Tracing Your Prisoner Ancestors: A Guide for Family Historians

by Stephen Wade

Overview

The history of the British prison system only had systematic records from the middle of the nineteenth century. Before that, material on prisoners in local jails and houses of correction was patchy and minimal. In more recent times, many prison records have been destroyed.

In Tracing Your Prisoner Ancestors, crime historian Stephen Wade attempts to provide information and guidance to family and social history researchers in this difficult area of criminal records. His book covers the span of time from medieval to modern, and includes some Scottish and Irish sources.

The sources explained range broadly from central calendars of prisoners, court records and jail returns, through to memoirs and periodicals. The chapters also include case studies and short biographies of some individuals who experienced our prisons and left some records.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781526778536
Publisher:	Pen & Sword Books Limited
Publication date:	01/04/2022
Series:	Tracing Your Ancestors
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	144
File size:	6 MB

About the Author

Stephen Wade is a biographer and social historian, usually associated with crime and law, but here he turns his attention to a place he has known for forty years, as he has lived and worked in Scunthorpe all that time. His most recent books have been "Going to Extremes", "The Justice Women" and three volumes in the "Your Town in the Great War" series (all Pen & Sword), and :No More Soldiering" (Amberley).

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements vi

How to Use this Book vii

Introduction xi

Chapter 1 The History of Prisons in Britain I 1

Chapter 2 The History of Prisons in Britain II 15

Chapter 3 Staff and the Regime 25

Chapter 4 Prison Records I 36

Chapter 5 Prison Records II 50

Chapter 6 Prison Records III 63

Chapter 7 Transportation 75

Chapter 8 Criminal Lunatics 89

Chapter 9 Secondary Records 99

Chapter 10 Contemporary Sources in Print/Online 113

Chapter 11 Criminal Offences 136

Bibliography and Sources 162

Index 175