England, Cheshire, Register of Electors - FamilySearch Historical Records

Record Description
This collection will include records from 1842 to 1900.

Most of the registers have been published. Before 1884, they are arranged by polling district and then alphabetically by surname. After 1884, they were arranged by polling district and then by street.

In 1832, the Reform Act created electoral registers. These registers recorded individuals who qualified to vote in the national elections for representation in parliament. The qualifications changed over the years. There were also electoral registers that covered local elections. Boroughs of large cities had their own electoral registers and their own qualifications for being listed in the registers. In 1878, boroughs combined their registers for the national and local elections. Other places combined their registers by 1885. Registration was suspended and no electoral registers were created during the World Wars: 1916–1917 (1915–1917 for Scotland) and 1940–1944. In the early years, registers covered only about 7 percent of the population. By 1867, they covered about 11 percent. Until 1918, the registers list only men because women were not allowed to vote. Until 1971, the registers listed only those 21 years of age or older.

Registers have been published annually with few exceptions from 1832 to the present. Electoral registers are arranged in columns and were created to determine who could vote. If an individual’s name did not appear in the register, he or she could not vote. Since the government required the electoral registers, the reliability of the records would be high with respect to the place of residence and the name of the individual.

Record Content
Electoral registers may give the following information:


 * Given name and surname of each voter
 * Place of abode (residence)
 * Nature of qualification (what qualified the individual to be included in the register)
 * Name of property or street
 * Sometimes handwritten notes may have been added, giving such information as who the person voted for, when the voter died, or the removal of the voter.

How to Use the Records
To begin your search, it would be helpful if you knew the following information:


 * Name of ancestor
 * Approximate year and place of birth

Search the Collection
To search by index: Fill in the requested information in the initial search page. This search will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information about the ancestors in the list to what you already know about your ancestors to determine if this is the correct family or person. You may need to look at several images and compare the information about the individuals listed in those images to your ancestors to make this determination.

For tips about searching on-line collections see the on-line video at FamilySearch Search Tips and Tricks.

Tips to Keep in Mind

 * The electoral registers may help you determine the residence of an individual and how long that person lived there.
 * You may also be able to determine your ancestor’s social status and to locate other records in which that person might appear.
 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct.
 * Remember that there may be more than one person in the records with the same name as your ancestor and that your ancestor may have used nicknames or different names at different times.
 * Titles may be clues to property ownership, occupations, rank, or status within the community.
 * Continue to search the index and records to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives who may have lived in the same area.
 * Be aware that, as with any index, transcription errors may occur.
 * Check for variant spellings of the names.

Related Websites

 * Cheshire, England Genealogy
 * Microfilm Listings from the London Family History Centre
 * England and Wales History Links
 * England and Wales Historic Maps

Related Wiki Articles

 * Cheshire
 * Electoral Rolls or Registers in England
 * England
 * FamilySearch's Resources for Britain and Ireland
 * Poll Books in England and Wales

Citations for This Collection
When you copy information from a record, you should list where you found the information; that is, cite your sources. This will help people find the record again and evaluate the reliability of the source. It is also good to keep track of records where you did not find information, including the names of the people you looked for in the records. Citations are available for the collection as a whole and each record or image individually.

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