Tracing Your Criminal Ancestors

A comprehensive introduction to researching British criminal history with information on national and local archives that family historians can use.

Did you have a criminal in the family, an ancestor who was caught on the wrong side of the law? If you have ever had any suspicions about the illicit activities of your relatives, or are fascinated by the history of crime and punishment, this is the book for you.

Stephen Wade's useful introduction to this fascinating subject will help you discover and investigate the life stories of individuals who had a criminal past. The crimes they committed, the conditions in which they lived, the policing and justice system that dealt with them . . . all these aspects of criminal history are covered as are the many types of crime they were guilty of—murder, robbery, fraud, sexual offenses, poaching, protest and public disorder.

Graphic case studies featuring each type of crime are included, dating from the Georgian period up until the present day. All of these cases are reconstructed using information gleaned from the many sources available to researchers—libraries, archives, books and the internet among them.

Tracing Your Criminal Ancestors is essential reading for anyone who wishes to explore the criminal past and seeks to trace an ancestor who had a criminal record.