Find Ancestors

Electoral rolls will only show those in the household who were eligible to vote. So before 1928 only women over the age of thirty who owned a property were allowed to vote.

In 1928 all women over 21 irrespective of property qualifications were able to vote.

For men, all men over 21 were able to vote from 1918.

Not many electoral roles are online - you may need to go to your local library but if your mum was born elsewhere you will need a library local to there.

As Flip says, when researching the father you must take the information provided at registration by the mother with the proverbial pinch of salt. It was not unusual for a married woman to register children in her husband's name (as father) even when he was patently not the father or sometimes long deceased!

Jude

Electoral Rolls don't always show who's there and who's not as I found out tracking OH's family.

My OH's grandmother was widowed in WW1 in 1918. In 1918, 1919 and 1920 her dead husband appeared on the electoral roll with her. In 1920 she married again and moved into her new husband's house. Her new husband name was on the electoral until 1926. This husband died in 1922 and she remarried and her new husband moved in with her in 1924 and he was on the roll from 1924 so her name her new and dead husbands appeared together for 2 years.

She did not own any property ever and even though women weren't universally allowed to vote in UK until 1928 her name is on the electoral roll.

Thanks for that Jude and Patin

Gosh-am getting very disheartened at finding out about Grandad.

It did say on Mum's marriage certificate that he was "produce merchant and ex army"but I don't suppose that will help me any?