 British merchant seamen
(1835-1836)
At this period, the foreign trade of ships plying to and from the British isles involved about 150,000 men on 15,000 ships; and the coasting trade about a quarter as many more. A large proportion of the seamen on these ships were British subjects, and so liable to be pressed for service in the Royal Navy; but there was no general register by which to identify them, so in 1835 parliament passed a Merchant Seamen's Registration Bill. Under this act this large register of British seamen was compiled, based on ships' crew lists gathered in British and Irish ports, and passed up to the registry in London. Each seaman was assigned a number, and the names were arranged in the register by first two letters of the surname (our sample scan shows one of the pages for 'Sm'); in addition, an attempt was made to separate out namesakes by giving the first instance of a name (a), the second (b), and so on. But no effective method was devised to prevent the same man being registered twice as he appeared in a second crew list; moreover, the original crew lists were clearly difficult for the registry clerks to copy, and some of the surname spellings appear to be corrupted. A parliamentary committee decided that the system devised did not answer the original problem, and this register was abandoned after less than two years: but it is an apparently comprehensive source for British merchant seamen in 1835 to 1836. The register records the number assigned to each man; his name; age; birthplace; quality (master, captain, mate, 2nd mate, mariner, seaman, fisherman, cook, carpenter, boy &c.); and the name and home port of his ship, with the date of the crew list (usually at the end of a voyage). Most of the men recorded were born in the British Isles, but not all (for instance, Charleston and Stockholm appear in the sample scan). The final column 'How disposed of' is rarely used, and indicates those instances where a man died, was discharged, or deserted his ship during the voyage.MCGLASHAN. Cost: £8.00.  | Sample scan, click to enlarge
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Registered Electors of Glenisla, Forfarshire (1847)
This alphabetical list gives full names and addresses.
MCGLASHAN. Cost: £8.00. | Sample scan, click to enlarge
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Scottish Bankrupts
(1848)
Scotch Sequestrations: bankruptcy often caused people to restart their lives elsewhere, so these are an important source for lost links
MCGLASHAN. Cost: £6.00. | Sample scan, click to enlarge
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Bankrupts' Assignees
(1854)
Assignees of bankrupts' estates (usually principal creditors and/or close relatives of the bankrupt) in England and WalesMCGLASHAN. Cost: £6.00. | Sample scan, click to enlarge
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Petitioning Creditors and Solicitors
(1854)
Principal creditors petitioning to force a bankruptcy (but often close relatives of the bankrupt helping to protect his assets): and solicitors: in England and WalesMCGLASHAN. Cost: £6.00. | Sample scan, click to enlarge
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Scottish Bankrupts
(1854)
Scotch Sequestrations: bankruptcy often caused people to restart their lives elsewhere, so these are an important source for lost links
MCGLASHAN. Cost: £6.00. | Sample scan, click to enlarge
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Patentees of New Inventions
(1855)
Abstracts of British patents for new inventions applied for and granted from 1 January to 31 December 1855: giving date, name and address, and short description of the invention. It is then stated whether 'Letters patent sealed' or 'Provisional protection only'.MCGLASHAN. Cost: £6.00. | Sample scan, click to enlarge
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Crystal Palace Company Shareholders
(1856)
The management of the Crystal Palace, built for the Great Exhibition of 1851, was restructured by a Deed of Settlement in 1852, and then incorporated as the Crystal Palace Company by royal charter in January 1853. This alphabetical list of shareholders was published in January 1856.MCGLASHAN. Cost: £4.00. | Sample scan, click to enlarge
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Patentees of New Inventions
(1859)
Abstracts of British patents for new inventions applied for and granted from 1 January to 31 December 1859: giving date, name and address, and short description of the invention. It is then stated whether 'Letters patent sealed' or 'Provisional protection only'.MCGLASHAN. Cost: £6.00. | Sample scan, click to enlarge
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Royal Engineers fighting in China
(1856-1860)
The China Medal was awarded to soldiers and sailors who took part in the prosecution of the war against the Chinese from 1856 to 1860. Separate clasps were awarded for men who had been in receipt of the China Medal of 1842; for being actually present at Canton on 28 and 29 December 1857, when that city was bombarded and finally captured; for being actually engaged in the operations which ceased with the first capture of the Taku Forts, 20 May 1858, and led to the Treaty of Tientsin; for being actually present at the capture of the Taku Forts 21 August 1860; and for being actually present before Pekin the day the gate of that city was given up to the allied (British and French) army, viz. on 13 October 1860. Several companies of Royal Engineers took part in these actions.MCGLASHAN. Cost: £8.00. | Sample scan, click to enlarge
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