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England (Counties as in 1851-1901) => England => Shropshire => Topic started by: Hercule Poirot on Friday 20 March 15 14:29 GMT (UK)
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Can anyone help please. My great great grandfather died in October 1918 and I have secured a copy of his newspaper obituary. Whoever prepared the obituary did a very good job, all children / grandchildren were listed in male seniority followed by female seniority, and I have associated all named folk with the exception of one couple - shown as Mr & Mrs W. PARRY, OSWESTRY.
Does anybody have access to the Oswestry electoral rolls or can search the rolls for 1918 to identify any couple (plus children) living in the Oswestry area in 1918, and just in case the wife was not eligible to vote in 1918, a further search of the 1928 roll as women then became eligible from aged 21 years and above.
Thank you for even reading this
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As he died in 1918 have you tried the 1911 census :-\
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Without a christian name or a specific address - how will you determine the right W Parry?
http://www.1911census.co.uk/search/tnaform.aspx
If we assume his name was William - then there are 4 possibilities
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From searching possible marriages I detect it could be William or Walter, but I cannot be sure without seeing the names of the spouses who I believe may have been a Jones before marriage, thus trying to establish all W. PARRY in Oswestry. My guess is the wife could be a missing illegitimate birth I don't have, but I already got the birth certificates of 5 other illegitimate births.
I have already scoured the 1911 census but my target is 1918 as they could have moved to Oswestry twixt 1911 and 1918
There are 12 x William Parry in Oswestry in 1911, but who are still there in 1918 and 2 x Walter in name
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Electoral registers are compiled by street address, not name.
Unless they have been digitised and transcribed, it could be a long process for someone to go through the registers for the whole constituency of 20,000+ eligible voters in 1918
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I'm fully aware how electoral roll books are prepared and have researched many many books, when you have a specific address each book just takes minutes. It seems a trip to Salop archives is warranted in the near future as I am told they hold copies from Oswestry from previous queries with them.
I could also purchase all marriage certificates of a W(anybody) Parry marrying a ? Jones female before 1918 and see what develops, these to be added to my 1000+ collection over 7 years. From a FreeBMD search there's not that many marriages in Shropshire (For Oswestry / Llansilin), Denbighshire, Merionethshire (For Corwen) and Montgomeryshire (For Llanfyllin) for such a coupling.
Thanks anyway all
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when you have a specific address each book just takes minutes
But you don't have a specific address do you which is the main problem. You also only have an initial which is probably William.
So if you find a number of entries for a W Parry - how do you determine which one attended the funeral?
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Then I apply logic and get marriage certificates, simples ....... but I can do that now and may well do before an ER check. I have tonight downloaded all Wxxx Parry 1911 census forms and a list of Wxxx Parry / ? Jones marriage records, but if they weren't in Oswestry in 1911 but were in 1918. I am quite prepared to physically check the whole 1918 roll for Oswestry at Salop Archives, I've researched greater and it's not as if Oswestry was London.
In the last 5 years I have been seeking the last known sibling of my great grandad on the 1911 census, without success. Two weeks ago I struck gold using another search method. I sent for his MC and bingo it was 100% correct, 6 more certificates for his family are due to land tomorrow.
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I'm told:
The Salop Absent Voter Lists are at Shrewsbury Archives
so guess other electoral rolls are these also.