19th Century British Passports.

[bigbazza]

Hi,

My great grandmother, Frances Jerrett of Sandford, Devon, England became a governess to a household in St. Petersburg, Russia in 1859 when she was 21.  She married a butler named John Yeshevsky, had 4 children (including my grandfather) and died a widow in 1908 having lived there for nearly 50 years.

I have recently established that she was issued with a British Passport, number 26946, on 17 May 1859.

Can anyone tell me if original information on her passport still exists, where it is located and if copies can be obtained by a descendant such as myself?

Many thanks for any help you can provide,

Baz.   

[majm]

Hi there,

Here's a live link to TNA's mention about passports ...

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-with-your-research/research-guides/passports/

Cheers,  JM

[majm]

I think her first name has a typo in the index   

I think it has been typed as Framces 

Cheers,  JM

[Ruskie]

What an interesting question Baz (to which, sadly, I don't know the answer).

Where did you find the information about a passport being issued to her?

Is there anything specific you are hoping to find regarding her passport details?

When you ask "if original information on her passport still exists, where it is located and if copies can be obtained", do you mean the personal information which she provided in order to obtain the passport, or do you mean the information such as travel activity she undertook on that passport?

Added: good link JM. I wouldn't have thought there would be much information required to obtain a passport in the past (unlike today  ), so perhaps not much information available in the records ....

[bigbazza]

majm; Thanks for the live link.  You're right, the transcription is typed Framces but the original has it correct.

Ruskie; the Index to Register of Passport Applications 1851 - 1903 is on Find My Past and that's where I got the info.  I am looking for travel activity.

Cheers,

Baz.

[Ruskie]

I may be completely off track here, but I wouldn't think that travel activity on each passport would have been recorded in those days. If there was note of a person entering a country you might expect it to have been recorded at the border, but whether that record was sent to a central agency and retained or digitised, I am doubtful. Each country (including European countries) would have held their own records I expect.

Just my thoughts - which may be completely wrong.

Is there anything specific you are hoping to discover?

[bigbazza]

Hi Ruskie,

I think you are right in what you say.  I would be happy to find anything new to be honest!

Baz.

[KGarrad]

From Wikipedia:

In 1855 passports became a standardised document issued solely to British nationals. They were a simple single-sheet paper document, and by 1914 included a photograph of the holder.

The British Nationality and Status of Aliens Act 1914 was passed on the outbreak of World War I. A new format was introduced in 1915: a single sheet folded into eight with a cardboard cover. It included a description of the holder as well as a photograph, and had to be renewed after two years.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_passport#History

[Ruskie]

Presumably you have Frances on the 1851 census? Is it her married life you are interested in following up?

Do you have a record of her marriage? 

You obviously have obtained some information about her (children & death).