| Search by |
| This set of records has been made available online as digitised images of the typewritten abstracts. To help locate pages which may contain entries of interest, a searchable name index has been prepared. You can enter last name, first name, and year range (only last name is mandatory). Note that the name index is simply to the first name which appears on a page, so it is only often by looking at the digitised pages you will know whether the name you are interested in appears or not. |
| Viewing the images |
|
Click Image button to display the digitised images of the typewritten abstracts. You can then browse backwards and forwards through the pages using the Previous/Next Image buttons.
Click here for help viewing images |
| Searching by year |
| The abstracts are split into two series, Series 1 covering the period 1710 to 1762, and Series 2 covering 1763 to 1774 (but with a few 1761 and 1762 entries also). If you are searching a period which straddles the two, you may need to browse both series to see if there are any records of possible relevance. For example, if you are interested in the period 1755 to 1770, then you would need to look both at the Series 1 and the Series 2 entries. But if you are interested only in a period before 1761, you would only need to look at Series 1. |
| Last names |
|
Last names are essentially in alphabetical order, but bear in mind (a) that surname spellings vary, and an entry of interest may appear with a spelling different from the one you are searching; (b) the alphabetical order is not always strictly adhered to. For these two reasons, if you don't see any entries on the page you first view, browse previous and next pages. |
| Abbreviations |
|
There are many abbreviations in the abstracts, intended to simplify the work originally. While in many cases, particularly with forename abbreviations, it will be obvious what the abbreviation is for (eg Jn for John, Thos for Thomas), the frequent abbreviations for occupations may not always be so obvious. Click here for abbreviations of occupations. |
| First names |
|
If you are searching a relatively uncommon name, it will not usually be worth entering a first name, but for a common name, such as BAKER or SMITH, where there are many pages of abstracts, it will help to enter a first name; for example, there a 4 pages in Series 1 which have entries for William Baker. The first page you will view should, in principle, be the first page on which that first name appears – but do not trust this! Always check the previous pages as well. |
| Place names |
| Please note that spellings of place names can be a bit erratic, eg: "Edinboro", "Edingburgh" for Edinburgh, and are often abbreviated, eg: "S Jas Westr" for St James Westminster, "S Mart Flds" for St Martin in the Fields, "Glasg" for Glasgow, "7 Oakes" for Sevenoaks, "E Bourne" for Eastbourne. There are also numerous mistakes in placenames (probably mostly due to difficulty in reading the originals) - and particularly with Scottish placenames - so care is needed; eg: "Dunfrees" should be Dumfries; "Kilso", Kelso; "Sterling", Stirling; "Long Credon", Long Crendon. |
| NameX |
| NameX is a proprietary name-matching tool which allows you to find family records for names which have common variations in spelling or which may have been spelled incorrectly on some records. Click here for more help. |
| See also: | About Apprentices of Great Britain |
| Help viewing images | |
| Occupation abbreviations | |
| Logged in users search the collection |