General Chat

I have found a document re an ancestor entitled Settlement Papers dated 1833

In short, two statements, one by the father and one by the son under oath.
The father had made an agreement with a man for his son aged around 7 yrs to work for him. He ran back home after a short while and the Master came to get him back. He stayed with him to serve in Husbandry for board and lodging but no wages
He was 25 yrs when these were taken and had married and said he had no issue by her.

There isn't any length of service shown but can you tell me what this could mean please

Hi Barb.

The Acts of Settlement dated back for quite a few centuries. They were in force to ensure a "stranger" from another village or town did not make a claim on the parish he or she was visiting. To travel in search of work an individual had to have "settlement papers" signed by his own parish which authorised him or her to travel and promising that his or her "home" parish would be responsible for them.

The following website should help you understand it better.

http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/LIN/poorsettlement.html

PS. The 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act removed the responsibility for the poor from individual parishes and effectively ended the Settlement Acts although legislation to this effect did not come until the 1870s.

After 1834, Unions of a number of parishes were administered by 'Boards of Guardians of the Poor', each union being obliged to provide a Workhouse for the 'impotent Poor' be they elderly, disabled, unmarried pregnant girls or poor children.
Individuals were then free to travel the countryside in search of employment without the need to carry a "Settlement Paper".

Thanks StaffyKnot

So his father entered him into a sort of apprenticeship to serve and he must have finished it when he married? I thought he might have settled for some sort of "pay off".

It was interesting to find out that one couldnt just move around the parishes willy nilly looking for work too.

That is so true Barb. Parishes were terrified if a stranger turned up who might be a burden on the local poor rates, especially a pregnant women. If the child was born in the parish the mother was in at the time, then the child would be the responsiblity of that parish. Pregnant women were hurried on as quickly as possible.

Your paper of 1833 must have been one of the last issued because the law changed the following year.

The principle of the right of settlement - granted to people who were either born in the parish, had rented property, paid the poor rate, lived for a period of 10 years or more in their new parish, or been apprenticed for 7 years or more in that parish.
The person seeking settlement would be keen to stress their history of employment, often citing masters.

Poor children and/or children from a family receiving poor relief, were often Apprenticed to local traders, as this reduced the poor rate, as the responsibility then lay with the Master. It was believed the child would learn a worthwhile trade and not have to rely on poor relief in the future.
The conditions under which the Apprentice lived and worked were often appalling because the new Master often considered them cheap labour since they received board and lodging but no money in most cases.
After the New Poor Law (1834) came into being greater care was taken in apprenticing children, Guardians (as in Board of Guardians) would inspect the places where the children were apprenticed and this was recorded in the Minutes of the Board of Guardians.

Karen

Hi Karen
The conditions couldn't have been very good as he ran away after the first few weeks and got taken back. His job was Cleaning the boots and shoes and looking after the horses and stables. No wages so as you say cheap labour.

It must have been very hard back then. His father remembers he was about 6 or 7 years old.

Thanks for your help :-)