The Boards of Guardians were the local administrators of the Poor Law. The workhouses and their infirmaries were their responsibility. So to go from Porter to Relieving Officer would perhaps be a normal career progression within the system.
One of his court mentions (in 1882) was the prosecution of an inmate of the Epsom Workhouse who had tried to throttle him (Surrey Mirror, 29 July 1882).
Hi ShaunJ
I tried to locate this item and other Court mentions ....using GALE ... without success ... do you still have the references or can you recall the search terms used ?
The Surrey Mirror appears to be unavailable on Gale .... or perhaps my inexperience with this particlular site explains the trouble I am having tracking down this newspaper reference. The Hampshire Advertiser of 21 April 1877 may refer to a John Wm Nixon (if my eyesight is correct !) - but my John Nixon had no middle name.
Any tips for handling the newspaper search for John Nixon would be most welcome !
