"Wards" in Voters rolls - same as census distr ...

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LesleyB
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Joined: Fri Mar 18, 2005 12:18 am
Location: Scotland

"Wards" in Voters rolls - same as census distr ...

Post by LesleyB » Sat Jun 03, 2006 10:42 pm

Hi all
I recently found out that the Mitchell library have some voters rolls for the years 1885-1894 listed alphabetically within wards.

Does anyone know if the wards used for voting are based on the census divisions or is a different system used? If so - any idea how one goes about establishing what ward a certain area of Glasgow fell into? Is there such a thing as a map of wards?

There is a fair bit on the web about current day boundary issues, number of wards in Glasgow city etc. but not seeing anything obvious for the period I'm interested in .

Best wishes
Lesley
Researching:
Midlothian & Fife - Goalen, Lawrie, Ewart, Nimmo, Jamieson, Dick, Ballingall.
Dunbartonshire- Mcnicol, Davy, Guy, McCunn, McKenzie.
Ayrshire- Lyon, Parker, Mitchell, Fraser.
Easter Ross- McCulloch, Smith, Ross, Duff, Rose.

LesleyB
Posts: 8184
Joined: Fri Mar 18, 2005 12:18 am
Location: Scotland

Post by LesleyB » Sun Jun 04, 2006 12:05 am

Ahh...
Think I might have found an answer:
http://www.theglasgowstory.com/vallist. ... 5c9ad5bd5f

This is some kind of digital version of "talking to yourself" isn't it? Do you think I should start to worry? Answers on a post card please, to....

AndrewP
Site Admin
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Joined: Sun Dec 12, 2004 1:36 am
Location: Edinburgh

Post by AndrewP » Sun Jun 04, 2006 12:43 am

Hi Lesley,

That list on the Glasgow Story website confirms what I would have expected post May 1891 that council wards were not the same as electoral wards. 15th May 1891 saw the implementation of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889 - the act that set up county councils and burgh councils.

Prior to the implementation of the 1889 act there may have been more similarity between civil parish council wards and registration districts. Whether these were one and the same thing, I do not know.

There is a book that I have seen in New Register House's "South Search Room" library that indexes the street names and numbers that were in each different registration district during the different evolutions of registration districts in the city. If I remember rightly maps of these districts are included in the book. I would be very surprised if a copy of that book did not exist in the Mitchell Library.

Also bear in mind that the further back you go, the fewer people were entitled to vote. Women only got the vote in the 1920s.

1884 - any male occupying land or property with an annual rateable value of £10 could vote. 24 adults out of every 100 could vote.
1921 - all men over 21 and women over age 30 got the right to vote
1928 - womens' voting age reduced to 21 (same as men)

I think the above specifically related to parliamentary elections. It may have been different for local elections.

All the best,

AndrewP

LesleyB
Posts: 8184
Joined: Fri Mar 18, 2005 12:18 am
Location: Scotland

Post by LesleyB » Sun Jun 04, 2006 11:07 am

Hi Andrew
Thanks for that. I later came across info which suggested that Hillhead, the area I'm interested in, was only recently incorporated into Glasgow, so seems like more digging is needed. The area may not be included in the "Glasgow Rolls" at all.

I'm trying to track down an address for "missing" persons in the 1891. Should be OK with the "eligibility" to vote though as I'm looking for a male in his 30s who had his own business, so I would hope he'd appear.

Best wishes
Lesley