Somerset Paupers - Unremembered Lives by Thelma Munkton
Hardback Book with 200+ pages.
Under various Acts made in the sixteenth and Seventeenth the poor and infirm were not permitted to wander from one parish to another but had to stay where they had “legal settlement” or have an indemnity certificate saying that their parish of settlement would be responsible for any charges that became payable to another parish if that person was taken ill or needed help in some way.
Those of you who visited the Somerset Record Office in the 1990’s and early 2000’s might well have seen Thelma Munkton working on her index and book. You will almost certainly have used her Settlement and Bastardy Index, if the staff had pointed you in that direction whilst looking for a lost ancestor. This book is a collection of almost two hundred such documents and contains invaluable genealogical and local historical information. Just two such cases have been extracted and are below,
13 December 1799. John Hockey.
John Hockey, a butcher, residing in the parish of Horsington, in which parish he states that he was born, and where his father was settled. When John was twenty years old, he went to Henstridge, where he rented a dwelling house, a slaughter house and a piece of ground, for which he paid six shillings a year.
John stayed in Henstridge for ten years, he then returned to Horsington, and where he lived ever since in a cottage, which was given to Betty, his wife, by the late Mr. Spencer, in lieu of a debt that was owed to her. John has done no act to gain a settlement in his own right.
This one is fairly straight forward but the following one is more complicated
26 December 1799. Edward Low.
Edward Low, residing Curry Rivel, states that he was born on the seas, his father and grandfather were both soldiers, and he does not know where they were born, neither does he know where his mother was born. Edward had continued with the army since his birth until he enlisted as a soldier. He was discharged about eight years ago. He had never lived as a servant or apprentice or done any act to gain a settlement.
About five years ago he was married at Yeovil to Mary Gillard, widow, whose settlement was at Drayton, by birth and by right of her former husband Francis Gillard. The pauper and his wife, together with their two children Betty and Jane, who are both under the age of seven, are now chargeable to the parish of Curry Rivel.
Counsel’s opinion is now sought:
The parish of Curry Rivel wish to remove the pauper and family to Drayton, and the two parishes submit their case. Can the pauper be removed or not?
Can the wife be removed to Drayton, whilst the husband remains in Curry Rivel, or if the pauper runs away and leaves his family chargeable to Curry Rivel can they be removed to Drayton?
Or if they remain at Curry Rivel can an order be made for the maintenance of the wife and children, and if so will the parish of Drayton be obliged to reimburse the parish of Curry Rivel such part of the expenses as relate to the wife and children?
If it can be proved that the pauper was born in Ireland, and has gained no legal settlement in England, can he and the family be removed to Ireland as vagrants?
Opinion given by John Lens, Lincolns Inn, 14 February 1800:
If the husband had left the wife and children then they could be removed to the original settlement of the wife before marriage, but no authority can be found for sending the wife and children away from the husband, he cannot be removed with them as Drayton is not the place of his settlement. No order can be made on the parish to which a pauper belongs to reimburse the expenses
occasioned by his maintenance in another.
This book is full of interesting and informative information and even if your family is not mentioned in it, it is well worth reading to obtain an insight to the sort of condition that our ancestors lived in and rules that they had to abide to.
There are also three Appendix covering a Select Bibliography, Various Statutes relating to Settlement and an one relating to Wife Selling.
Unfortunately the book is now out of print but can be found on various websites for sale. I have found second hand copies on Ebay (£40), Amazon (£12.99 to £40.00 plus postage), Abebooks (£16.95 to £40.00 plus postage) and Alibiris (£21.68 to £42.29). You possibly should also be able to borrow a copy through your inter-library loan scheme.
As a special offer to my Blog members I have just four new copies and they are priced £12.50 including UK postage and £16.50 for overseas Airmail. Just click on the relevant button below. Please do not ask me if a particular name appears as there are hundreds and not all are indexed!