Using Poor Law Records for Family History

This entry is part 3 of 8 in the series Law - Poor Law

Law - Poor Law

Statute of Cambridge

Statute of Cambridge 1388

Statute Punishment of Beggars and Vagabonds 1531

Using Poor Law Records for Family History

Using Poor Law Records for Family History

The workhouse system

Workhouse Schools

Review of the Poor Law Act 1832

Punishment of Vagabonds and Beggars 1536 Henry VIII

Punishment of Vagabonds and Beggars 1536 Henry VIII

Poor Law Amendment Act 1834

Poor Law Amendment Act 1834

poor law 1601

Poor Law England 1601

Poor Law Records for Family History

Britain’s Poor Law Records hold fascinating material on many aspects of our ancestors ordinary or sometimes extraordinary lives, depending on what they got up to!

Here are some examples of the type of document you might find in poor law records but check county archives to find out what survives for each area

    • Workhouse admission records
    • Workhouse registers of birth and death
    • Workhouse punishment books
    • Workhouse Creed Registers
    • Workhouse asylum records
    • Poor Union correspondence
    • Parish records including bastardy records, settlement records, Overseers books recording parish relief
    • Parish removal and settlement records
    • Apprenticeship records
    • Muster records and militia lists

At Intriguing Family History we are transcribing some of Hampshire’s Poor Law records, starting with the  Overseers book for East Meon Hampshire  1819 – 1826. At present it consists of a list of names but more details will be added in the coming month, click on the link to a separate post to find surnames of people living in East Meon during this time.

Law - Poor Law

Statute Punishment of Beggars and Vagabonds 1531 Workhouse Schools