1.6M Poor Law records for Middlesex, England, added to FamilySearch
FamilySearch has recently announced the addition of more than 1.6 million Poor Law records, covering the years 1539 to 1883 to its free-to-use database. The records form a new collection, titled: ‘England, Middlesex, Westminster, Poor Law records, 1561 to 1883’, comprising a total of 1,678,558 records.
The Poor Law Act of 1601 included laws surrounding settlement, which constituted the place where individuals could receive poor relief. The collection contains apprentice records, bastardy bond records, examination books, land tax records, pauper records, and workhouse admission records.
How to use the Poor Law Records for England
The above collection can be valuable, particularly for tracking the movements of ancestors before the start of civil registration.
Although they can make for poignant reading…