Poor Relief

[mafric]

Hi,
does anyone have an idea where i would be able to find info on ancestors who received poor relief, in Dullingham, Cambridgeshire.

Marie

[behindthefrogs]

You don't give any dates and the answer is different depending on the dates.

In 1834 responsibilty was removed from individual parishes to the Poor Law Unions.

Prior to 1834 you will need to look at the parish records.  Thus you are looking for the records of the Overseer of the poor.  His rate books show the money he collected and he was also obliged to keep records of disbursements of money, clothing etc.  Parishes also had their own workhouses and their records included not just inmates but also other people in the parish.

After 1834 you are looking for the records of the Guardians of the poor and the Union Workhouses.  These will be:

Rate Books
Accounts of Workhouse expenditure
Accounts of Outrelief
Minutes of the Guardians' meetings
Reports of medical officers
Reports of Undertakers

Most of these if they survive will be found in the appropriate record office and a few have been transcribed and are available through the local family history society


David
 

[mafric]

Hi David,
thanks, i am looking for information prior to 1834. Mainly on the Bye family, but collectioner has appeared on some of the other offshoots as well.

Marie

[behindthefrogs]

If he was recorded as a collectioner then he will be a pauper in receipt of poor relief and so the parish records are a good bet if they exist.

[mafric]

Hi,
thanks, i have a copy of the parish registers on fiche, but i was looking for more info. I've checked the library on family search to see if there is a film, but there doesnt seem to be one, unless Dullingham was part of a district.

Marie

[behindthefrogs]

Unfortunately your profile doesn't say where in the world you are located.  The information you require will probably only be in the Cambridgeshire Record Office, although it is worth checking what the FHS holds which can probably do on-line.

If you can't visit the record office yourself then I would suggest that you post a look up request giving full details of the dates, names and anything else which might help.  You will find that the more detail that you can give on this site the more likely it is that someone will be able to help.

David

[mafric]

HI David,
thanks again, i live in Leeds, so getting to Cambridge would be a problem.
I've checked in the CFHS site and they do have some sort of index, but none of my Bye's or Aves are on there.

Marie

[peggypatch]

The CFHS index is for poor law papers e.g settlement papers, bastardy papers, apprenticeship papers. What you are looking for is the Overseer's Account Books, which you are not going to find on the net. I'm afraid you will have to plan a visit to the record office and trawl through them, but do check with them that the Overseers Accounts for Dullingham have survived for the dates you want before you go all the way there.