MANCHESTER FAMILY HISTORY RESEARCH HOME PAGE
This is not your ordinary run of the mill
family history or genealogy site, this is different. Stop what you are
doing and settle down for a good read, you might even want to put the
kettle on and make yourself a drink before exploring these pages.
If you have an interest in Manchester in particular, and its
surrounding area then this is the site for you. Bookmark this
page, because you will want to come back and revisit this site. There is
too much information to take in at one go, you will need to come back,
again and again. The information on these pages, although Manchester
based, can apply to many areas of family research throughout the whole
of the country. In these pages you
can see many examples of my work, so read on, enjoy and let me extend a
very
warm welcome to my web site.
FIND MY PAST THE 1939 REGISTER.
AS Find My Past states
"FREE to search
the register and to preview the transcript that includes the person’s
name,
year of birth,
town and county of
residence. In addition, you’ll be able to see how many other people
lived in the house at the time and how many of them are closed due to
being younger than 100 years old and still alive. This will help you to
confirm if you’ve found the right person and then you can choose to
unlock the record. Unlocking will give you all of the additional
information such as address, dates of birth, occupations and marital
statuses of everyone that lived there, plus the original record image,
maps, newspapers and exclusive photos of the time."
In
late 2011 Manchester Archives launched The Manchester
Collection on
Find My Past. The publicity
releases contained numerous examples of my research, covering many
years, that can be found on this site. I have heard that both the
company and Manchester
Archives have had an abundance of emails asking for explanations of some
of the terminology used in these records...look no further than the
pages of this site! Most, if not all is explained. See below for a link
to the Manchester Collection. This is what
Find My Past
stated:
NEW CATHOLIC RECORDS FROM FIND
MY PAST. This will eventually be the most
comprehensive online collection of Roman Catholic records for Britain,
Ireland and the USA. TRY A 14 DAY FREE
TRIAL NOW.
FOR UK SEE
HERE
FOR USA SEE
HERE
FOR AUSTRALIA SEE
HERE
FOR IRELAND SEE
HERE
If you are looking for a site with sophisticated graphics and images, then you
may be disappointed. If you are looking for an experienced Researcher or Record
Agent, then this is the place for you! I have appeared on Manchester's
local TV channel, Channel M and I also have been featured on
BBC Radio Manchester where I discussed my work, my travels and my
website. In 2010
the site was reviewed on the prestigious eogn.com web site which has added
many new readers to this site. I have worked on various Manchester
projects for other London based professional researchers including some
background research for a Television Production Company which makes a very popular programmes about
the family history of celebrities (Tracy Emin episode), as well as other TV companies
and radio in the UK
and Ireland. I have also worked for a very eminent American art historian
and a very well known Manchester born American based journalist who is very
prominent and has written several lyrical pieces and other works.
My name is Gerard Lodge,
I am on the list of known researchers as compiled by
the Greater Manchester Archivists' Group, and I used to be on the Lancashire
Record Office List of Record Agents until they increased their admin fees by
250%. I am also registered with the Rylands
Library as a known researcher. March 2008 saw the publication in three
local newspapers, including The Manchester Evening News, of articles
concerning my research of The Manchester Prison Records and in particular the
discovery of the prison register entries for the Manchester Martyrs. I was also
interviewed again by BBC Radio Manchester about these findings.
As the title
suggests this site
deals with the research of the family history and other genealogical matters of
Manchester and the
surrounding
areas. I can also research topics relating to social and economic history
or other aspects, such as the history of homes and buildings through the use of
Trade Directories and possibly even discretely finding living people. I have
also carried out research for legal purposes. As with all research it is
impossible to guarantee success, but I can promise that my research will be
methodical, thorough and exhaustive. I can, if required, visit any record
repository. I can also offer a service whereby I can supply electronic images of
certain parish records.
Details are available on application. If so required, I can also supply copies of
certificates and wills for overseas readers if they are having problems paying
by sterling. This is possible because I can accept payment via PayPal.
This site
takes a slightly different look at how to search the various records other than
Census returns. It explains the pitfalls of research and gives a breakdown of
the court records, workhouse records and prison registers available at
Manchester Archives. The prison register collection discovered in 2007 is
probably one of Manchester Archives and Local Studies' finest collections. I
have made some very interesting discoveries of material that had not been listed
in the original catalogue. Probably one of the most interesting finds was that
of the entries in the New Bailey Prison Felony Register of "The Manchester
Martyrs" and the other prisoners who were prosecuted for their attack on the
prison van in September 1867 in Hyde Road. Many people ask me why so many
people were either baptised or married at the Collegiate and Parish Church of
Manchester (later the Cathedral). You can find the answer
here. The parish of Manchester Parish covered a vast area, much more than
just the old township of Manchester. The vast majority of
these records are now online on Ancestry including records that could only be
previously seen in the Archives. Some parishes have been omitted.
This site is searchable page by
page. Click on edit at the top left hand of your own computer screen, then click
on Find,
type in the word you wish to search for, and scroll down the page until you find
the highlighted word. For some unknown reason some version
of Firefox do not show this site as it is designed. I suggest
that you view the site via a more popular browser.
This
site was created in the latter part of February 2007 from the humble
beginnings of using pre formed page templates. In June 2007 I was able
to covert to my own page designs, and have added constantly to the
contents of the site. Visits for November 2016 were 9,548 (85,595
so far this year) making a total of 1,068,329
visits since the site first
appeared. Thank you all for your interest and support.
I have compiled
material about the felony registers that have survived from the later New Bailey
Prison Register and the early Strangeways Register. My research goes beyond the information contained in the
Gaol Registers etc. Where possible newspaper reports have been included.
