For the first time ever, findmypast.co.uk has launched a collection of records that relate to an entire city. The Manchester Collection provides an insightful snapshot into what life was like in the city of Manchester.

The records in the collection provide information about apprentices, cemetery records, industrial school registers, parish register transcripts, prison, school and workhouse registers.

You could make vital discoveries about your family's past – whether you are aware of a Manchester connection or not – and these records provide rich information about how your ancestors lived.

Further details about the records are as follows:

Record type	Years covered
Apprentices	1700 - 1849
Baptism and birth registers	1734 - 1920
Cemetery and death records	1750 - 1968
Industrial school registers	1866 - 1912
Marriage registers	1734 - 1808
Prison registers	1847 - 1881
School registers	1870 - 1916
Workhouse registers	1859 - 1911

While searching the prison registers, we found a record for Cyrus Travis who was found guilty of attempting to murder his wife, Ellen, in 1864. Cyrus had tried to feed Ellen a cake containing bent pins and antimony, but was unsuccessful and was promptly arrested for his crime. Cyrus was sentenced to 20 years of penal servitude – view his record below:

Search the Manchester Collection now