Lincolnshire, Kesteven Militia Ballot List 1824

These transcripts were created by the Lincolnshire Family History Society from original records held at the Lincolnshire Archives. The details in each transcript may vary, but most will contain the following facts about your ancestor:

• Name

• Age

• Birth year

• Occupation

• Wapentake – a sub-division similar in size as a hundred

• Place

• Constables

• County and country

• Archive and reference

Lincolnshire is located in the East Midlands of England. The area of Kesteven is a little more than 100 miles north of London. In the 19th century, the militia was organised at the county level. Members of the militia were selected by a ballot system. The records include the names of all the men eligible for service. The militia were responsible for the country’s home defence while the regular army were stationed across the Empire. In 1824, Britain was involved in two conflicts - the Ango-Ashanti war in modern Ghana and the First Burmese War in northeast India. Both began a year before in 1823.

Each transcript includes a name or names of the local constables. The constable was a local parish official responsible for ensuring that the ballot list and muster rolls were complete. The records include the names of numerous constables in the Kesteven area.

Men could be declared as exempt from militia service for a number of reasons. In some cases, the grounds for exemption is recorded in the notes field of the transcript. For example, Thomas Askew of Corby, a 43-year-old labourer, had his name was crossed off the list because he was responsible for 3 children and could not serve.

Use the name variants option when you are searching for your ancestor’s name. This will search for various spellings of your ancestor’s name. The spelling of a first name or surname may have changed since the 19th century.

Each record includes a place name and a wapentake. Wapentake is a smaller division of a parish similar in size to a hundred.