England Settlement Examinations, Indemnity Certificates, Removal Orders and Passes - International Institute

Settlement (cont.)
Settlement Examination of Thomas Clegg 1805 and Associated Papers

Three items accompanied this settlement examination:

Anthony Camp (2002-1) in his article, This Examinant Saith... The Settlement Examination. Family Tree Magazine Vol 18 #5, page 4-6. has written on Settlement Examinations with wonderful examples.

Settlement Indemnity Certificates
These started to be issued in 1697 to allow people to move in search of work as the previous regulations had proven too inflexible. Persons holding such papers were known as certificate men. In some parishes a stranger was required to enter into a settlement bond, or bond to save the parish harmless, for a certain sum of money, with names and addresses of two sureties, so the parish would not have to support him in case of need.

Settlement Indemnity Certificate 1733 Horsham, Sussex to Slinfold, Sussex

Settlement Indemnity Certificate 1831

Settlement Indemnity Certificates are not to be confused with a Certificate of Residence, which was a document stating that a person had paid their lay subsidy (a tax) in one parish before moving to the present one and thus should not be charged again.

Removal Orders and Passes
These record the person’s legal place of settlement and instruct constables to convey them across each intervening parish on their way back there. Families could even be split up, each child being sent to its own birthplace. Two copies of a removal order were made—one for each parish, so the survival rate is good. Removal Orders were accompanied by a pass which the successive overseers or constables would annotate with the name of their parish and any amount of money given to the pauper en route back his parish of settlement.

Removal Order for Mary East 1801 Destitute widow and children 

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