Ancestors lost in the crowd?
New to family history research?
Perhaps these articles on our website may help:
Census 1841 - 1911
Birth, Death and Marriage Registration
The London Gazette
Newspaper archives
Trade Directories
History of Harwich
Harwich, the Quayside c1954
Reproduced courtesy of The Francis Frith Collection.
Welcome to the home page for the History of Harwich and its inhabitants.
Below you find links to a range of sources transcribed by History House. Further below under 'more local history sources' you will find to links to other places on the web where you can continue your research.
For other locations in Essex see our alphabetical list of Essex towns and villages.
Pigot's Directory of Essex 1823
Pigot's Directory of Essex 1823 - list of inhabitants.
Poll of Voters 1826
Harwich inhabitants who voted in the 1826 general election held in the Borough of Maldon.
Poll of Voters 1847
Harwich inhabitants who voted in the 1847 general election.
White's Directory of Essex 1848
Harwich is an ancient borough, market town, seaport and bathing-place, locally situated at the north east extremity of >>more.
White's Directory of Essex 1848 - list of inhabitants.
White's Directory of Essex 1863
White's Directory of Essex 1863 - list of inhabitants.
Essex Almanac 1866
Essex Almanac of 1866 - a description of Harwich.
Post Office Directory of Essex 1874
Post Office Directory of Essex 1874 - list of inhabitants.
Harwich Criminal Cases
Court cases involving Harwich residents - ongoing project >>more.
Education in Harwich
Reports and returns on schools and education in Harwich.
Images and Maps
Images and maps of Harwich supplied by Francis Frith.
Images of Harwich and Dovercourt contributed by a History House reader.
Harwich Poor
Under the Poor Law of 1834, Harwich became part of the Tendring Union. See our article on researching your workhouse and pauper ancestors.
My Harwich Ancestors
Are your ancestors from Harwich? Why not tell us their story: My Ancestors.
More local history sources
Ebay is now a great source for old images of Essex towns and villages. If you're looking for pictures to add to your family tree album, then try one of the auctions, or there are several 'Buy It Now' shops offering postcards which have been touched up and improved - so if you're unsure about bidding, try these. Link already formatted for Essex. Browse through or type the name of the location in the Ebay search box. >>
Also on Ebay are legal documents on vellum. This link is formatted for Essex. (Sometimes I think these should be in an archive.) >>
Books featuring Harwich from Abebooks. Just click the logo. The search terms are already formatted for Harwich.
Search for Harwich census returns at ancestry.co.uk.
1841 England Census | 1851 England Census
| 1861 England Census
1871 England Census | 1881 England Census
| 1891 England Census
1901 England Census
The Essex Record Office: an excellent starting point for research. The ERO has an online catalogue by the name of SEAX and a database of Parish Records held in the ERO. Access to both via their home page.
Brief archeological history of Harwich on the Essex County Council's Unlocking Essex
Community web site with some of the history of Harwich.
Harwich Heritage Maritime Trail.
1881 Ordnance Survey Map from the British History Online web site (Essex: 021, Ordnance Survey 1:10,560: Epoch 1.0).
Ordnance Survey - type the place name in the gazetteer search box to view detailed map of Harwich.
Images of England web site which has a photographic record of England's listed buildings - from the grandest house to the humblest cottage. Enter the town or village in the search box. Photographs are accompanied by a detailed architectural description of the property.
Harwich
print published 1834