Further government legislation was passed at times to provide more direction, but it was not until 1845 that a major change was made to the system.
After 1845, someone applying for poor relief would be interviewed in their own home by the parish's Inspector of the Poor. Names may sometimes also be spelled phonetically. Income was raised from church collections, fines on offenders and fees for carrying out sacraments and services, like the use of mortcloths at funerals. After 1845, someone applying for poor relief would be interviewed in their own home by the parish's Inspector of the Poor. It should be noted that, as is often the custom in Scotland, married women may be entered in relief records under their maiden name. Records of the Highland Destitution Board (HD) contain registers with the names and sometimes ages of family members receiving help in the Highlands and Islands.K M Forbes and R H J Urquhart 'Records in The National Archives of Scotland relating to Poor Relief 1845-1930', 'Scottish Archives', volume 8 (2002).Tristram Clarke, editor, 'Tracing Your Scottish Ancestors: the Official Guide', revised sixth edition (2012)'Poor Relief in Scotland', 'History At Source' series, (1995). Poor relief and migration records Search the records for the emigration society, set up to relieve Highland destitution 1852-57 Sheriff Courts kept voluminous records but their format and content varies and so can present quite a challenge for researchers. The details of the claim (whether successful or not) were recorded in a register of relief applications. In 1865 standardised poor relief registers were introduced in parochial boards throughout Scotland.
A few sheriff courts (Ayr, Banff, Elgin and Hamilton) kept separate records of poor relief appeals for a time.Anyone looking at poor relief business in sheriff courts and the Court of Session should start by consulting A M Caird, 'Poor Law Manual for Scotland' (Edinburgh, 6 editions, 1845-1851), which provides a digest of poor relief cases in sheriff courts and the Court of Session. A list of Scottish archives is available on the The records of the Board of Supervision for Relief of the Poor, set up in 1845 (HH23-27), and the Local Government Board for Scotland, which replaced it in 1894 (HH2, HH10), contain details on policy and supervision of parishes and poorhouses, correspondence regarding some claimants' appeals and statistics. Most of these and subsequent acts in the 15th and 16th centuries were aimed at dealing with the problem of 'sturdy beggars'. Normally people receiving poor relief were unable to support themselves, either through age or incapacity. Unfortunately there is usually no quick way of searching through these records since poor relief was almost always recorded in amongst all the other financial business of the parish.
Other surviving documents may include parish poors rolls - lists of named individuals receiving relief such as cash or portions of oatmeal. The National Records of Scotland (the new face of the National Archives of Scotland) holds a variety of pre- and post-1845 material including poors rolls, Kirk Session and Heritors' minutes, and poorhouse architectural plans. The 'sturdy beggar' or the able-bodied poor, were not generally entitled to support and were indeed legislated against, although in practice many did receive some degree of assistance.The first acts of parliament to deal with the relief of the poor were passed in 1424. In 1845, the Poor Law (Scotland) Act introduced a new system of poor relief, still parish-based but administered by Parochial Boards (Parish Councils from 1894). Before 1845 relief of the poor was undertaken by the parish kirk session. The Poor Law Amendment (Scotland) Act of 1845 established Parochial Boards (later Parish Councils) in each parish. To begin with record keeping did not change much and there was quite a lot of overlap between the records of parochial boards, heritors and kirk sessions (as representatives of heritors and kirk sessions were on each parochial board and session clerks often acted as clerks to parochial boards and heritors' meetings). Those who were unable to … On our online catalogue enter the parish name in the search box and then the reference (HR or CH2) in the reference box and click 'starts with'.Following the Poor Law Amendment (Scotland) Act of 1845 parochial boards were set up in each parish to administer poor relief.
Poor Relief Records Poor Relief Records A pauper family appearing before the Glasgow Juvenile Delinquency Board, 1886. Mentions of these will be found in sheriff court records among the ordinary business of each court. Settlement in Scotland was based on the place of birth or by continuous residence in another parish for seven years. Within this period, family historians may need to consult kirk sessions' and heritors' records as well as those kept by Parochial Boards. © 2020 Peter Higginbotham. As well as relief records, poorhouse inmates feature, of course, in civil records such A good finding aid is the Records relating to adults are usually closed for 75 years and for 100 years in respect of children, so before travelling to a record office, always check that the records you need are available for consultation. In a subsequent application, he might describe himself as a weaver. One of the largest collections of poor relief applications is held at Glasgow's The names of those granted poor relief were compiled in each parish's General Register of the Poor listing each claimant's details (name, age, address, birthplace, occupation, dependants) and the amount and type of relief (cash, clothing, medicine etc) that they were awarded by the Parochial Board. Individuals who felt that the relief they had been granted by the Parochial Board was inadequate could appeal to the Scottish Board of Supervision (succeeded by the Local Government Board in 1894), whose annual reports list each claimant's name, parish and appeal verdict. This can be a particularly rich resource with details of the applicant's name, age, birthplace, residence, marital status, occupation, religion, earnings', names and ages of dependants, disabilities, any other relevant information, and details of any previous applications. These reports form part of the For those who ended up in the poorhouse, records were kept of admissions and discharges and matters such as inmates' deaths and punishments.