Search for your Sheffield Ancestor in this collection of over 200,000 records which cover both the perpetrators of crime in and around Sheffield, and those who helped bring them to justice.
Search for your Sheffield Ancestor in this collection of over 200,000 records which cover both the perpetrators of crime in and around Sheffield, and those who helped bring them to justice.
Each record comprises a transcription from original images. The amount of information listed varies, but the records usually include the following information about your ancestor:
These transcriptions are all taken from original documents held by Sheffield Archives and Local Studies and cover both criminals, and those who were charged with catching them. Specifically, these records are to be found in the following series:
So if your ancestor destroyed cabbage plants, detained 12-year-old Ann Flanagan, or stole a bagatelle ball, you may well find him or her in this collection.
Each record also provides a link back to Sheffield Archives and Local Studies so that you can enquire about obtaining copies of the original images.
The records include a wide range of offences from being drunk and theft to setting fire and obtaining food under false pretences.
Over 1000 people were charged with using obscene language. Ellen Cooper, born in 1868, appears to have had a particularly strong command of Anglo-Saxon and was charged on three separate occasions in June 1896, May 1898, and June 1898. The comments she reserved for the judge are, unfortunately, unprintable.
As well as the house-breakers, thieves and vagabonds, you’ll also find men like PC Airey and PC Bouchier who were rewarded for catching burglars, and the widow of PC William Henry Cook who benefited from her late husband’s significant gratuity.