With the launch of the Swansea and the Surrounding Area Electoral, Gaol and Poor Law Union records, Dr David Morris, archivist at West Glamorgan Archive Service provides further insight into the value of searching for your ancestors in these collections.
The Swansea and the Surrounding Area Poor Law Union Records, 1836-1916 records relate to the four poor law unions of West Glamorgan, namely Gower, Neath (includes Aberavon), Pontardawe and Swansea. Amongst the record series in this collection are workhouse creed registers, admission and discharge registers, registers of births, registers of deaths, master’s reports and journal, and much more.
Perhaps the most useful series of records for family historians are the creed registers. These include the dates when inmates entered the workhouse, their names, religious creed, the names of informants and the date of discharge or death.
For instance, John Kinningham, a Catholic was admitted on 19th November 1903 by Mrs Margaret Correll of 24 Greenhill Street. He died on 30th November 1903 and an inquest was held on 1st December 1903.
Poor Law records are not only a must for family historians, they are also a valuable resource for social historians including those interested in Irish migration to south Wales in the mid-nineteenth century, women’s history, the history of the family and the growth of local government.
Although the information contained in parish registers and census returns, can tell us much about our ancestors – where they lived, their ages and occupations – these sources rarely tells us much about their day to day lives, or for that matter, the colour of their hair, their height in feet and inches and details about past criminal convictions.
With the release of the Swansea and the Surrounding Area Gaol Records, 1877-1922, this sort of information is now available to those with criminal forebears from the area. These records include the Brecon, Carmarthen nominal prison registers; calendars of prisoners tried at Assize and Quarter Session Courts 1856-1922 and Photographs of Criminals at Swansea Police Station 1893-1905.
A typical example of the persons sent to Swansea prison at the end of the nineteenth century is John Meyler. According to the details recorded in the Swansea prison nominal register the inmate was committed for trial at the Swansea Borough court on 1st September 1896 for stealing a jacket for which he was sentenced to one month hard labour. The nominal register also reveals that John Meyler was 33 years old, a native of Birmingham and a turner by trade.
Fortunately for the researcher, John Meyler also appears in the Swansea Police photograph collection (page 88) where he is seen sporting a full moustache with a check scarf about his neck.
Personal information such as height and hair colouring are not included in census returns and parish registers, which is exactly why the criminal records are of great interest to anybody lucky enough to have a criminal ancestor who lived in Glamorgan, Carmarthenshire or Breconshire.
Start exploring these collections now on Ancestry and let us know what you’re able to uncover from the records.
Swansea and the Surrounding Area, Wales, Electoral Rolls 1839-1966
Swansea and the Surrounding Area, Wales, Gaol Records, 1877-1922
Swansea and the Surrounding Area, Wales, Poor Law Union Records, 1836-1916