Search new Irish Poor Law records and British newspapers this Findmypast Friday

The following was written by Findmypast:

Findmypast is home to the largest collection of Irish family records online. This week’s Findmypast Friday sees their vast collection grow again with thousands of new and exclusive Poor Law records.

Waterford Poor Law Unions Board of Guardians Minute Books

Over 158,000 additional records covering Kilmacthomas and Dungarvan between 1845 and 1921 have been added to the collection.

The Board of Guardians were charged with the task of distributing relief to the completely destitute in each Union. They operated workhouses which were built to hold 600-800 inmates, but were overwhelmed with thousands coming to their doors seeking salvation from disease and starvation.

Including both transcripts and images of original documents, these minute books contain the names and details of inmates, staff and suppliers, weekly reports of how many men and women were housed in the workhouse, how many were discharged or died, the number of births and more.

They often deal with individual cases in some detail and also record the workhouse expenditures such food, clothing or salaries and the number of inmates receiving medical treatments.

Clare Poor Law Union Board of Guardians Minute Books

Over 21,000 new records from Kilrush Union have also been added to Findmypast’s Clare Poor Law collections. Also including both transcripts and images, these new additions cover meeting minutes dated between 1848 and 1870.

Alongside Findmypast’s workhouse records from Clare and Waterford, you’ll also find collections from Dublin, Donegal, Galway and Sligo on Findmypast. Few workhouse registers survive in Ireland, and in their absence the Board of Guardian minute books are often the only record of who was housed there.