Likewise this site contains a wealth
of information about the formation of the Manchester Borough Police
Force in 1839 and its further development in its early history. Up until
now I have covered the years 1839 to 1849.
As we live in age where things are
changing rapidly and the barriers to research are constantly being
challenged by the use of such methods as The Freedom of Information Act,
I have now created a new page to reflect on some of these changes. It
will also give me a chance to occasionally pontificate about other
matters and it will also provide a home for news of other updates to the
site. For the time being I will leave the updates here until people have
a chance to get used to the new page.
Early in 2010 I was interviewed
by award winning film maker Karen Gabay. She was in the process of
making two films about Belle Vue and the ice cream families of
Manchester. Now completed, these two short films are very interesting
and entertaining with a splash of humour. I appear very briefly in both
films.
Links to this site exceed well over a thousand, from some of the
most prestigious organisations concerned with genealogy and research,
including findmypast.co.uk,
nationalarchives.gov.uk, manchester.gov.uk, ancestry.com,
FamilySearch and many others too numerous to mention. If you need to
search family history in the UK, I am sure if you are searching in
Manchester, Lancashire, courts, prisons, industrial schools, workhouses,
census, parish records, electoral registers etc this site will appear on
the search engine contents. The information on this site is freely
available to all, so long as accreditation is given to my work when
published elsewhere. Further research requests are not usually
free of charge.
WDYTYA? MAGAZINE February Edition 2012
"If you are looking for a site with
sophisticated graphics and images, you may be disappointed..." so states
the homepage of this fascinating website, run by our expert this month
Manchester researcher, Gerard Lodge. It's packed with information and
data drawn from all sorts of sources focusing on Greater Manchester -
much of it relating to courts and prisons. Find sections on Belle Vue
Prison, New Bailey Prison, Strangeways, Mill Bank, plus specific cases
(such as the Manchester Martyrs).This is a labour of love that merits
return visits. Written by
Jonathan Warren, WDYTYA? Magazine.
WDYTYA? MAGAZINE Blog 29th September 2011
Discussing Manchester sources "...a gem of a site,
Manchester Family History Research".
YOUR FAMILY TREE MAGAZINE - January 2010.
This magazine recently published a four page feature
on researching in Greater Manchester. In their opinion they named the
top three Manchester websites for using as "useful portals for kicking
off your family history on line": 1 Manchester City Council; 2 Virtual
Manchester; 3 Manchester Family History Research. This is what they published:
Researcher and archivist (which I am not)
Gerard Lodge has a splendid website at
www.manchester-family-history-research.co.uk
which contains many valuable sources and a great deal on topics from
industrial schools to workhouses.
LANCSOPC - Really Useful Sources - I don't normally
include professional researchers, as I have no way of knowing whether
they give value for money. However, this one is worth checking out for
the information about Manchester in his website. As he claims, it is
certainly a good read.
STATE LIBRARY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA - This website is
definitely worth visiting for anyone researching Manchester ancestors.
It has a lot of detailed information about historical sources and events
in the Manchester area and includes some transcriptions.
UKGDL - Manchester Family History Research: A wealth
of information about Manchester including court details of the riots of
1868, Milbank prison records and more.
PINELLAS GENEALOGY SOCIETY - This is a website
offered by Gerard Lodge. It has free information from Manchester,
Lancashire, and beyond. Gerard says it has so much information that your
might want to "stop what you are doing and settle down for a good read,
you might even want to put the kettle on and make yourself a drink
before exploring these pages." The website also got recognition from
Dick Eastman in his online genealogy newsletter.
M&LFHS - Gerard Lodge's pages offer a variety of interesting sources
including several listings relating to prison inmates and a useful
summary of available workhouse records.
FAMILYSEARCH.ORG - Gerard Lodge’s excellent website
has images and further information about Manchester Workhouses and the
history of the two Crumpsall sites.
Gerard Lodge's website content including
representative case notes and advertisements for institutions relating
to Manchester for several Poor Law Unions at his excellent website.
This site currently has dozens of
links from other organisations, repositories, family history societies
and private individuals.
One thing I have realised recently is
that you all do not see this site as it appears to me on my monitor. It
designed for a large monitor and on smaller monitors the type may appear
extremely large.
As happens in the field of research,
some people are not happy about my ability to find the answers to their
questions if I am not successful. That is the nature of the beast of
research.
For a
quotation or for any other information please contact MFHR by using the
following link:
mail@manchester-family-history-research.co.uk
The very low value
of the pound sterling makes my rates even better value than ever for overseas
clients.
A few words of advice to those
people who are worried about the cost of family research: "Why waste
your money looking up your family tree? Just go into politics and
your opponents will do it for you." - Mark Twain.
The
Formation of the Manchester Borough Police 1839-49 : Vast amount of
details, names, numbers, ranks and some addresses .More pages added.
Manchester
Coroners' Inquest Index Details (This an absolute gem that most
people do not know exists...potential gold dust!!!)
CONTACT MFHR AT:
mail@manchester-family-history-research.co.uk
The image shown above is by Mark Kennedy whose
mosaics can be seen in many places around the City of Manchester. I took
this image some time ago when this piece of work was on the outside of
the building that was then known as Affleck's Palace. It is sadly no
longer located there. Hopefully a new home will be found for it soon.
Copyright: Gerard Lodge (www.manchester-family-history-research.co.uk)
2007-2017
All Rights Reserved
Do Not Reproduce Any Material Without The
Prior Permission Of The Author.
Last update: 14th February 2017
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