Electoral registers County Down after 1940

[Liza115]

I have found a home address for William Price, a draper, at Seacliffe Road in Bangor, County Down. The address is  mentioned in the newspaper when his mother-in-law died in 1940. So far, this is the only record I have found for him or members of his immediate family after about 1920, when his eldest child was born. I have gathered quite a bit of information on his earlier life, and am not looking for more about that, but I want to know what became of him after 1940, when he was already about 56 years old.
My questions:
1. Are there electoral registers available for Bangor, County Down, from 1940 on?
2. If so, are they available online? Where?
It's possible that this family emigrated, but looking at electoral registers might help to establish how long they lived on Seacliffe road.
Thanks for any suggestions of sources.
Liza115

[Elwyn Soutter]

Electoral Registers in Northern Ireland are very elusive. I think they are supposed to be in PRONI in Belfast but I have never seen any there. They are certainly not searchable on-line.

I searched deaths on the GRONI site 1940 -1972 but did not see a William Price of the right age in Bangor. (Death records after 1972 are not accessible on-line, unless you go into PRONI or GRONI).

Irish Independent 17th March 1942 has a notice regarding a private company Gorse Lodge Enterprises which was a newly created social club. One of the Directors was William B. Price of 264 Seacliffe Rd, Bangor. Couldn’t see any other mention of him in the papers.

PRONI have records of property occupancy for the 1940s up to around 1970. (VAL/3 series of records). However they are not on-line and so you would need to go in person or get a researcher to do that for you, to look them up.

I searched for a will 1940 – 1970 on the PRONI wills site but did not find one that appears to fit your William.

[Liza115]

I had a feeling that finding electoral registers wasn't going to be that easy. I'm oceans away from Belfast, so can't look in person.
Thanks for your efforts in searching deaths and wills. I had not found one either.
That's a great find with the newspaper item from 1942, though. I'll see whether Gorse Lodge Enterprises can lead me to anything else. It encouraged me to comb more carefully through the newspapers, and I found that the house on Seacliffe Road went up for auction in January 1945, with vacant possession. There is another news item saying that Mrs Price of that address won first prize at a flower show in 1938, so now I have located them in that place for a few years. 
Thanks, Elwyn! 

[aghadowey]

I know you are looking for information after 1940 when William Price's mother-in-law died but there is a newspaper snippet from the previous year which seems to give a name for the house which might be helpful when searching newspapers.
Belfast Newsletter, 8 Mar.1939: ... residence, Kilmore Road, Crossgar, James, dearly-beloved father of Sarah Price. Deeply regretted by his sorrowing Daughter, Son-in-law, and Grandchildren, ”Doonfeeny,” 264, Seacliffe Road, Bangor.

Can't tell if any of these entries are same William Price but including them just in case you later get more clues.
1970 Bangor directory lists several Prices in Bangor- including a W. W.R. & W.S.-
https://www.lennonwylie.co.uk/BangorSpectatorDirectory1970.htm#NAMES

1943 a Sarah Price and a William Price listed in Bangor- different households-
https://www.lennonwylie.co.uk/PT19432.htm#BANGOR

[Liza115]

Aghadowey, that link to Bangor directory was great to see! You are correct in thinking this William Price is connected to the others I have sought in the past, and was the brother of Emma Stanley Price. He shares his first name with his father (draper/silk merchant), his grandfather (excise man) and also his son (born 1920, occupation unknown).
From the names in the 1943 directory, in two separate households, I wonder if perhaps Sarah's husband William Price had died by then, as she is listed as head of the household. The William Price at a different address might be their son, who would have been about 24 years old and could have started a family of his own by then.
Since William's father (the draper/silk merchant) died in his early 40s and his grandfather (excise man) died in his mid-30s, I would not be surprised that this William Price died before he reached 60 years.
I've made a note of the house name, "Doonfeeny", which, you're right, wasn't mentioned in the mother-in-law's death notice.
Thanks! A few more clues to go on with.

[aghadowey]

As I mentioned, there's no way of telling if any of those Price entries from the directories are for the correct family. The problem with finding corroborative newspaper articles in there may not be online coverage for the newspapers.

Added- there was at least one other William Price in Bangor-
Price William of 50 Dufferin Avenue Bangor county Down insurance agent died 8 March 1956 Probate Belfast 1 June to Mary Price the widow. Effects £3569 9s. 4d.

[Liza115]

Yes, you're quite right, it's a common name, and without some other evidence it's guesswork. You can see why I got quite excited to come across an actual address!

[Jon_ni]

Electoral Registers in Northern Ireland are very elusive

Elwyn
Like you I have never seen any so was surprised when, last month, someone posted on a Belfast Facebook group an image of a page they had obtained some time back, as couldn't remember where she had got the records from.
So for interest attached is a cropped image. Much the same as the English ones on Ancestry and Findmypast but with some unfamiliar and extra Local Government voting entitlement abbreviations and in force for a 3 year period rather than 12 months.
As you say they are certainly not online and not name indexed so only of use if one knows a precise residence (she was hoping to do a name search for someone 1960+ living in Belfast & unlikely to be the householder, as a unmarried female 1949, using her forname & 2 initials).

https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/publications/chief-electoral-office-records

Electoral records from the mid-19th century until the formation of the Chief Electoral Office are mainly found in Court records. Court records are catalogued using a prefix identifying the six counties of Northern Ireland and Belfast City. For example, ANT for Antrim, BELF for Belfast, DOW for Down,
etc. These cover the years 1852 to 1970. For example:

DOW - Down Crown and Peace
DOW/5 - Franchise and Jury
DOW/5/1 - Electoral Registers
DOW/5/1/1 - Parliamentary Register of Electors for the West Down Division of
Co. Down, 1908.

[Elwyn Soutter]

Jon,

Very helpful. Thank you. Never knew they were there.