England, Cheshire, Register of Electors, 1842-1900

What is in This Collection?

This collection consists of electoral records from the county of Cheshire for the years 1842-1900.

In 1832, the Reform Act created electoral registers. These registers recorded individuals who qualified to vote in the national elections for representation in parliament. The qualifications changed over the years. There were also electoral registers that covered local elections. Boroughs of large cities had their own electoral registers and their own qualifications for being listed in the registers. In 1878, boroughs combined their registers for the national and local elections. Other places combined their registers by 1885. Registration was suspended and no electoral registers were created during the World Wars: 1916–1917 (1915–1917 for Scotland) and 1940–1944. In the early years, registers covered only about 7 percent of the population. By 1867, they covered about 11 percent. Until 1918, the registers list only men because women were not allowed to vote. The registers listed only those 21 years of age or older. If an individual’s name did not appear in the register, he or she could not vote.

Registers have been published annually with few exceptions from 1832 to the present. Before 1884, they are arranged by polling district and then alphabetically by surname. After 1884, they were arranged by polling district and then by street.

Additional records and/or images may be added to this collection in the future.

What Can These Records Tell Me?

The following information may be found in this record:

• Given name and surname of each voter
• Jurisdiction
• Jurisdiction level
• Place of abode
• Nature of abode (ownership, rent, etc)
• Description of property

Collection Content

Sample Record