CELEBRATING YOUR PROJECTS
Militia ballot lists can provide an 18th-century census substitute, discovers
Discovering militia ballot lists
Militiamen were exempt from statute work, serving the parish or being pressganged
This month I’ve been looking at an earlier project by Hertfordshire Family History Society, to index the county’s militia ballot lists. There’s an extensive collection of these, covering 1758-86 (with a few up to 1801) and the society’s website comments that “they are the closest thing we have to a census for the period”.
Until 1757, militias were raised when necessary in response to short-term threats, but growing overseas commitments forced the government to change the system. Every county had to provide a fixed number of militiamen. Hertfordshire’s quota was 560 men, chosen by parish ballots to serve for three years. Those drawn could provide a substitute or pay £10 towards providing one, and after three years, they would again be entered into the ballot.
Regular local training was provided with, in the event of invasion or rebellion, full-time service in England. The quota from each parish was determined by the number of taxable houses. The constable drew up a list of able-bodied men (and those with infirmities) aged 18-50. Exemptions were granted to, for example, apprentices, articled clerks, militia officers, seamen, clergy and parish officers. The lists were posted in each parish and anyone aggrieved could appeal at a meeting of the JPs. After 1758, parishes could offer volunteers (not necessarily local men) towards their quotas.
Militiamen were exempt from statute work, serving parish office or being pressganged. If called into service they received a guinea; and if their families were unable to support themselves the parish had to provide for them. In 1762, the maximum age was reduced to 45, and poor men with three legitimate children were exempted. A further act in 1786 exempted men with more than one child born in wedlock, but the service was increased to five years. The website gives a clear summary of the history of the militia, into the Napoleonic Wars (1793-1815).
John Hill, the project leader, began the immense task way back in 1987, and eventually transcribed and edited all the lists, totalling over 280,000 individual entries. Originally published as booklets, they are now available on a fully searchable CD which makes them a great source for family historians. The lists vary considerably in terms of the information given (and the literacy of the constable) so the data is standardised, keeping original spellings where appropriate ( John found over a hundred different forms of the local surname Puddephatt!). Occupations are included, though constables were not concerned with the technicalities of trade descriptions, and changes of occupation or status, such as farmer to labourer or yeoman, can be identified. The number of children is often given, as are disabilities (‘subject to fits’, ‘ infirm’, ‘one thumb off ’). Every detail of use to family historians is included in the database. There are many repeat entries for the same names, but these are not necessarily for one individual as a son or relative may share the same name.
This is a really intriguing source. Many counties don’t have great coverage, and some have few such records, but they are potentially a helpful source. John told me that the CD is a bestseller and that many family historians have discovered relationships which would not have otherwise been found. And John was also able to provide the Mills Archive project with data concerning mills, millers, and flour dressers. Why not investigate your own county and see if there’s an opportunity for a similar project there?