Criminals – Other records

The great thing about criminal ancestors is that whatever they got up to, they probably created a lot of records you can use to find out more.

However mild or serious the crime, you are likely to find an account of it and the subsequent trial in one or more local or national newspapers.

You may even find a continuous saga, from the discovery of the crime to the trial, conviction and even a sensational account of a public execution.

If the crime involved manslaughter or murder, you could order a death certificate of the victim, and may find more information in inquest reports or coroners’ records.

And it may be that you can uncover details of your ancestor’s arrest in the records of the local police.