TheGenealogist is adding to its Court & Criminal records by publishing online a new collection of Quarter Session rolls and books from Warwickshire, Worcestershire, Shropshire, Surrey and Middlesex covering dates from as far back as the 16th century and up to, in some cases, the Victorian period.

Large release of court and police records from TheGenealogist

The Quarter Session records were produced by local courts traditionally held at four set times each year. These sessions were held by two or more justices of the peace and presided over by a chairman, accompanied by a jury, at Epiphany (in January), Easter (March/April), Midsummer (June/July) and then at Michaelmas (September/October).

These records enable researchers to find the names of people before the courts, including those indicted, witnesses, and the justices of the peace and the clerks. Some of the earliest records in this release reach as far back as 1549 for Middlesex and 1591 in Worcester

Indictments can range across a wide number of offences. These include larceny, housebreaking, assault and riot, running unlicensed alehouses, receiving rogues and not going to church on Sunday.

In one example from Worcestershire in 1613, Margaret Lewys stole ‘an old towell’ at Feckenham. Other proceedings include one involving Daniel Steane who was fined 20s at a private session at Wolston, Warwickshire in 1631. His indictment was for ‘selling less than a full quart of his best ale for a penny’.

Searching these new records for your ancestors may also reveal them appearing in the many orders handed down by the JPs. These can include the names of people at the bottom rung of society who were in need of financial help from their communities. An example from the Easter 1625 session in Warwickshire is the case of Anne Harte of Hampton in Arden. Her husband had been ‘pressed for a soldier out of this county and have left her destitute of maintenance and one child’; the justices of the Quarter Sessions made an order to the effect that Hampton in Arden pay her 4d weekly and find her work; plus, if she were to get sick, the parish officials were to pay her more ‘until this court take order to the contrary’.

From riotous Luddites to the gentry sitting on the bench, all echelons of society can be found in these Quarter Session records, all fully searchable at www.thegenealogist.co.uk.

Meanwhile the site has also recently launched a new collection of Police Letter Books for Hampshire. This is an intriguing mixture of promotions, retirements, movements, and other observations about police officers in the county from 1891 to 1911.

These records reveal names and collar numbers of officers promoted, reduced in rank or dismissed from the force for committing various acts of misconduct. The misdemeanors often seem to involve alcohol, ranging from accepting a glass of beer to being drunk on duty. Commendations given to more competent officers are also included.

London educational records go online

TheGenealogist has just released a batch of London school and university records to join its growing educational collection.

Researchers can use this new data to find ancestors who attended or taught at a variety of educational establishments within London between 1831 and 1927. Also listed are the names of those who held high office in the institutions, such as patrons, deans, visitors and professors of universities and principles, masters and governors of schools.

This release covers the names of those who graduated from the University of London between 1836 and 1926 – while for King’s College London it also provides a list of Fellows from 1847 to 1920, registered students for 1920-1921 and those awarded degrees in 1920 and 1921 as well as the prizes given at King’s.

In some cases, researchers can also find old boys who served in World War One. For example, it is possible to track down men serving with the colours in the Great War in the case of the Old Wilsonians, as listed in The Wilsonian Magazine. For those Old Alleynians and Old Haberdashers, who perished in the war, their names and often a photograph are recorded in the First World War Roll of Honours for both Dulwich College and the Haberdashers’ Aske’s Hampstead School.

The full list of records included in this release is:

• University of London Historical Record 1836-1926
• The Skylark Magazine, Haberdashers’ Aske’s Hampstead School 1918
• The Wilsonian Magazine April 1914-April 1919
• University College School, London Register 1831-1891
• Royal College Of Chemistry, Royal School Of Mines And Royal College Of Science Register Of Associates
• Record of Old Westminsters Vols 1 and 2 earliest times -1927
• King’s College, London Calendar 1921-1922
• Dulwich College War Record 1914-1919.