How complete are electoral rolls?

[erich]

Some of you will be familiar with my difficulties in tracing my grandfather, Ernest McQuillan Hargraves. Apparently born in England around 1880, he reportedly emigrated to Australia around 1899, and I know he was married in Melbourne in 1913, subsequently lived in Jervis bay, Gunnedah and Sydney and died in Sydney in 1939. Because I have been so far unsuccessful in finding his birth and parents in England, I have been trying to fill in the gaps regarding his early years in Australia.

One obvious source is electoral rolls. Searching for him there, I only find him in the 1930s in Sydney, nowhere else. (There are Ernest Hargraves there, but most of them can be shown not to have been him, though perhaps there are one or two that remain possibilities, but not in places where I know him to have been.) More importantly, I cannot find him on the rolls even at times and places where I know his whereabouts - e.g. in 1913 where he was apparently at Jervis Bay, and 1915-17 when he was in Gunnedah (conformed by the Sands Directories, which show him as proprietor of refreshment rooms, which I know from my mother's stories).

So my question is this. Does anyone have any knowledge of how reliable electoral rolls were in those days? Did new immigrants get on them very easily and quickly? Were they likely to be years out of date if people moved around? Could people stay off them for decades???

Just interested in others' experiences. Thanks.

[Dizzi R.I.P.]

HI
A LOT OF PROBLEMSARE TRANCRIPTION
I FOUND ONE HE HAD3 NAMES THEY REVERSEDTHEN WHEN TRANSCRIBING

[Dizzi R.I.P.]

Surname First name(s) District Vol Page

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Births Mar 1886 (>99%)
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MCQUILLAN Ernest Barnsley 9c 243

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Births Jun 1886 (>99%)
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MCQUILLAN Ernest Chester le S. 10a 565

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Births Mar 1890 (>99%)
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McQuillan Ernest Barnsley 9c 260

[Dizzi R.I.P.]

ON FAMILY SEARCH

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Ernest McQuillan Compact Disc #137 Pin #4452177 Pedigree
Sex: M

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Event(s)
Birth: abt 1890

Worsbrough, Yorkshire, England

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Parents
Father: Edward McQuillan Disc #137 Pin #4452170
Mother: Marie Disc #137 Pin #4452174

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Notes and Sources
Notes: None
Sources: None

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Submitter
Pamela MCILWRATH
22 Burnbrae Avenue Portadown Craigavon Co Armagh


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Submission Search: 4674022-1008107065257
URL:
CD-ROM: Pedigree Resource File - Compact Disc #137
CD-ROM Features: Pedigree View, Family View, Individual View, Reports, Downloadable GEDCOM files, Notes and Sources.
Order Pedigree Resource File CD-ROMS

[Dizzi R.I.P.]

Surname First name(s) District Vol Page

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Births Mar 1888 (>99%)
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HARGRAVES Ernest Runcorn 8a 218

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Births Sep 1888 (>99%)
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HARGRAVES Ernest Louth 7a 533

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Births Dec 1891 (>99%)
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Hargraves Ernest Pontefract 9c 100
Hargraves Ernest Pontefract 9c 1__
Hargraves Ernest William Bridlington 9d 335

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Births Sep 1893 (>99%)
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Hargraves Ernest Hull 9d 302

[Dizzi R.I.P.]

IS THIS YOURS
Ernest McQuillan Hargraves
Hatfield Family Tree
Birth: 1880? - Holborn
Death: Aug/Sept 1939 (Aug 1939) - Sydney, Nsw (New South Wales), Australia
Parents: Mr Hargraves, MS McQuillan
Spouse: Olive Blanche Clark

[Dizzi R.I.P.]

Family NoticesThe Sydney Morning Herald... Friday 24 February 1939 p 9 Family Notices... FUNERAL- LIMITED_ HARGRAVES-The Relatives a»? friends of tho late ERNEST McQUILLAN HARGRAVES late of ... and mends of Mrs RACHEL ANN LEAN and FAMILY of 34 Red- man Street Canterbury are Invited to attend ... 1530 words

http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/result?q=((Biographical%20cuttings%20on%20Rachel%20McQuillan%20tennis%20player)%20OR%20(McQuillan%20Rachel))%20NOT%20(id:35536599)

[erich]

Hey Dizzi,

Yes, some of those you found in UK could possibly be my grandfather, but so far I haven't been able to do much more than speculate. The one from the Hatfield Family Tree, born in Holborn, is mine, but wrong - I entered it (based on my late mother's memories) when I was first testing our Ancestry, but it seems to be wrong. I have cancelled that family tree, but the information can still be found.

The 1939 death notice is him alright, but I can't find the earlier stuff.

I agree with you that transcription errors are a big problem, but I just trying to get some idea whether my failure to find him on an electoral roll before 1930 is all that unusual?

Thanks

Eric (Hatfield)

[Dizzi R.I.P.]

COULD HE OF BEEN IN THE USA OR CANADA
DID HE SERVE IN WW1
IF SO TRY AUSSIE ARMY RECORDS

[JALimestone Plains]

Eric - maybe Tony can help here. The question could be "what did one have to do to get on the electoral roll if one was born in England - was it automatic that one could vote in Australia if born in UK or did one have to do something - now we have to become an Australian citizen but Australian citizenship was not legislated for until late 1948, with the first citizenship ceremony in February 1949.

Compulsory voting for the Commonweath Government was introduced in 1924. By 1911 it was compulsory to to put yourself on the electoral role.

I looked for births of ernest mcQuillan the other day too, no luck either. I'll check the electoral rolls too

The funeral notice - do you have the full text? We could look on the electoral roll for anyone elese mentioned?