Poor Law Records

There are Minutes of these meetings in the kirk sessions held in Lochgilphead.
Who was on the Parochial board - the local Heritors : Campbell of Lochnell, Campbell of Barcaldine, Campbell of Ardchattan, and the minister and elders of the church.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottish_Poor_Laws
https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/research/guides/poor-relief-records
https://scan.org.uk/knowledgebase/topics/poorlaw2.htm
https://www.johngraycentre.org/about/archives/poor-law-research-guide-3/
http://theses.gla.ac.uk/3399/1/1974cagephd.pdf
https://strathprints.strath.ac.uk/57114/1/Harris_Wiley_2016_Nineteenth_century_beginnings.pdf
*Poor Relief in Scotland: Its Statistics and Development, 1791 to 1891 - Jstor https://www.jstor.org/stable/2979734

In 1579, the Scottish Parliament passed an act which made individual parishes responsible for enumerating their own poor.
After the Disruption of the churches there was less income and organisation to take care of the poor of the parishes.
The Poor law System started in 1845, carried on till 1930, but remained in place till replaced by the new social services in 1948.
The system was a national body to have records that established the identity of the person, their eligibility and their needs.
Glasgow has one of the biggest collections of records.
The Local Poor house was built in Oban in 1863, the Lorn Combination workhouse, in Millar Road by where the modern highschool is. http://www.workhouses.org.uk/Lorn/
Other records can be useful are in the newspapers in the case of there being a court case.
The law was the same, but the organisation improved - a lot of parochial boards were set up .. .including one for Ardchattan
Each parish was responsible for its own poor - whereever they ended up. So someone born in Ardchattan who needed up in front of a parochial board elsewhere could be removed back to Ardchattan
For the destitute and disabled, not for the unemployed, until 1921.
The system was about administration and not spending too much money on the poor!
The parochial board was run by the "heritors" .. and elders of the church.

Destitute - wholly and partially disabled

  • age or infirm, incapable of working, or earning for themselves
  • lunatic poor
  • orphaned or deserted children

A large number of applicants were women : married with children, widows with children, those claiming desertion, or with illegitimate children
Another major group nationally were the migrants, especially in the cities.
This was the only meagre "safety net". There were no savings, no health service to mitigate against illness, or being left with children
Going to the parish to ask for assistance is only option.
Always check for siblings or other relatives if you think they might have applied when searching family history

Indoor - all destitute persons incapacited by youth, old age, disease (mental or physical_ and friendless
Class 2 for pauper - fraudulents claiments .. all persons of idle, immoral or dissipated habits who if admitted to outdoor relief, would squander their allowances in debauchery, ot otherwise misapply them.
Relief in Scotland was primarily OUTDOOR : small amount of money, or other benefits, only a partial help, so there is no suggestion that anyone woulc be able to live on this charity.
There was an increasing clampdown on pauperism to save money and dependance
Poor house - only a test if the rules and regulations were so strict as to tender it more irksome than labour, without such discipline and restraint, to those who are not truly fit opjects of parochial relief
By 1870s .. indoor relief only available to women with children at risk
Becomes increasingly discriminatory and calculating with clear and harsh descriptions of each class.

The individual records for each person can be highly detailed and have a huge amount of information, letters, research, background of the people, descriptions of their lives, why they are applying.

Glasgow archives have a database up to 1930s .. are these place name indexed ?

CLASSES
1st

10th - malingerers ..
11
Board of Supervision poor relief appeals1
The Board of Supervision was established under the 1845 Poor Law Act. One of its tasks was to hear appeals by paupers against inadequate poor relief granted by Parochial Boards. These appeals were recorded in the Board of Supervision minutes. Cases were often heard over an extended period. The minutes may contain a variety of information, including about other family members, medical conditions and other circumstances.

has anyone bought any of these records from Oldscottish.com or have a copy from elsewhere ?

Name Address Year(s)/minutes Order images Deliverance
Donald CAMPBELL 1856 (2) Order images Refused (poorhouse)
George Campbell IRELAND 1856 (1) Order images Refused
Widow Ann LEITCH or MCCALLUM 1860-1861 (2) Order images Refused
John MACDOUGALL 1868 (1) Order images Refused (poorhouse)
Janet MACGREGOR 1857 (1) Order images Refused
Donald MACINTYRE 1850 (1) Order images Refused
Donald MACINTYRE 1851 (1) Order images Refused - see 118 1850
Donald MACINTYRE 1867 (1) Order images Refused (poorhouse)
Mary MCCAIL 1851 (1) Order images Refused
Mary MCCAIL 1851 (2) Order images Ground of complaint removed (poorhouse)
Mary MCCAIL 1852 (1) Order images Refused (poorhouse)
Mary MCCAIL 1857 (1) Order images Refused
Mary MCCAIL 1861 (2) Order images Refused
Mary MCCAILL 1853 (1) Order images Refused (poorhouse)
Mary MCCAILL 1853 (2) Order images Refused (poorhouse)
Mary MCCAILL 1853 (2) Order images Refused - see 410 1853
Mary MCCAILL 1856 (1) Order images Refused (poorhouse)
Mary MCCAILL 1857 (1) Order images Refused (poorhouse)
Mary MCCAILL 1857 (1) Order images Refused
Mary MCCAILL 1861 (1) Order images Refused
Ann Leitch MCCALLUM 1857 (2) Order images Refused
Ann Leitch MCCALLUM 1859 (2) Order images Refused
Jane MCCALLUM 1859 (2) Order images Refused
Widow Catherine MCCULLOCH 1870-1871 (3) Order images Refused (poorhouse)
Marjory MCDIARMID 1851 (1) Order images Refused
Widow Mary MCINNES or MCCOLL 1851 (2) Order images Refused
John MCINTYRE 1865 (2) Order images Refused (poorhouse)
John MCLEAN Colinaish 1845-1846 (2) Order images Withdrawn by desire of applicant
James MCLUCAS 1859 (1) Order images Refused
James MCLUCAS 1859 (3) Order images Refused
James MCLUGASH 1855 (2) Order images Ground of complaint removed
Isabella MCMILLAN 1860 (2) Order images Refused
Alexander MCNAB 1876 (2) Order images Refused
Isabella MCNIVEN Airdenny 1846 (1) Order images Refused
Widow Mary MCNIVEN or HENDERSON 1849 (2) Order images Refused
Mary SINCLAIR 1865 (1) Order images Refused (poorhouse)


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