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Have you got a criminal ancestor? Have you got a criminal ancestor?
(7 months later)
Family history website findmypast.co.uk has launched a new service that allows you to dig up your dodgier ancestors. The initial set of criminal records, now online, covers 1817 to 1931, but it will eventually be possible to search back to 1770. I know virtually nothing about my relatives, but had a grisly feeling some might be highly disreputable. Was a dip into my family's past really wise?Family history website findmypast.co.uk has launched a new service that allows you to dig up your dodgier ancestors. The initial set of criminal records, now online, covers 1817 to 1931, but it will eventually be possible to search back to 1770. I know virtually nothing about my relatives, but had a grisly feeling some might be highly disreputable. Was a dip into my family's past really wise?
Apparently, my inhibitions are not widely shared. "People are very excited by criminal ancestors," says Debra Chatfield, marketing manager for the site. "When we did a survey asking what sort of relatives they hoped a search would throw up, black sheep came out No 1, way ahead of royalty or aristocracy. People have a romantic notion of vagabonds, especially in the Victorian period." It seems that what you don't want to find is that you hail from a long line of accountants or quantity surveyors.Apparently, my inhibitions are not widely shared. "People are very excited by criminal ancestors," says Debra Chatfield, marketing manager for the site. "When we did a survey asking what sort of relatives they hoped a search would throw up, black sheep came out No 1, way ahead of royalty or aristocracy. People have a romantic notion of vagabonds, especially in the Victorian period." It seems that what you don't want to find is that you hail from a long line of accountants or quantity surveyors.
It soon became apparent that starting a family search by looking for the black sheep is putting the (probably stolen) cart before the (almost certainly abused) horse. You really need to know who your ancestors are before you try to find out whether they had a criminal record. The only Victorian relative whose name I know is my grandfather, Albert Moss, born in the Welsh town of Newport in 1892. I'm happy to say he did not fall foul of the law.It soon became apparent that starting a family search by looking for the black sheep is putting the (probably stolen) cart before the (almost certainly abused) horse. You really need to know who your ancestors are before you try to find out whether they had a criminal record. The only Victorian relative whose name I know is my grandfather, Albert Moss, born in the Welsh town of Newport in 1892. I'm happy to say he did not fall foul of the law.
But I'm a little worried about Thomas Moss, a seaman born in 1849, who on 22 November 1895 in Newport "did unlawfully obtain money, food and lodgings from Catherine Keefe by false pretences with intent to cheat and defraud". This may just be a coincidence – the indictment viewable on the website shows he had a string of other convictions for frauds committed in Cardiff and Liverpool – or he may be my own Victorian vagabond. Finding out will require a lot more digging. Thomas Moss is a common name – there were a dozen born in the UK in 1849.But I'm a little worried about Thomas Moss, a seaman born in 1849, who on 22 November 1895 in Newport "did unlawfully obtain money, food and lodgings from Catherine Keefe by false pretences with intent to cheat and defraud". This may just be a coincidence – the indictment viewable on the website shows he had a string of other convictions for frauds committed in Cardiff and Liverpool – or he may be my own Victorian vagabond. Finding out will require a lot more digging. Thomas Moss is a common name – there were a dozen born in the UK in 1849.
Unlocking the past comes at a price (financial rather than psychological). A full subscription allowing you access to all the documents on findmypast.co.uk can cost up to £110 a year. But it has whetted my appetite. I would like to discover who and what my ancestors were. Even the fraudsters. Maybe even the quantity surveyors.Unlocking the past comes at a price (financial rather than psychological). A full subscription allowing you access to all the documents on findmypast.co.uk can cost up to £110 a year. But it has whetted my appetite. I would like to discover who and what my ancestors were. Even the fraudsters. Maybe even the quantity surveyors.
Chatfield had her own epiphany when researching the criminal records. "I found a great-great-uncle in the Victorian prison hulks," she says. "He'd stolen 18lb of cheese. I felt sorry for him. He was only 18 and ended up on a prison hulk for seven years. I'm partial to cheese myself, so I can see where he was coming from."Chatfield had her own epiphany when researching the criminal records. "I found a great-great-uncle in the Victorian prison hulks," she says. "He'd stolen 18lb of cheese. I felt sorry for him. He was only 18 and ended up on a prison hulk for seven years. I'm partial to cheese myself, so I can see where he was coming from."
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