52 Ancestors Challenge - Week 21 - Yearbook

 

In the UK we don’t have such a thing as a Yearbook like they do in the USA. 

The nearest sort of comparable reference source that we would have would be a school register.

Public Schools, such as Eton and Harrow, in England and Wales are fee charging endowed schools, originally for older boys that were ‘public’ in the sense of being open to pupils irrespective of locality, denomination or paternal trade or professions and were to a certain extent schools for the privileged, although there have always been scholarships for gifted scholars from ordinary schools’ preparatory schools.  The other sorts of schooling were Grammar Schools and Private Schools.

Although the term Public School has been used since at least the eighteenth century, its usage was only formalised by the Public Schools Act 1868 which put into Law recommendations made by the Clarendon Report of 1864.   Nine prestigious boarding schools were investigated by Clarendon, seven of which were reformed by the Act, these being Eton, Shrewsbury, Harrow, Winchester, Rugby, Westminster, and Charterhouse.  Merchant Taylor’s and St Paul’s School (Day Schools) although investigated were not reformed.

Historically the sons of Officers and senior administrators on the British Empire were educated in English public schools whilst their fathers were posted to the Colonies.

These Registers can provide valuable information regarding parentage, subsequent University colleges, professions and addresses and genealogical information.  In some cases, these Registers continue today, in printed form, or increasingly online.

For example, over many years, we have collected School and University registers when we find them in second hand bookshops or car boot sales.  Some Registers are from Public Schools, but others are independent fee paying schools.  The school Registers we have are:

Aldenham School Register 1885-1968, Clifton College Register 1862-1947, Glenalmond Register 1847-1929, Gresham’s School 1555-1955, Haileybury Register 1862-1946, Highgate School Register 1838-1938 and various University College Registers, such as the very interesting Girton College Register 1869-1946 as this was a purely female university college.

These can be so useful for genealogical research.  Libraries with a strong genealogical collection may have copies of School and University Registers. 

For example, the Haileybury Register 1862 – 1946 (7^th edition) was privately published and was only available from the school. At a price of 30 shillings, it was an expensive item in 1946 – the equivalent of about £66 today.

The book not only gives the Register of Pupils but also Headmasters, House Masters, Masters, and Assistant Masters (Teachers) and other staff at the time of publication. Sometimes there are also photographs.  There is also an index.

Amongst the students who started at the school in the first term of 1885 it can be noted that dates of birth, parentage, marriage, and who to, how long at the school, subsequent education i.e., University, professional qualifications and jobs, medals and decorations awarded, current address or date of death can be included.  Many the men on the featured page saw War Service in the Boer War and the First World War.

For the genealogist, a treasure trove of information and further leads.

Similarly, serial publications, such as Who’s Who, Kelly’s Handbook of the Landed and Titled Classes and Debrett’s People of Today can be useful for biographical and genealogical research.   

Other sources which could be judged as ‘yearbooks’ which would have been published either yearly or regularly are such hefty tomes as Burkes’s Peerage, Debrett’s Peerage, Walford’s County Families and Armorial Families.  Similarly, the Trades Directory, (Kelly’s, Pigot’s etc) were published since the 1600s.  Principal residents and tradespeople are listed by place, road, and occupation in a particular year.  Especially useful in the UK if published in or near a census year.  Directories, such as City of London Directory & Livery Companies Guide, and more recently the City of London White Book gives a listing of members and officers of the Livery Companies or Trade Guilds of the City of London.  Trades and professions also have directories.  Crockford’s for the Clergy, The Medical Register for Doctors and the Army List, Navy List and Air Force List for the Forces which have been published annually for centuries.  Other professional bodies, such as Dentists, Veterinarians, and various sorts of Engineers, also have Directories of members. These could also be classed as a ‘yearbook’.

It is always worth looking in these largely printed sources to add colour to any family member that may appear.  Not everyone will have a relative who is included, but you never know!