History talk on emigration

Those who attend will hear a talk on ‘Records of Emigrants and Emigration’ by Dr William Roulston.

While most people embarking on emigration research look at shipping records, William will be speaking about other useful archives worth a look.

People from our shores emigrated to various parts of the world including American and the Antipodes, however, records of emigration are in many different records’ series and finding information about individuals can be difficult.

According to the local History Society branch, the Poor Law Amendment Act 1850 allowed Boards of Guardians to send children under 16 overseas for the first time and point out that it is difficult to trace these children as the National Archive records for that period are scarce.

There are, however, other sources containing emigration details going back to the mid 1500’s. If you would like to find out how to access these records just head along to Thursday night’s meeting. Admission is £1 for members and £3 for non members.