Overseers ********* Prior to the passing of the 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act, the administration and finance of poor relief and workhouses was, for the most part, organised at the parish level — a situation which had been laid out by the 1601 statute "An Acte for the Reliefe of the Poore". Local administration of the 1601 Act was conducted by the Vestry which was the governing body of a parish. (The Vestry derived its name from the room where it usually met, which was originally where the priest put on his vestments.) The Vestry's membership comprised a chairman (the minister of the parish), the churchwardens, and a number of respected householders of the parish. The officials who performed the assessment and collection of the poor-rates were called overseers, of which there were normally between two and four in each parish. Overseers were appointed annually, subject to the approval of the local Justices. In addition, churchwardens were able to act as ex-officio overseers. Since the post of was an honorary one, overseers received no remuneration for their work. It was an honorary parochial post in the days when care of the poor was the responsibility of the church, the appointment requiring the approval of Justices of the Peace. He kept records of funds, disbursements and distribution of clothing etc. in rate books. In 1834 parochial responsibility for the poor ended and parishes combined to form Poor Law Unions and built workhouses to be governed by Poor Law Guardians. Guardians ********* Boards of guardians were created by the "Poor Law Amendment Act" 1834, replacing the parish Overseers of the Poor established under the old poor law, following the recommendations of the Poor Law Commission. Boards administered workhouses within a defined poor law union. Poor law unions existed in England and Wales from 1834 to 1930 for the administration of poor relief. Prior to the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 the administration of the English Poor Laws was the sole responsibility of the vestries of individual parishes, which varied widely in their size, populations, financial resources, rateable values and requirements. From 1834 the parishes were grouped into unions, jointly responsible for the administration of poor relief in their area, and each governed by a board of guardians. A parish that was large enough to operate independently of a union was known as a poor law parish. Collectively poor law unions and poor law parishes were known as poor law districts. The grouping of the parishes into unions caused larger centralised workhouses to be built to replace smaller facilities in each parish. Poor law unions were later used as a basis for the delivery of registration from 1837, and sanitation outside urban areas from 1875. Poor law unions were abolished by the Local Government Act 1929 which passed responsibility for public assistance to county and county borough councils. Once a union was established it could not be dissolved or merged with a neighbouring union without the consent of its board. Each board was composed of guardians elected by the owners and bona fide occupiers of land liable to pay the poor rate. Depending on the value of the property held, an elector could cast from one to three votes. Electors could nominate proxies to cast their vote in their absence. Where property was held by a corporation or company, its governing body could nominate an officer to cast its vote or votes. Each civil parish in the union was represented by at least one guardian, with those with larger populations or special circumstances having two or more. The exact constitution of each board was determined by the Commissioners. Guardians were subject to annual elections. In addition to the elected guardians, any justice of the peace residing in a parish of the union was entitled to be an ex officio guardian. By the "Public Health Act" 1875, boards of guardians became Rural Sanitary Authorities for all areas outside a municipal borough or town with a local board. The Local Government Act 1894 altered the system; members of newly established rural district councils became guardians for their areas, with poor law elections being limited to urban areas. At the same time, property qualifications were abolished, plural voting was ended and women were able to become guardians. The term of office of a guardian was increased to three years, with all guardians elected, and no ex officio or nominated board members. Boards were, however, permitted to co-opt a chairman, vice-chairman and up to two additional members from outside their own body, provided that they were qualified to be a guardian in a like manner to the elected members. Boards of guardians, unions and workhouses were abolished following the "Local Government Act" of 1929, and their powers passed to the county councils through the Public Assistance Committees and departments. The Poor Law system was finally abolished in 1948. Records ******* Records from the overseers' accounts which show the money collected for the poor of the parish and the individual payments made to the poor, either as a cash payment or in kind. Parliamentary Acts of 1598 (Act for the Relief of the Poor) and 1601 (Poor Law Act) handed responsibility for the welfare of the poor to the parish authorities. These two acts are collectively known as the Old Poor Law. The Act of Settlement and Removal in 1662 created the use of settlement certificates to prove entitlement to poor relief. Whilst the rate books detail the chargeable properties, the account books should contain details of payments to named individuals for rent, clothes, medical and funeral expenses. The accounts also include payments made to the aged and registers of apprenticed pauper children. The 1598 Act created the post of the Overseer of the Poor. The post holder was responsible to the vestry and was elected annually. Duties included organising the collection of rates for the poor and other taxes. They were also involved in issuing settlement certificates and removal orders and enforcing bastardy orders. The overseers had responsibility for the parish workhouse established following the Knatchbull Act of 1722. A person's name might be found amongst the records of the so called Speenhamland System. Dangerously high levels of discontent amongst the rural poor led to fears of potential agitation. Berkshire magistrates meeting in 1795 at the Pelican Inn, Speenhamland, Newbury enacted a new system of 'outdoor' relief. The system worked by supplementing a poor rural labourer's wage with a top-up paid from the poor rates based on the price of bread and the number of children. The system was widely adopted in southern England but less so in other regions. The Poor Law Reform Act of 1834 (New Poor Law) ended the practice. Payments to a widow could indicate the death of the husband and could help identify the burial record. The accounts record payments, known as bastardy bonds, from a presumed father of a bastard child to the overseer. This could prove valuable if the parish registers have not revealed the name of the father of an illegitimate child. The birth of a child could also be recorded in the accounts. The Poor Law Reform Act of 1834 (New Poor Law) ended the poor relief system and established unions composed of about six parishes overseen by Guardians of the Poor. Boards of Guardians administered each union and the post of Overseer of the Poor was abolished. Each board was responsible for its own workhouse, nursery for infants, pauper school and infirmary. Workhouse records prior to 1834 are likely to be found amongst these records. Sources: www.powys.gov.uk/ www.genguide.co.uk/ en.wikipedia.org www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2250039/