England, Cheshire Workhouse Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

England Cheshire

What is in the Collection?
This collection consists of poor law records from the county of Cheshire for the years 1848-1967.

The workhouses started out housing the various types of poor separately. The records generated by the workhouses were kept according to the 1834 poor law act to help local authorities keep track of the poor and account for monies spent for their living expenses. In the later nineteenth century, the infirmaries attached to the workhouses were opened to the public, and therefore generated birth and death records for the wider community. The records for the Cheshire workhouses are from 1837 to the closure of each Poor Law Union; the Cheshire Poor Law Unions page contains information specific to each Union.

One of the 39 historic counties of England, Cheshire is a coastal county in northwestern England which shares its western border with Wales. For a list of the parishes which historically made up this county with links to more information about each of them, see the Cheshire Parishes page.

Collection Content
The collection contains various records associated with workhouses. Birth registers make up the largest portion of the collection, followed by death registers, then creed registers, with admission registers composing the smallest portion.

How Do I Search the Collection?
Before beginning a search in these records, it is best to know the full name of the individual in question, as well as an approximate time range for the desired record. When entered into the search engine on the Collection Page, this information provides the quickest, most reliable path to finding the correct person. Of course, other information can be substituted as necessary.

Search by Name by Visiting the Collection Page
Fill in the requested information in the initial search page to return a list of possible matches. Compare the individuals on the list with what is already known to find the correct family or person. This step may require examining multiple individuals before a match is located.

Image Visibility
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I Found the Person I Was Looking for, What Now?

 * Make sure to fully transcribe and cite the record entry for future reference. See below for assistance in citing this collection. Save or print a copy of the image if possible.
 * Use the information which has been discovered to find more. For instance, use an estimated age to calculate an approximate year of birth, if that is yet undetermined.
 * If in the appropriate period, use the information which has been discovered to find the individual in other records. Particularly useful for research in nineteenth-century Cheshire are the England Census, Civil Registration, and Cheshire Parish Records.
 * Continue to search the index to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives.

I Can’t Find the Person I’m Looking for, What Now?
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 * When looking for a person with a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which individual is correct. Use other information, such as place of birth or age to determine which candidate is the correct person. If listed, a personal title may be a clue to property ownership or occupation, either of which might be noted in other records.
 * Check for variants of given names, surnames, and place names. Transcription errors could occur in any handwritten record; also, it was not uncommon for an individual be listed under a nickname or an abbreviation of their name. See Abbreviations Found in Genealogy Records for examples of common abbreviations. Note that some women reverted to their maiden name when their husband died, and therefore could be buried under their maiden name.
 * Vary the search terms. For example, search by either the given name or surname to return broader list of possible candidates which can then be examined for matches. Alternatively, try expanding the date range.
 * Search the records of nearby localities. While it was uncommon for an individual in this period to move more than about 20 miles from their place of birth, smaller relocations were not uncommon. For this particular collection, this step may require finding records in the bordering English counties of Lancashire to the north, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire or Shropshire to the south, or in the Welsh counties of Denbighshire and Flintshire to the west.
 * Look at the actual image of the record to verify the information found in the online description, if possible.

Known Issues With This Collection
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Citing this Collection
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