BORIS Johnson isn't the first Foreign Secretary with connections to Somerset.

While Theresa May's first top diplomat lived in family home on Exmoor when he was growing up, one of his famous predecessors was born in our county.

Statesman, trade union leader and Labour politician Ernest Bevin was born in Winsford in 1881 and started at the village school in 1884.

Those facts are among more than seven million historical records of Somerset residents published online by family history and consumer genomics website ancestry.co.uk.

The collections, digitised from original records held by the South West Heritage Trust, detail births, deaths, marriages and school admissions from almost 400 years of the county’s history, including Somerset School Registers 1860-1914 and Somerset Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials 1538-1812.

A Somerset cricket legend and the inventor of the commercial Christmas card are two of the millions of names and stories featured in the records.

Searchable by name, age, type, date and location of crime, the digitised records contain vital information and fascinating details for anybody looking to find out more about ancestors who lived in the county.

Among them is Somerset cricket legend Jack 'Farmer' White, whose baptism record and enrolment at Stringston CofE School are online.

There is the baptism record of Sir Henry Cole, born in Bath in 1808, who later pioneered the Christmas card, helped develop the Penny Post and was the first director of the South Kensington Museum, also known as the Victoria and Albert Museum.

Other names include YMCA founder George Williams, Boer War hero and Victoria Cross recipient Henry George Crandon, buccaneer William Dampier and artist Flora Twort.

There are stories of everyday people, such as the marriage of Anne Holbrook and James Hilliar at Walcot St Swithin in March 1794, when “the man came so drunk as not to be able to repeat the words of the ceremony” – the wedding was postponed a month.

The registers of criminals from Ilchester, Shepton Mallet and Wilton gaols are available online for the first time in the Somerset Gaol Registers 1807-1879 collection.

It provides insights into crime and punishment in the 1800s, containing prisoner registers and descriptions.

Among the crimes are those of Solomon Sparks, jailed for six months for “stealing 19 cheeses" and William Weare, who was sentenced to nine weeks’ hard labour and a whipping for “stealing two ducks”.

Ancestry’s senior content manager Miriam Silverman said: “These collections provide an amazing insight into the history and people of Somerset.

"People across Britain and indeed around the world can now research their ancestral links to the county, whether they are descended from famous cricketers like Jack White or criminals from Somerset’s historic jails.

“These records can help add names and stories from Somerset to your family tree, whether you’re just starting your research or have previously been stumped when looking at your families historical records.”

Janet Tall, Head of Archives and Local Studies for the South West Heritage Trust, said: “We’re thrilled that these fascinating archives in our care are now accessible worldwide.

"It’s amazing to know that millions of people can now easily explore their ancestral connections with Somerset.”