I was surprised & chuffed to find a 6xGGF in a poll book 1780s.
I found only one of his 3 grandsons, stonemasons like him, on an electoral roll. This was my 4xGGF who was on electoral roll for Preston, Lancashire in 1830s. Preston was unusual in that men over 21 who had been resident in the borough for a year were entitled to register to vote. Exceptions were paupers and anyone convicted of crime. Preston's peculiar franchise had been claimed at the time of the English Civil War and re-asserted on several occasions. The 2 brothers of my ancestor lived in villages north of Preston and were probably not enfranchised.
My other 4xGGF who lived in Preston at the time was also on the register, although in a different section as a property owner; occupation was "gentleman". He'd become a voter aged 70, a few years previously, enfranchised by the Catholic Emancipation Act. Two of his sons had moved to Manchester. The elder Manchester son was on electoral roll for Salford Hundred because he had business premises there. The younger one, my 3xGGF wasn't.
