Settlement

Between 1662 Act of Settlement and the 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act each Parish was responsible for its own poor, so it was important to establish who had the right of settlement. If there was any doubt of this right, especially if there was likely to be any charge made on the Parish such as the upkeep of an illegitimate child or care of a family of a sick father or one unable to find work. If no settlement was proven a removal order was issued forcing the person or family to return to their home parish. In order to be considered a resident a person had to have been born in the parish, to have been an apprentice in the parish, to be able to rent accommodation which was valued at more than £10 per annum or to have had continuous employment with one employer for a complete year.

The majority of Settlement examinations were of Farm labourers and considerably less were for mining and industrial workers. Mining families followed the work from area to area with no attempt to settle down so not offering any threat on the parish finances but they added considerably to the parish wealth while a mine was operational.

Settlement examinations.

We have found three settlement examination reports of family members the first two are for of a miner and an agricultural worker neither ending with a removal order. The third much shorter report was for a mason again no removal order has been found but he is no longer in the disputed parish on the next census. There are also three removal orders without the examination report.

John RULE of Thrushelton, Devon Examined 5 May 1791 in Lifton, Devon

In Summary

Place	Period	Approx dates	Notes
Whythyam, Cornwall	from birth to age10.	1753- 1763	This is Gwithian Cornwall
Francis HOCKIN Camborne	3 x 2 yrs to age 16	1763 -1769
Father's home in Gwithian	for 10wks	1769
Stamping Mill Camborne James Vivian	2yrs	1769-1771	to about18 lived in Gwithian with Father
Mine in Camborne	2yrs	1772- 1774	to about 20
With father in Camborne	4yrs	1774- 1778	to about 24
Father died so he kept house with sister	2 or 3yrs	1778-1781	to about 27
With brother Camborne	?	1781 1782	to about 28
Beer Ferris, Devon	2yrs 7mnths	1782- 1785	to about 31
Working in the mine some times by the month and other times by the job but was always free at any month's end
Lidford mine	for 11 months	1785- 1786	to about 32
Then “worked at different mines but never done any act to gain any settlement”		1785-1791	to about 38

This is John RULE [4379] baptised 9 Sep 1753 Gwithian son of John and Catherine nee BRYANT.

John and his wife Ann already had three children at the time of his examination. He returned to Camborne where another three children were born and then on to Gwinear where his last two children were born.

Removal Orders

Mary DIAMOND from Beaford, Devon to Ring Ash (Ashreigney) 1764 .We have not yet been able to identify this Mary.

Robert FOLLAND [2384] with his wife Joan nee BLACKMORE and four children were to be removed from Roborough the birth place of Joan and at least three of the four children back to Beaford his birth village. From the baptisms of their children they must have lived in Roborough for at least ten years. No reason for the removal has been found. The removal order was dated the fourteenth day of December in the nineteenth year of the reign of George the third, which was 1778. It was signed by H Stevens and Geo. Bickford Justices of the Peace for Devon.

Martin GILES [1056] and Jane nee HADLAND 13th November 1790 The order stated that “Martin Giles and his wife Jane have come to inhabit Hampton Gay not having gained legal settlement there nor produced and certificate, owing themselves to be settled elsewhere.....and are likely to become chargeable to the Parish” Martin was examined under oath by two Justices ofthe Peace who concluded they did not have a legal settlement in Hampton Gay Oxfordshire and were removed to Hampton Poyle Oxfordshire

Thomas Giles was born in Hampton Poyle about 1791(calculated from the burial register Buried 13 Aug 1865 age 74.) so it was possibly his impendent arrival that lead to the removal order.

The thought of pregnant Jane being in the words of the order “conveyed from and out of the parish of Hampton Gay and delivered to the Church wardens and the Overseers of the Poor of Hampton Poyle” is sad and rather cruel. It is difficult to know why 22 year old Martin was not able to settle in Hampton Gay the village of his birth which had a flourishing paper mill at the time.We can only conclude that he had been working for some time in Hampton Poyle and will look for an apprentice bond for him. Being bound apprentice until the age of 21 in Hampton Poyle would explain why he was considered to be settled in that village. The Overseers favoured apprenticeships out of parish for this reason.

William SLEE [2561] The order dated 11 May 1831 was to the Church wardens and Overseers of the Poor of the parish of Merton and the same of the Parish of Great Torrington. It appears that Geore SLEE with his wife Grace and children Sally about 12, Ann about 10,William about 8, Priscilla about 6, Martha about 4 and Eliza about 2 had gone to Merton with out the right of settlement and had become chargeable to the Parish. The Justices having examined William under oath had concluded that they were the responsibility of Great Torrington and the Wardens of Merton were ordered to take the family to Great Torrington. This seems a strange discission as all the named children and three older daughters were baptised in Merton. What ever happened following the order a further daughter Catherine was baptised in MERTON 29 Jul 1832 and Ann and Priscilla later married there. They are in Merton for the 1841 &1851 censuses.

Notes on Settlement and Removal Orders.

Master	Where	pay /week	period	Age
Parents			until about 13 years old	13
Mr John Blackmore	of Roborough		6 mnths
Robert Paige	of Saint Giles		3 mnths
Mr Francis Judd	of Beaford	1/-	from Ladyday + 3days to the following Ladyday	14
Same master		1/4	to within 9 weeks of Ladyday	15
Mr Samuel Wadland	of Roborough	10d	to the following Ladyday	16
father made bargain with master		1/-	Christmas
same master	— driving horses	1/6	to Ladyday	17
		1/6	14 weeks
Mr Emanuel Lockaday	of Roborough	1/6	32 weeks
ill Father’s House	in Beaford		8 weeks Ladyday + 10days	18
Henry Passmore	of St Giles	1/6	Ladyday following	19
Thomas Brinsmead	of Saint Giles		9 weeks
Father’s House			1 month
Mr Judd	of Saint Giles		Midsummer Ladyday	20

William DYMENT [134] 20 Nov 1826 Beaford, Devon

William took an oath before two Justices of the Peace Ingle H FORTESCUE and Peter GLUBB.He gave a detailed account of all his employment since he was 13..

This is summarised below

Married “and has done no other act where by to gain a settlement”

Ladyday is the 25th March the day traditionally when hirings were made

This is William baptised in Beaford 1 Sep 1803 son of Robert and Sarah nee SQUANCE

William remained in Beaford with his wife Charlotte nee PARR where they had 7 children between 1828 and 1849.

Both men show how they have been paid by the job or the month this was done so that they could not claim settlement which require working for one employer continuously for a year. Notice how John was in Lidford for 11 months just short of the required year. Both stress that the have not done any act to gain settlement.

William SLEE [2569] was examined on 27 March 1850 no removal order has been found but on the 1851 census his wife and two children appear to be in High Bickington. She was described as a pauper glover, but William is not with them.

William was brought by the Churchwardens and Overseers of the Poor of Merton for examination by the Justice of the peace John Henry FURSE. They said that he had come to live in Merton but had not lived there for five years previously nor had he produced a certificate which allowed him residence elsewhere. They said he was now changeable to the parish which indicates that he had no work or was unable to work. In his examination William said “I was born as I have heard and believe in The Parish of Merton where my parents lived and I am now about 29 years of age. I lived with my Father and learnt my trade from him as a Mason, until within the last 2 or 3 years my father furnished me with clothes and pocket money. I had no regular wages” On leaving his father’s house he lived with a William Talamy still within the parish of Merton but then he had two and a half years in Tormorham his son was born in Torquay in that region.from there he had returned to Merton. As yet we have not been able to find him since the examination nor his wife and children after the 1851 census.