North Lanarkshire, Scotland, Poor Law Applications and Registers, 1849-1917

Historical Context

After the Poor Law Scotland Act of 1845, Scottish parishes were able to establish institutions called Parochial Boards to care for the poor, house them and give out relief. Whilst there was a Central Supervising body, each institution was locally run. Unlike the poor in England, those who were destitute in Scotland were able to appeal if denied relief.

This collection contains applications for relief from parish institutions in North Lanarkshire. To establish the needs of the applicant and their eligibility, Inspectors of the Poor recorded large amounts of personal data in ‘registers of applications’ or ‘general registers of poor’.

Applications and General Registers will normally include:

• Name of applicant, including maiden name of women
• Age and/or birth date
• Birthplace, including county of birth (compulsory from 1865)
• Religion (from 1865)
• Dependants, including children’s names, ages, places of birth
• Marital history
• Names of applicant’s parents and parents-in-law, confirming where born and if still alive
• Previous addresses