Wales, West Glamorgan, Electoral Registers - FamilySearch Historical Records

Wales West Glamorgan

What is in the Collection?
This collection contains electoral registers and Burgess Rolls for the Borough of Swansea in West Glamorgan for the years 1839 to 1925. The records contain the names and addresses of those who registered to vote.

This and additional information came from image number 2 in the [https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1942-22026-37393-64?cc=1546473&wc=12601327 Register of electors, 1921, folio nos. 001-122, Autumn register]

The meaning of the abbreviations found in the voting registers are as follows:

R - Residence qualification B.P. - Business premises qualification O. - Occupation qualification H.O - Qualification through husband's occupation N.M. - Naval or military voter

The entry of the appropriate index letter or letters against a name in the column 2 (a) headed "Parliamentary" indicates that the elector is a parliamentary elector, and the entry of the appropriate letter or letters against a name in the column 2 (b) headed "Local Govt." indicates that the elector is a local government elector. Where no index letter is entered in one or other of those columns against a name, the elector is not entitled to the franchise to which the column relates.

-Town Clerk and Registration Officer

Before 1884, the registers were arranged by polling district, then alphabetically by surname. After 1884, they were arranged by polling district and then by street.

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 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 from 1916 to 1917 (1915 to 1917 for Scotland) and 1940 to 1944. In the early years, registers only covered 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. Until 1971, the registers listed only those 21 years of age or older.

Electoral registers were created to determine who could vote. If an individual’s name did not appear in the register, he or she could not vote.

Since the government required the electoral registers, the reliability of the records would be high with respect to the place of residence and the name of the individual.

For a list of records by localities and dates currently published in this collection, select the Browselink from the collection landing page.

Record Content


Electoral registers usually contain the following information:


 * Given name and surname of each voter
 * Place of abode (residence)
 * Nature of qualification (what qualified the individual to be included in the register)
 * Name of property or street
 * Sometimes handwritten notes may have been added, giving such information as who the person voted for, when the voter died, or the removal of the voter.

How to Use the Records
To search this collection, it would be helpful if you knew the following information:


 * Name of ancestor
 * County of registration
 * Place of residence

Search the Collection
To search the collection by name: Fill in the requested information in the boxes on the initial search page. This search will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information about the individuals in the list to what you already know about your ancestors to determine if this is the correct family or person. You may need to look at the information on several individuals comparing the information about them to your ancestors to make this determination. Keep in mind:
 * There may be more than one person in the records with the same name.
 * You may not be sure of your own ancestor’s name.
 * Your ancestor may have used different names, or variations of their name, throughout their life.
 * If your ancestor used an alias or a nickname, be sure to check for those alternate names.
 * Even though these indexes are very accurate they may still contain transcription errors such as altered spellings, misinterpretations, and optical character recognition errors. It is a good idea to confirm information with the record image when available.

For tips about searching on-line collections see the on-line article FamilySearch Search Tips and Tricks.

To browse by image: To search the collection you will need to follow this series of links: ⇒Select "Browse through images" on the initial collection page ⇒ Select the appropriate "County" ⇒ Select the appropriate "Record Type, Date Range and Volume" which will take you to the images.

Search the collection by image comparing the information with what you already know about your ancestors to determine if the image relates to them. You may need to look at several images and compare the information about the individuals listed in those images to your ancestors to make this determination.

General Information About These Records
The electoral registers may help you determine the residence of an individual and how long that person lived there. You may also be able to determine your ancestor’s social status and to locate other records in which that person might appear.

Related Websites

 * West Glamorgan Archives
 * England and Wales Historic Maps
 * England and Wales History Links

Related Wiki Articles

 * FamilySearch's Resources for Britain and Ireland
 * Glamorgan, Wales
 * Poll Books in England and Wales

Citations for This Collection
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