Following Ralph Hall’s retirement as a Queens Messenger, he began transcribing references to people from Devon and Northamptonshire (and some West Indies) found in the London Gazette. After some years he gave up as it was taking him longer than a year to transcribe one year. Ralph passed his hand written transcripts for this county to the Northamptonshire Family History Society, when they were exhibiting at the Society of Genealogist’s Fair in London in 1996, and he transported the files to the Fair in a large wheeled shopping trolley. Ralph had belonged to the Society since it first started, his membership number being 4, as he had some roots in Raunds, but is thought never to have visited the county.

The files came in 27 carrier bags and over five years a small team of typists and indexers, led by the late Mike Streeton, began to computerise the information. In 2002 the information was presented as a CD.

We are indebted to the Northamptonshire Family History Society for their permission to reproduce the Newton Bromswold transcript here.

September 11th to 15th 1781

The following Persons being Prisoners for Debt on or before the 1st January 1781 for Sums not
exceeding £500 Prisoners in the Gaol at Northampton for the County of Northampton First Notice
Edward BOLLARD late of Newton Bromswold in the County of Northampton, Grazier.

November 7th 1843 p 3632

THE COURT FOR THE RELIEF OF INSOLVENT DEBTORS

Saturday the 4th day of November 1843
ORDERS have been made vesting in the Provisional Assignee the Estates and Effects of the following
Persons: On their own Petitions Frederick BOLLARD, late of Newton Bromswold, near Kettering,
Northamptonshire, Labourer. In the Gaol of Northampton.

November 14th 1843 p 3740

Pursuant to the Act for the Relief of Insolvent Debtors in England THE COURT FOR RELIEF OF
INSOLVENT DEBTORS The following PRISONERS, whose Estates and Effects have been vested in
the Provisional Assignee by Order of the Court, having filed their Schedules are ordered to be brought
up before a Commissioner on Circuit, to be dealt with according to the Statute, as follows: At the Court
House at Northampton in the County of Northampton, on Wednesday the 6th day of December 1843 at
Ten o’clock in the Forenoon precisely Frederick BOLLARD late of Newton Bromswold, Kettering,
Northamptonshire, Mason.

NFHS CD 2002