Voters lists, Fife on Ancestry now

[speleobat2]

Hi all,

My latest newsletter from Ancestry.com says they now have the Voters Lists for Fife, Scotland 1832-1894 which contain the following:

Burgh of Burntisland, 1864, 1894
Burgh of Dunfermline 1859, 1869, 1871
Burgh of Dysart, 1832
Burgh of Kinghorn, 1832, 1892
County of Fife, 1832–41, 1846, 1861–62, 1862–63, 1863–64, 1864–65, 1878–79
Western District of Fife, 1860


They may include such goodies as occupation, address, village, description of the individual. Unfortunately, I don't have a single relative in Fife!

Carol

[LesleyB]

I'm sure these new records will be a great help to folk with Fife relatives Carol - thanks for posting.

Best wishes
Lesley

[sheilajim]

Could all men vote in Scotland at this time or was it just property owners? I know that women couldn't vote until after WW1. I was wondering about when all men got the vote.

[AndrewP]

Hi Sheila,

You need to search the web for info on the following acts of parliament that changed the eligiblity of people to vote.

• Representation of the People Act 1884 (Third Reform Act)
• Representation of the People Act 1918 (Fourth Reform Act)
• Representation of the People Act 1928 (Fifth Reform Act or Equal Suffrage Act)
• Representation of the People Act 1948
• Representation of the People Act 1969

The very basics of these acts relative to age of elegibility is as follows.

• The 1918 act took property ownership out of the question of elegibility, and made all men aged 21+ and all women aged 30+ elegible to vote.
• The 1928 act mage elegibility to vote for men and women aged 21+.
• The 1969 act made elegibility to vote for men and women aged 18+.

The act has been superseded since, but with no effect on the age of elegibility of voters.

All the best,

AndrewP

[Alan SHARP]

Greetings from NZ.

Just today I've been searching the IGI, and Family Search, to see what I could find about a surname transcribed as LAWNSON, Robert born approx. 1823 Fife, Kirkkady (sic) in a census return that I've obtained. The hand writing is not too bad, but LAWNSON may not be the correct interpretation. I had reason, from OPR records made some years after the census, to have been expecting the name to have been LAMOND.

When I search the Kirkcaldy records for just the Christian name of Robert, Robert LOWRIE is about the best match, considering the hand writing definitely looks to start with the letter “L” then tails off a bit.

With this particular Census I believe I can place the partner, but unfortunately her full Christian name has not been used, and they have been recorded as visitors, not as family. The options, based upon the given place of birth, is only about five ladies, which gives me some confidence I’m right in my assumption.

Therefore if any one with a sub, was prepared to have a look see, to see if they could find a family by the name of LAWNSON on an 1823 -1840 Fife voting roll, handy to Kirkcaldy, I would be interested. Our lot were not land owners so I don’t expect a result, but you never know.

Alan SHARP.

[trish1]

Hi Alan

The index to the Fife voter list is available without a subscription
http://search.ancestry.co.uk/search/db.aspx?dbid=1984

No records for Lawnson. Many for Lawson - is that a possibility?
Some for Lamond - mainly from Dunfermline - 1856 onwards

Trish

[Alan SHARP]

Thanks Trish.

That ties in with my findings on the other two sites mentioned. Fife is outside my search zone, to date, so only checked for possibilities at Kirkcaldy for a birth named Robert c 1820 - 1825. Was not sure which might have been a neighbouring church to have been Christened with a Grand Parent etc.

Most intriguing, because I have a couple of interest recorded at one Church, over eleven years as having their 3rd to their 7th child, with each transcribed entry bearing the surname LAMOND. Then I realize the LAWNSON visitors transcribed on the census, are the right age, have two children the right age, and the wife's transcribed Christian name, could be the informal version of only one of five ladies at the village of birth. That being the case the visitor was in all probability, the daughter of the head of house, and the two young children being Grand Children one and two. Nice fit if I could get the name re-transcribed as LAMOND.

Perhaps I should get 'Just Jean' to see if she has a different translation from the original census entry.

Alan SHARP.

[sheilajim]

Hi Allen,

Thanks for the info. Will try to look it up.
Thank you Andrew.

All the best,

[JustJean]

Hi Alan

I'm sold on the notion that you've pinpointed the LOMAN/LOMMAN/LAMMOND/LAWMEN/LAMOND/LAMONT family. With a name like that you're bound to get a zillion interpretations. Just sound it out.....that's what the enumerators tried to do! As for LAWNSON...nope I don't buy it for a minute!

Wee Margaret is 11 in 1861 which fits nicely.

Best wishes
Jean

[Alan SHARP]

Greetings again, and apologies for running away with the forum thread.

Just a public acknowledgement, that "Just Jean" put her acumulated experience to work on my/our behalf, and was able to find sufficient supporting information, to put an ill fitting hunch, into a fairly strong case. While I'm uncomfortable about some of the loose ends, I've also had FreeCen contact me, and advise that there is merit in our case.

I'm not sure of the proceedure, but I'm lead to believe this finding will some how be noted for the benefit of future researchers of the records.

Another brownie point for TalkingScot fulfilling it's objectives. Many thank you's to all.

Alan SHARP

PS. All parties that have contacted me agree I have a case worthy of consideration. FreeCen have re-visited the transcription of the hand writing, and now agree that it should be changed to a word that turns out to be a closer match to the Surname I found in the Parish records, and by implication acknowldeges, that the relationship to the Head of House could have been recorded in error. The reason for that 161 years later, is any ones guess.