Hernhill, St Michael Church
Peter said the records of the Parish Overseer were a considerably underused source today as they are not online and hence usually overlooked. Yet they are easily accessed in archives with good coverage across the country and much can be discerned from them about the lives of our ancestors. These handwritten records convey details not just of those in distress but also those better off parishioners whose taxes were used to aid those in want.
Peter started with a brief look at modern politicians and the welfare of the poor before the Poor Law Reform Act of 1834. This did away with the Elizabethan Act of 1601 in favour of the much harsher Victorian Poor Laws.
Under the Elizabethan Poor Laws and the position of parish Overseer was an unpaid volunteer who was elected for a term of one year. He needed to be able to keep records and therefore, to be fairly literate and numerate. The records he kept were once kept in the parish chest with other documents that charted the ‘daily doings’ of the church and the parish officers.
Amongst the records in the Parish Chest were: Settlement Certificates, Removal Orders and Bastardy Bonds, Registers of apprentices and Rate Books. The latter contained details of the cess or sess which was an assessment of the amount of tax to be paid by those who owned or rented land and property. This tax was payable whether they lived in the parish or not. Hence some people paid tax to more than one parish. Disbursements were the amounts paid out to those in need. Although each parish had a place in which to house the poor, unlike the Victorian system, people in want were usually left in their own homes and helped through a difficult time.
To better understand these records Peter recommended a book, ‘The Parish Chest’ by W. E. Tate. First written in the 1940s it has not been surpassed by any other work on the subject. Now out of print it can still be found in libraries, bookshops dealing in old books and, of course, Amazon. He said it was well worth investing in this book to appreciate the records out there and the information they can provide.
Sandra Marvin & Tricia Baxter