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A question about a convict

Posted: Sat Jun 05, 2010 6:44 pm
by cheryl
One of my ancestors was convicted and imprisoned in 1840. Looking at the 'Register of persons Charged with Indictable Offences' there's a column headed 'Degree of Instruction' and people are shown as either 'Imp' or 'h'.
Does anyone know what this stands for?
Thanks for any suggestions.

Re: A question about a convict

Posted: Sat Jun 05, 2010 6:58 pm
by linell
Only a guess but could be Hung :?:

HTH from Linell.

Re: A question about a convict

Posted: Sat Jun 05, 2010 7:27 pm
by Maths girl
cheryl wrote:One of my ancestors was convicted and imprisoned in 1840. Looking at the 'Register of persons Charged with Indictable Offences' there's a column headed 'Degree of Instruction' and people are shown as either 'Imp' or 'h'.
Does anyone know what this stands for?
Thanks for any suggestions.


I googled this and

From The Times 2nd May 1844

Respecting the degree of instruction of the persons taken into custody, the document proceeds to show us that out of the 62,447 persons so taken up by the police, 11,336 males, and 5,682 females (in all 16,918) could neither read nor write; that 25,897 males and 13,170 females (in all 5,823) could read and write well ; and that 654 males and 15 females were of superior instruction.


how that fits to "Imp" or "h" --I can't see

Re: A question about a convict

Posted: Sat Jun 05, 2010 8:09 pm
by cheryl
I hadn't thought of trying Google, but I've found it!
Degree of 'instruction' was indicated by the use of N for 'neither read nor write'; R for 'read'; Imp. for 'read and write imperfectly'; W for 'Both well'
It must have been 'n' on my ancestors record, not 'h' as I'd thought.
Many thanks for pointing me in the right direction.

Re: A question about a convict

Posted: Sat Jun 05, 2010 9:32 pm
by Maths girl
cheryl wrote:I hadn't thought of trying Google, but I've found it!
Degree of 'instruction' was indicated by the use of N for 'neither read nor write'; R for 'read'; Imp. for 'read and write imperfectly'; W for 'Both well'
It must have been 'n' on my ancestors record, not 'h' as I'd thought.
Many thanks for pointing me in the right direction.


:?: I'm just curious -- what did you type into google to get the abbreviations?-- just wondering how you got more detail than I did-- or is it just the whim of the www?

Re: A question about a convict

Posted: Sat Jun 05, 2010 9:50 pm
by cheryl
I tried lots of combinations but this was the one:
degree of instruction convict imp