Other Resources

This part of the site contains additional resources to supplement the vital records available in the main resources section. It is hoped the resources here will allow researchers to add flavour to their researches, particularly being able to view images of locations where their ancestors lived. The individual parish pages also provide summary information for these resources, and links to display the information for the particular parish only.

Bibliography

The bibliography contains details of books concerning Sussex categorised by parish. Both author and publisher details are supplied if known, and suggestions for inclusion are very welcome. If a book is available on the internet (and there only a few), a link is provided.

Archaeological Collections Index

In order to aid researchers we offer an index of articles published in these excellent books cross referenced to Sussex parishes, churches and indexed by author. Where we have located articles available on line, a link has been included. In addition, for 2010, we have added transcribed membership lists of the society.

Postcards & Images

As a further resource for family historians, we are building a substantial library of old postcard and other old images of Sussex locations. The images are indexed by Parish, Church, Publisher and Series (where applicable). Contributions to this section are very welcome, especially for subjects not yet included.

Postal Directories

Postal directories are a great source of information for genealogists, although typically the early ones only list 'important' people and trades and businesses. Volunteers have transcribed many parishes already and we have embark on an indexing project to make finding ancestors more straightforward.

Poll Registers

This section contains transcriptions of poll registers, lists of people entitled to vote in elections. The 1832 Reform Act extended voting rights to adult males who rented properties land of a certain value, this giving one in 7 males the right to vote. The 1867 reform act enfranchised all male householders.

Protestation Returns

In July 1641, a bill was passed by the House of Commons requiring all males to sign an oath of allegiance to the Crown and to the Church of England. The incumbents of every parish in the country had the duty of ensuring all of their parishioners signed the oath. Records of those who signed (and those who refused), were returned to Parliament in 1641. Those who refused to sign were known as Recusants. The term 'recusant' meant a non-conformist, one obstinate in refusal, especially to comply with the Anglican Church ritual, one who refused to acknowledge the supremacy of the sovereign in religious matters. Unfortunately the returns for East Sussex have been lost, however thanks to the transcription efforts of Michael Metcalfe, we are pleased to offer the returns for West Sussex, indexed by parish.

Gazette Index

The London Gazette is an official journal of the British Government. It has been published since 1665 (initially as the Oxford Gazette). Many statutory notices are required to be published in the Gazette. Michael Metcalfe has started an ambitious project to produce an index of Sussex people mentioned in not only the Gazette, but also the Belfast and Edinburgh Gazettes, fully indexed by name and the parishes to which they are associated - transcribing a high level of detail regarding each entry. This index will give a wealth of additional information to people researching particular Sussex names or parishes.

Links

Links to other internet resources likely to be of use to those researching the history of Sussex or of their Sussex ancestors.

OPC Directory

A directory of those involved in the Sussex OPC project, volunteers and contributors.

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