Northamptonshire Family History Society

Northamptonshire Family History Society was formed in 1976 to cover family history interests in the pre-1974 county of Northampton, which includes the Soke of Peterborough, and has now grown to a membership of over 1,000.

The Society holds regular meetings at Kettering, Northampton, Oundle and Rushden at which members can hear a variety of speakers, seek advice, and meet like-minded people. A small library, which concentrates mainly on Northamptonshire material, is also available to members. For those unable to attend, the quarterly journal “Footprints” provides items of local interest, general genealogical information, events and activities of the society, and an opportunity to publish their personal family history interests.

This collection allows you to uncover whether or not your ancestor held a license in Northamptonshire between 1689 and 1932. Licenses you may come across include Meeting House Licenses, Badgers and Higglers and Gamekeepers' Licenses.

You may discover your ancestor's last name, first name, year the licence was granted, place, document type, source and archive reference number.

Was your English ancestor called to serve in the Northamptonshire militia? Discover your ancestor’s residence and occupation at the time of his service in this collection of Northamptonshire Militia Lists.

Men in the militia were usually between the ages of 18 and 45 and served for three years. In Northamptonshire, the militia usually met in Northampton; however, in 1771, an outbreak of smallpox meant the militia was separated into two units. One was stationed at Kettering and the other was stationed at Wellingborough.