Millennium Project
There were no secret ballots in early 19th Century elections in England. Voters — and there were not too many of them, only men owning a Freehold assessed as worth more than 40 shillings a year — announced their preference in public, and a public record was kept by the Sheriff of the County.
The Oxfordshire Poll Book, which was commercially published, was created from the Sheriff's records. As well as listing the names of the voters, and who they voted for — and one man could have several votes depending on what, and where, his property was — there is also a detailed analysis, parish by parish, of voting behaviour.
Three candidates stood for election in the Oxfordshire constituency:
The state of the Poll, as given out each dayWilliam Henry Ashurst, Esq.
John Fane, Esq.
George Frederick Stratton, Esq.
A | F | S | |||
Friday June 16th | 192 | 192 | 336 | ||
Saturday June 17th | 631 | 573 | 661 | ||
Monday June 19th | 1304 | 1238 | 1059 |
The numbers who polled, taken from the books of the Sheriff and check clerks:
Oxfordshire being a 2 member constituency, Ashurst and Fane (both Torys) were duly elected.Ashurst — 13290 Fane — 1268 Stratton — 1058
Surnames of Deddington voters:
Click here to download a PDF containing more details of the Deddington votersAdams, Arlidge, Austin, Bennett, Brotherton, Buller, Callcott (Calcut), Castle, Chillingworth, Churchill, Clarke, Dean, Ell, Fardon, Field, Fidkin, Franklin, Gilkes, Greaves, Harris, Hatten, Hill, Hudson, Hughes, Jarvis, Knibbs, Lymath, Mason, Merry, Ordway, Petty, Poulton, Pritchett, Rose, Rutter, Rymall (Rymill), Strong, Sturch, Tay, Watson, Westcar, Wetton (Whetton), Williams, Woolgrove
Follow this link to view the 1826 Poll book for Oxfordshire in the Google Library.