 7,463 Northamptonshire poll book records which span the period 1768 to 1835.
Northamptonshire Quarter Sessions Licences
The 5,093 records in this brand-new set are transcriptions of licenses that were awarded by the County Quarter Sessions court between 1689 and 1932.
'The Noble Higglers', Rambler's Magazine, c. 1786.
There are three licence types included:
- Non-Conformist Meeting House Licenses: A licence was required for an individual or group to hold non-conformist religious services between 1689 and 1852. This index contains 1,777 names, covering 1689 to 1851.
- Gamekeepers' Licenses: All gamekeepers had to be licensed between the 18th and 20th centuries. These records contain a name, the year of the licence, a home address and the location of the land. These records contain 2,490 names covering the period 1709 to 1932.
- Badgers and Higglers: Badgers and higglers were wholesalers and travelling salespeople who sold food and other commercial products, and required a licence to do so. This index covers 1693 to 1773 and contains 1,777 names.
New pages from Derby to Dunstable
There are 245,806 brand-new pages for you to explore this week. We added a brand new Yorkshire title - the Hebden Bridge Times.
We also updated 15 of our existing publications, with new pages from across England. Here's everything that's been added this week.
New titles:
- Hebden Bridge Times, 1884-1885, 1888-1889, 1894, 1976-1977, 1980-1981, 1989-1991, 1994-1995, 1998-2002
Updated titles:
- Banbury Guardian, 1995-1996
- Biggleswade Chronicle, 1990-1991, 1997
- Buckingham Advertiser and Free Press, 1995, 1997-1999
- Derbyshire Times, 1991-1993
- Dunstable Gazette, 1989, 1991, 1993-1994, 1998-1999
- Eastbourne Herald, 1998-1999, 2001-2003
- Galloway Gazette, 1988-1989, 1991-1992
- Harrogate Advertiser and Weekly List of the Visitors, 1988, 1992-1993, 1998
- Lancing Herald, 1992
- Milton Keynes Citizen, 1996-1997, 1999, 2001-2002
- Newton and Earlestown Guardian, 1890-1895, 1946, 1951, 1953-1962, 1965-1972
- Rugby Advertiser, 1996, 2001
- Shropshire Star, 1996, 2000-2001
- Thame Gazette, 1995-1996
- Todmorden & District News, 1988-1991, 1998-2001
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