In the event that you cannot find a baptism for your ancestor and it is apparent that he was an agricultural labourer, you should next examine all surviving Removal and Settlement material. From as early as the Elizabethan period parish officers were responsible for the administration of the Poor Law. However, of particular importance to the genealogist is the 1662 Act of Settlement by which any stranger settling within a parish could be removed by the justices, unless he rented property there or could support himself/herself by other means; settlement certificates were introduced in 1696/7. Although settlements certificates will give a persons place of origin, the examinations made before magistrates prior to a removal order being issued are of greater value because they often give a complete summary of the individuals life.

Helpful Hints Most of the above removal and settlement documents can be found in local Record Offices. Remember that the survival rate of these documents is patchy, therefore you must check what is available.

If it is clear that your ancestor was illegitimate but there is no mention of his or her father’s name in the baptismal register, then you should determine if there are any surviving bastardy papers. You should also examine surviving Quarter Sessions Papers, for punishment and maintenance orders, and records of the Ecclesiastical Courts (eg Churchwardens Presentments). In order to locate the Quarter Sessions records you should consult "Quarter Sessions Records; For Family Historians" by J S W Gibson. However, it must be said that the survival rate of these documents is haphazard and you must check the local Record Office to determine what is available.

Helpful Hints In the event that none of these records are available to you, it is possible that the name of the father can be deduced from the child’s name eg William Brewster Henningham; William Brewster in this case almost certainly being the father’s name.

In the absence of any census returns for the eighteenth century and early part of the nineteenth century, the most useful source for determining an individual’s age and occupation is Militia and Muster Rolls. Militia recruitment was organized by the County Lieutenancy under the control of the Privy Council. Under the 1757 Militia Act, a direct result of the Seven Years War, all parish constables were ordered to keep and annual record of all men between the ages of 18 and 50. However, in 1762 the upper age was reduced to 45. The survival rate for these records is generally very good, Northamptonshire for instance has a fairly complete coverage for 1762, 1771, 1774, 1777, 1781 and 1786, those for 1777 being the most comprehensive. There are also good collections for Cumberland, Dorset, Hertfordshire, Kent, Lincolnshire and Bristol. These records cover the years 1757 to 1831 and in the main are housed in local Record Offices. To determine what is available and where they are housed, you should consult "Militia Lists and Musters 1757-1876" by Jeremy Gibson & Mervyn Medlycott

In addition to the militia lists there are also Defence Lists which run from 1798 to 1804. These came about as a result of the Defence of the Realm Act of 1798 and are arranged in the same way as the militia lists. The object was to compile lists of men who were not already serving in a military capacity for the defence of England against an attempted French invasion. Under the terms of the Defence Act of 1803, the parish constables were ordered to list all men aged between 15 and 60. The following year this was changed to all men aged between 17 and 55 and this virtually amounted to a census of the entire population. However, very few have survived and where they have, they can be found in the collections of borough towns.

Helpful Hints In addition to enabling you to determine your ancestor’s age and occupation, these records can be used to establish how widespread any given surname is throughout the county. They are also a very useful as a means of tracing the whereabouts of any individual who may have served as a militiaman in another county.

The above records only cover the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries but there are also Muster Rolls for the Tudor and Stuart period ie 1509-1714. The majority of these records are housed at the Public Record Office, Kew. They will be discussed in more detail further on in this article.

	See also: The Origins Network Collections: British & Irish Passenger Lists 1890 Transatlantic Migration 1858-1870