Have you ever wanted to know more about the lives of your great great grandparents, or wondered who lived in your house long before you did?
Well now millions of new records telling the story of the people and places around Manchester have been released which could help you find the answers. Family history website, Findmypast, has published the exclusive collection of over 4.9 million records, spanning 200 years, online.
In partnership with Manchester Archives, the non-census documents will allow people to uncover new details about their ancestors. The records include rate books and Inquisition records, which will help researchers piece together more detailed information about Manchester and its people.
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Mary McKee, Head of Digitisation and Publishing Operations at Findmypast, said: "We’re delighted to be bringing these fascinating records online so that more people can delve into their Manchester roots and add more detail to their family tree than ever before.
“What’s so useful about these records is that they help to bridge the years between Censuses – conducted every 10 years – so that you can discover what your ancestors were up to in those intervening years. Perhaps you'll find a famous Manchester face living in your house, or trace your ancestor to some surprising and unexpected places."
Already, experts from Findmypast have discovered notable Manchester heroes and heroines within the records, including: Anti-colonial black rights pioneer, Dr Peter McDonald Milliard; early professional football star, William Henry Meredith, who played for both Manchester City and Manchester United and lived at 13 Louisa Street, Gorton; and leading feminist Emmeline Pankhurst who was found to be renting 62 Nelson Street (now the Pankhurst Centre).
Other records have uncovered more details of the lives of Manchester born Secretary of State for War, David Lloyd George, in 1916 – around the time when he edged the then-Prime Minister H. H. Asquith from power. And father of nuclear physics, Ernest Rutherford, was discovered renting number 17 Wilmslow Road for £75 per year, when he took up his position at the University of Manchester.
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To find out if a famous face once lived in your house, and other interesting historical details, Findmypast, Manchester Central Library, and Manchester Histories Hub will be hosting a number of events at the end of May for Community History Month. The events are being held to encourage people to uncover more about the rich local heritage of Manchester and their own past.
There will be sessions at Manchester Central Library on how to navigate these new records, as well as the basics of getting started with your family tree. Highlights include:
- Friday 26 May at 11-12am: The 1921 Census with Leslie Turner, of the Manchester & Lancashire Family History Society.
- Friday 26 May at 12-2pm: Handling session with local maps, rate books, street directories, census and other archives – meet the archivists and get advice
- Friday 26 May at 4pm: Facebook Friday Live with Findmypast – Manchester Takeover
- Saturday 27 May at 10:30-11:30am: Talk on using the 1939 register to trace family histories by Barry Henshall of the Manchester & Lancashire Family History Society
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