I spend quite a bit of my time researching criminals ..... Both Ancestry and Findmypast have many useful data sets; some of which are the same, but others are unique to each site.
As far as I have been able to determine, all of Ancestry's data sets can be found in the "Court, Land, Wills & Financial" category.
Its not as clear cut for FMP. There they have a 'category' and then a 'sub category', and unfortunately they haven't adopted a uniform and consistent approach. So I have found data sets in the categories of "Institutions & Organisations" and "Travel & Migration", and in the subcategories of "Prison Registers", "Transportation", "Migration", "Courts & Legal".
FMP have one data set that I don't think you would find unless you were looking for it:
Data set : Manchester Prison Registers 1847-1881
Category : Education & Work
Subcategory : Occupations
The logic of the categorisation has eluded me!
Results 1 to 4 of 4
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06-02-2021, 7:07 PM #1
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- Sep 2005
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- Lancashire
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How data sets are categorised - or not!
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07-02-2021, 1:12 AM #2
Thanks for this Megan. I am now off to do a search for the brother of my great grandfather who I know was convicted of assaulting his wife because she wouldn't give him any money to beer.
I must admit I do find it harder to find things on FMP.
ChristinaSometimes paranoia is just having all the facts.
William Burroughs
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07-02-2021, 11:37 AM #3
- Join Date
- Oct 2004
- Location
- West Yorkshire
- Posts
- 1,730
One of the best ways to find data sets at FindMyPast is to Click Search at the top, then All Record Sets (top right in the dropdown menu).
Use a Where or When filter on the left if it might help, and simply type a key word in the box above. Putting 'prison' there shows these Manchester ones with their strange classification, as well as the main prison data sets ('Institutions and Organisations') and a couple of POW ones.
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07-02-2021, 12:51 PM #4
- Join Date
- Sep 2005
- Location
- Lancashire
- Posts
- 3,648
You are quite right, and that is what I have been doing when I start my searches, principally using "England & Wales, Crime, Prisons & Punishment, 1770-1935", which according to the blurb with it includes 22 different record sets. However, if you go to the "what's new" part of the site, they claim on 29 Jan to have added 92,000 records to that set by incorporating an additional (new) 4 record sets:
Herefordshire Prison Register Index 1849-1915
Court of Great Sessions in Wales 1730-1830
Bedfordshire Gaol Registers
Kirkby Stephen Petty Sessions 1874-1901
My issue with FMP is that: (a) the description of "England & Wales, Crime, Prisons & Punishment, 1770-1935" has not been amended to include these, (b) when you go to "England & Wales, Crime, Prisons & Punishment, 1770-1935" you are not offered the opportunity to find those 4 sets of records in the search box and (c) you won't find them in the "All Record Sets".
Before anyone tells me I do know that "Court of Great Sessions in Wales 1730-1830" are available free of charge from the National Library of Wales "Crime and Punishment" site.
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