More names for the Chartist Ancestors databank

I have added another 150 names to the Chartist Ancestors databank. This takes the total to 14,381.

Delegates to the first Chartist convention, meeting
at the British Coffee House, 4 February 1839.

The latest batch includes the names of all those elected as delegates to the General Convention of the Industrious Classes (the first convention) in 1839, whether or not they took up their seats.

I have also added the officers and councils of both the Carlisle Radical Association and the Carlisle Female Radical Association. Cumberland (as it then was) and Carlisle in particular are interesting Chartist centres, but to the best of my knowledge have not been properly studied. 

Although the city is a long way from major population centres, it is well connected, sitting on the road north from Manchester to Glasgow, and in the late 18th and early 19th centuries became a major centre of the cotton industry. It also seems to have supported a radical and Chartist organisation with an unbroken lineage through from September 1838 (and most likely earlier) until at least 1848.

I will probably return to write about Carlisle a bit more on the website, but for now there is a short mention of the female radical association and its activities here.

Finally, the update includes the names of other women active in female Chartist groups. In many instances, unfortunately, it is impossible to discover the first names of these women as they are so often referred to simply as 'Mrs Smith'.

I am pleased to say, however, that the databank includes the names of 2,282 women - around one in six of the total. This seems about right as we know that as many as one in ten of those signing the first Chartist petition in 1838 were women, and that in some parts of the country (including Carlisle) this rose to one in five.

The databank, incidentally, remains, as it always will be, free to download and use for research purposes - whether genealogical, academic or purely general interest. It may not be used for commercial purposes.

Find out more and download the databank.