Claude Melville, warrant officer, sgt major

[fazenross]

Well I got a reply from the Lancaster archives. No luck. Here is their rather lengthy response:

Dear Mr. Craft,

Thank you for your email about Claude Melville. At Lancashire Archives we hold the records of the Lancashire Quarter Session Courts, which were akin to today's magistrate courts. I have checked the indexes and can see no reference to Claude Melville among these records. We do hold some calendars of prisoners which include the gaol at Kirkdale but unfortunately none for the years between 1870 and 1888.

It may well be that Claude was tried at either the Liverpool Quarter Session Courts or the Assizes Courts. Liverpool Record Office holds calendars of prisoners and Indictment files for Quarter Sessions for appropriate date so may well be able to locate Claude among these records.



If Claude's crime was of a more serious nature then he would have been tried at the Assizes, the records for which are held at The National Archives. There is a useful research guide about Assize Court records available on their website and they should be able to offer advice on how to take your research forward.

National Criminal registers, which will tell you what court Claude was tried at, are available to view on Ancestry.co.uk, but unfortunately we do not have access to this website so I cannot check for you. This is a subscription site and requires payment, but it may well be worth your investment.

I have checked the British Library website 19th Century Newspapers Online for mention of Claude's trial but I could see no reference to him.

I am sorry not to be able to offer you any specific details but I do hope that you find this information

[olliecat]

A shame nothing was found but it appears that the Lancashire archives were very helpful and have checked the Lancashire Quarter Sessions Court records for you. They suggest that you check the Liverpool Quarter Session Courts but the reply you had from the Liverpool Record Office suggests that they don't have anything related to Claude Melville, although their response was not very specific.

By the way, a TNA research guide about assize courts can be viewed here. As for Ancestry, well there does not appear to anything in their criminal register collection (series HO 26 and HO 27.)

It is a such a pity that the Lancashire Archives do not hold calendar of prisoners for Kirkdale between 1870 and 1888.

One point you should bear in mind - many people were recorded in the census in gaol for whom no entry can be found in the criminal registers. For some, their cases may never have reached a court at all.

[fazenross]

You two obviously helped me alot, so a give you a hearty thanks. It seems I'll never find out why Claude was in jail. Hopefully the marriage certificate will name Claude's parents, which is my main goal. I'm really starting to think they won't be Melvilles.

[fazenross]

Well, I finally got Claude's marriage certificate. His father's name was John Melville! It didn't mention his mother's name. Where should I look to find out more about this John Melville, including his birth and death dates and his spouse's name and marriage date?

[Nicolina]

[I] Sister, Sarah Broo..an.. [Brookbank?], 83 Elizabeth(?) Street, C..ton(?) Square, London S.W.

could the address read: Elizabeth Street, Chester Square? There was one in St George's. Hanover Square.