Public relief and public assistance for the poor dates as far back as the 1500's in England. In the US, it dates back to the 1700's - and in some cases before. In 1642 the Plymouth Colony decreed that all towns were to "make competent puision (sic - provision) for the mayntenance of their poore..." Public relief throughout most of history into the late 1800's was usually at the town level. Interestingly, in what is now Germany, many towns, to rid themselves of the expense of maintaining their poor, paid the entire cost for the family to emigrate to America. The form of assistance varied considerably, from place to place and from time to time. In some cases it was a monetary allowance, in other cases almshouses and poor houses were established. After the revolutionary war in the states there were a number of meager assistance programs established for families and widows of soldiers. But it was only in the late 1800's, and more commonly in the early to mid 1900's that some central governments began to take on some of the responsibility.
Churches too played an very important role. But it is a misconception that the only assistance was from churches. > -----Original Message----- > From: Erin [mailto:eb_pa...@hotmail.com] > Sent: Thursday, July 04, 2013 2:36 PM > To: LegacyUserGroup@LegacyUsers.com > Subject: Re: [LegacyUG] Pauper ancestor > > 10 children will do that to you. Some how I am not sure that in the > 1700's there was much government assistance (IMHO), but it could have > been church assistance. > <snip> Legacy User Group guidelines: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Etiquette.asp Archived messages after Nov. 21 2009: http://www.mail-archive.com/legacyusergroup@legacyusers.com/ Archived messages from old mail server - before Nov. 21 2009: http://www.mail-archive.com/legacyusergroup@legacyfamilytree.com/ Online technical support: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Help.asp Follow Legacy on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/LegacyFamilyTree) and on our blog (http://news.LegacyFamilyTree.com). To unsubscribe: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/LegacyLists.asp
