Settlement Examinations question

[Sue from Southend]

My knowledge of these is pretty nonexistent and have some probably fairly basic questions to those who know!
I have this extract taken from the Mitcham Settlement Examinations.

"Justinian Moss, 7 Feb 1785
About 10 yrs ago he hired himself for one year to Ri. Binyon, of St George, Hanover Square, Westminster, esq., at the wage so £15, and he continued with and served his said master the said year and 8 more. About 10 months ago he was married to Sarah at St George's aforesaid but has no issue. [sig]

Settlement in St George's, Hanover Square. Ordered to get a certificate in a month. *Mr Colcott answered for the taxes."

As he is settling in St George's could he have gone back to live in Mitcham shortly after ie for the birth of a son who went on to grow up in Mitcham?
Also how likely is it that Justinian Moss was not born in Mitcham but in another County completely given the settlement order?

Thanks, hoping to learn something new!

[anne fraser]

The settlement order was really if you fell on hard times and wanted parish relief. As long as he could support himself he could live any where.

[Bella]

May I suggest that you look at the site Yesterdays' Journeys which is to do with Derbyshire. A member of staff at Matlock Record Office is indexing Settlement Certificates and Examinations, Bastardy documents, Apprenticeship records and many other similar types of documents. Reading a selection may give you a better idea of what is involved.

If a man moved from one parish to another and could not support himself the parish where he had Legal Settlement was responsible for his upkeep - not the parish where he was living and a Removal Order could be granted to send him back. It was a complicated system as the place of Legal Settlement could be his birthplace, sometimes his parents' birthplace, or where the man had served an apprenticeship. If a man died his widow and children could be moved on and often a woman who was pregnant out of wedlock and living elsewhere was returned to her own parish.

The accounts of Churchwardens and Overseers of the Poor can also be a help in understanding as they often have details of the journeys involved.

I think its called "How we used to live"

[Sue from Southend]

Thanks for that Bella. I've had a quick look and will study it more closely later but what a great website and resource! Makes me wish I had ancestors in Derbyshire!

[Nell]

My gt x 3 grandfather Robert Chowns was the subject of a settlement dispute between Aston Rowant, Oxfordshire, where he was born, and Stoke Poges in Buckinghamshire where he settled.

This was in 1819 and the case made for fascinating reading. The quarter-sessions case told me the names and ages of some of Robert's children and the witness statement Robert made gave me info about how much his rent was, how the roof of his house had fallen in, how many pigs he kept, who his father-in-law worked for and much more. A fascinating glimpse into a life.

You'll be glad to know that Robert spent 20 years as an almsman in a privately-endowed almshouse where he got 1/- a week to buy meat, grew his own veg and was given a new set of shoes every year.

[Phoenix]

As he is a certificate man, he can stay in Mitcham, but St Georges' have acknowledged their responsibility for him.