Tracing Your Prisoner Ancestors: A Guide for Family Historians

The history of the British prison system only had systematic records from the middle of the nineteenth century. Before that, material on prisoners in local gaols and houses of correction was patchy and minimal. In more recent times, many prison records have been destroyed. In Tracing Your Prisoner Ancestors, crime historian Stephen Wade attempts to provide information and guidance to family and social history researchers in this difficult area of criminal records. His book covers the span of time from medieval to modern, and includes some Scottish and Irish sources. The sources explained range broadly from central calendars of prisoners, court records and gaol returns, through to memoirs and periodicals. The chapters also include case studies and short biographies of some individuals who experienced our prisons and left some records. AUTHOR: Stephen Wade is a social historian, specialising in the history of crime and the law in Britain and Ireland. Amongst his many published true crime and crime history books are those he has written for Pen & Sword’s Family History series. These include Tracing Your Criminal Ancestors, Tracing Your Legal Ancestors and Tracing Your Police Ancestors. He has also contributed to Family Tree Magazine, Who Do You Think You Are? magazine and other periodicals. 33 b/w illustrations