Long-term workhouse residents 1860

[Coromandel]

I accidentally came across a fascinating list of adult paupers who'd been long-term residents (at least 5 years) of English & Welsh workhouses in 1860. It was published as part of vol. 22 of the 'Accounts and papers of the House of Commons', for the session 5 February - 6 August 1861. You can view this volume online or can download it as a PDF file (653 pages) from Google Books:

https://
books.google.co.uk/books?id=5yFcAAAAQAAJ

The report is on images 208-430 of the PDF file. There are some interesting summaries of the returns on images 209-210. After that there's the main body of the report, arranged alphabetically by county and then by poor law union (England first, then Wales; for Hampshire see 'Southampton')

For each union the list shows:
1. 'The Name of every Adult Pauper who has been an Inmate of the Workhouse during a continuous Period of Five Years'
2. 'The Amount of Time that each of such Paupers shall have been in the Workhouse'
3. 'The reasons assigned why the Pauper in each case is unable to maintain Himself, or Herself'
4. 'Whether or not the Pauper has been brought up in a District or Workhouse School'

Please note: this is NOT a complete list of people in workhouses. As it says it is a list of adult paupers who have been in the same workhouse for at least five years without breaks. Some workhouses have only a handful of names, others have many.

Here are a few of the paupers who caught my eye:

• Maria Hancock, in Penzance workhouse (Cornwall) 6 years: 'reduced from affluence to poverty through extravagance; bodily and mentally incapacitated for labour'
• Sophia Cubitt, in Tunstead & Happing workhouse (Norfolk) 15 years: 'dissolute character (has had three bastard children); unable to procure employment'
• William Dalziel, in Glendale workhouse (Northumberland) 5 years: 'age and its infirmities, and no friends'
• Sarah Barney, in Henley workhouse (Oxfordshire) 7 years: 'deaf and dumb, and having an illegitimate child'
• George Witcombe, in Frome workhouse (Somerset) 10 years: 'disabled by an accident in a coal pit'
• Hannah Wootten, in Wolstanton & Burslem workhouse (Staffs) 8 years: 'not fond of work'
• Susan Oldhams, in Warwick workhouse 9 years: 'a woman of lost character'
• William Terrell, in Warwick workhouse 6 years: 'decayed tradesman'
• John Asquith, in North Bierley workhouse (Yorkshire, West Riding) for 6 years: 'Accident in having both legs and both arms broken, and skull fractured'

All sorts of reasons are given for the paupers' inability to maintain themselves, from old age to 'laziness' and prostitution. Some of the paupers had been in the workhouses much longer than 25 years or so, i.e. well before the New Poor Law.

You can use Google (or Adobe Reader's own search tool) to search the text but this will only work for the bits that have been correctly interpreted by the OCR.

[Jan1954]

Thank you, Coromandel, that looks to be a fascinating read!

I wonder what a 'decayed tradesman' could be, though... crumbling bricklayer? carpenter with dry rot? (Sorry - I am being facetious)

[Peter Goodey]

reduced from affluence to poverty through extravagance

I can relate to that

[Colin Moretti]

This report is particularly helpful for those of us whose ancestors were in one of those workhouses that just used initials for the paupers in 1861.

The report is also available on CD Paupers in Workhouses. Supplied by Anguline Research Archives


Colin

[stepives]

Thanks Coromandel, you've just saved me, and others, £10.

[Pam Downes]

The report is also available on CD Paupers in Workhouses. Supplied by Anguline Research Archives

Colin

And has been for several years.

Thanks Coromandel, you've just saved me, and others, £10.

Just remember

You can use Google (or Adobe Reader's own search tool) to search the text but this will only work for the bits that have been correctly interpreted by the OCR.

The CD could well do a better search. (Unfortunately I haven't got time to test the theory. )

Pam

[Bertie]

I've just downloaded it - looking forward to reading it.

BTW for anyone who is interested in Hampshire, the Hampshire Unions / Parishes are under the the previous county name of SOUTHAMPTON

[sandiep]

Cant believe how many people were in these workhouses for so long...over 20 years sometimes, and were so many people really idiots & Imberciles ........