--- April 1758, Shropshire Quarter Sessions
Report of Inquest in Gaol on prisoner "died from natural causes." Another on debtor prisoner, "died of small pox." Return of conviction of selling ale without license, Lydbury North (1st offence). Order to pass man and wife, vagrants apprehended at Woore, to their settlement at Limerick in the Kingdom of Ireland (with deposition).

No names in this one but what is worth noting is the order given for a vagrant couple to return to their home parish in the west of Ireland and that there is a deposition which should reveal interesting detail. This is not an isolated incident. People traveled
further than we tend to appreciate and the movement of people between Ireland and England was considerable. The records themselves tell the whole story and provide the names of the persons involved.

--- October 1769, Shropshire Quarter Sessions
Assault by man on 4 women, Pontesbury . . . Assault by same 4 women on same man.

The man who committed assault probably did not consider the likelihood of immediate revenge.

--- October 1769, Shropshire Quarter Sessions
Larceny agst. Thomas Buttery, Condover, for stealing a hempen shirt of the value of 10d. (guilty, to be transported for seven years)

As the theft occurred before 1776, Thomas Buttery was probably shipped to America. Australia received its first convicts in 1788; so, from the American Revolution to that date many felons were held in prison hulks in England because there was nowhere to transport them.

--- January 1688/9, Cheshire Quarter Sessions
I have herewith sent you my Recognizances, the first whereof is for one Richard Scott's appearance, who is charged with helping his son to escape, being in the Constables hands upon a warr't of Mr. Oldfield's for being the reputed father of a Bastard Child, soe that what examinations were taken in the matter are in my Bro: Oldfield's
hands.

A parish always sought to make someone pay for the care of an illegitimate child, usually the father. Recognizances are guarantees that an individual will appear in court.

--- July 1595, Cheshire Quarter Sessions
In accordance with the . . . letter from the Council the Justices issued an order at the above Sessions that Richard Massy shall be forthwith discharged from his imprisonment, and repair to his own house at Waverton and not pass at any time five miles therefrom without licence.

This is really an act of kindness. Richard Massy, a Catholic, had been in prison for ten years, his health was gone and he was no longer regarded as a threat to good order. A request was made for him to live at home and the court granted this.

Published content lists, abstracts and extracts are among the helpful material that will facilitate searches in quarter sessions records. Within the records themselves, the sessions or minute books (summaries of court proceedings) are a good place to start research. Some are indexed, otherwise they are chronological, arranged by session. The order books are another potentially valuable source because they contain the instructions of the court and relate to both administrative and judicial matters. There are two places to check for what exists, the Family History Library and the appropriate
county record office.

In the previous article it was pointed out that lists can be found among quarter sessions records. Much of this material was indexed and/or published long before computers came along. One easy way to identify and ascertain the English location is through the guide books of J.S.W. Gibson. In addition, sources noted in the guides can be checked for in the collections of the Family History Library, looking in the catalog (found at http://www.familysearch.org) under the county name and the topic of Court Records.

Guides by J.S.W. Gibson, published by the Federation of Family History Societies (http://www.ffhs.co.uk):

"Quarter Sessions Records for Family Historians," 4th edition, 1995.

"The Hearth Tax, other later Stuart tax lists and the Association Oath Rolls," 2nd edition, 1996.

"Victuallers' Licences," 2nd edition, 1997, with M. Hunter.

"Land and Window Tax Assessments," 2nd edition 1998, with M. Medlycott and D. Mills

Sherry Irvine, CGRSsm, FSA(Scot) is an author, teacher, and lecturer specializing in English and Scottish family history. She is the author of Your English Ancestry (2nd ed, 1998) and Your Scottish
Ancestry (1997) and a regular contributor to several journals including Genealogical Computing. Since 1996, she has been a study tour leader, course coordinator, and instructor for the Institute of
Genealogy and Historical Research, Samford University. She teaches online for the family history program of Vermont College and has lectured at conferences in Canada, the United States, and Australia.
She is president of the Association of Professional Genealogists.