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General => The Common Room => Topic started by: amanda0901 on Friday 04 August 23 17:00 BST (UK)
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Am I correct in thinking that parish Poor Law Relief contributions would be noted in the Overseer's Book? Also, how often were the contributions made, and how were they calculated?
Many thanks!
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The history and organisation of the Poor Relief falls into two main periods: 1662-1833, and 1834-1948. Prior to 1834 Poor Law was administered entirely at the level of the parish and the parish was responsible for raising the poor rates to pay for this relief. The system was run by the parish vestry - a forerunner of the parish council - and the overseer and the churchwardens would have responsibility for the day to day administration, collecting the rates and disbursing the relief etc. Exactly how this was done would vary from place to place. Some parishes had workhouses, others did not and the poor might be given out-relief.
After the Poor Law Unions were set up from 1834 (some places took longer than others to convert to the new system) several parishes might be served by one Union, although the parishes were still responsible for raising the rates to pay for the service. The overseers thus became more central to the administration side of things, while the parish vestry retained responsibility for levying the rates. Gradually the system became more and more centralised, as the parishes and later the borough councils took on responsibility for other services such providing constables, repairing the roads and providing other utilities and services, and so the poor rate became included within the general rates.
As you can imagine for a system which spanned 300 years, the details evolved over time and varied by geography and need, the towns and cities often leading the progression towards improvements in social welfare policy.
Some details about the records which survive can be found here: https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/England_and_Wales_Poor_Law_Records_Pre-1834
and here: https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/England_and_Wales_Poor_Law_Records_1834-1948
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Am I correct in thinking that parish Poor Law Relief contributions would be noted in the Overseer's Book? Also, how often were the contributions made, and how were they calculated?
Many thanks!
Contributions to poor parishioners could be in the vestry minutes, and also in 'pauper ledgers'. You might find other things in 'charity' sections listed in the catalogue for the parish in the local archives online catalogue, or the Mormons have also a lot of parish chest records digitized, so in the FHL catalogue, some of which can be read online, others you may have to visit your local FHL library
https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog
This page is a very good overview of the subject
https://www.genguide.co.uk/source/overseers-of-the-poor-accounts-parish-poor-law/
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Vestry minutes can be good for contributions to the poor relief as they often say things like "To widow Smith, a coat" or "To Master Soap, a pair of trousers". The survival rate for them is hit and miss though. If you have ancestors from Essex, Sussex or Norfolk then you may find many of them have been uploaded to FamilySearch.
Luckily I found the Loes & Wilford parishes of Suffolk have their pauper records from 1760 to 1820 and many of my ancestors are listed, it was those that opened up a chain of info that lead me find out a 5xgreat grandfather was sent to Australia for theft. Those Loes & Wilford records are not vestry minutes but accounts of paupers and workhouse/house of industry registers.