World Archives Project: Medway, Kent, England, Poor Law Union Records, 1837-1937
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UPDATE: Due to difficulties with some of the image sets we removed them from this project and will release them at a later date as additional part(s) of the project. We apologize for the time and effort lost keying on image sets that will no longer submit.
About this project
This collection contains records created as a result of the Poor Laws in England. Records include Admission and Discharge Registers.
Contents
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Project Instructions
Poor Law for the time period 1837-1937
Before modern welfare systems were put in place in England, the poor who could not work were required to receive assistance in a Workhouse, later termed a Poor Law Institution when Outdoor Relief (receipt of money and goods outside an institution) was not available to them.
Workhouses were created in every Parish to provide for the poor, but were also designed to make life worse inside of them in an effort to discourage those who were able bodied from entering in. (Parishes that were too small were allowed to group together and create a Workhouse Union.) Many of the abuses and problems associated with the Poor Laws and Workhouses are detailed in the novels and serials written by Charles Dickens.
Admission and Discharge
The records we are keying contain information regarding the admission of individuals into a workhouse and their subsequent discharge. Some books contain detailed information about the various persons who came and went (including diet information), while others are sparse, only containing the name of the individual and their dates of arrival and departure.
Things to Remember
Each person appearing on a document should be keyed as a unique record.
Only key records relating to admission and discharge. If you see any images relating to registers of births or deaths mark them as "Cover page, Section header, etc."
Project-specific sample images and form field help:
Admission and Discharge
Book Cover
Index
Microfilm
Title Board
Cover page, Section header, etc.
Image with no data
Admission and Discharge
'Admission and Discharge' form types typically have the words "Admitted," "Discharged," or "Admission and Discharge," in the header of the image.
Keying Image Samples
Admission Day
Key the day in its numerical form from the admission date. Admission date may be found on an image in several different ways including the following if available on the image:
- If an image has the word "Admission" or "Admitted" in bold lettering at or near the top, as well as a column labeled "Day of the Month," "Date," "Year, and day of the Month," or something similar.
- Any column labeled "Admitted," "Date of Admission," "Day of the Week when Admitted," or something similar.
- It is sometimes located in the header of the image near the word "Admissions" or something similar and will need copied down to the records below until a new one appears. In some cases only the year is in the header with the month and day on the record level.
When both "Admission" and "Discharge" dates are present on an image, be sure to key the correct Admission or Discharge date for the individual being keyed.
Admission Month
Key the month as an abbreviation from the admission date using the dictionary provided for assistance. Admission date may be found on an image in several different ways including the following if available on the image:
- If an image has the word "Admission" or "Admitted" in bold lettering at or near the top, as well as a column labeled "Day of the Month," "Date," "Year, and day of the Month," or something similar.
- Any column labeled "Admitted," "Date of Admission," "Day of the Week when Admitted," or something similar.
- It is sometimes located in the header of the image near the word "Admissions" or something similar and will need copied down to the records below until a new one appears. In some cases only the year is in the header with the month and day on the record level.
When both "Admission" and "Discharge" dates are present on an image, be sure to key the correct Admission or Discharge date for the individual being keyed.
Admission Year
Key the year in its numerical form from the admission date. Admission date may be found on an image in several different ways including the following if available on the image:
- If an image has the word "Admission" or "Admitted" in bold lettering at or near the top, as well as a column labeled "Day of the Month," "Date," "Year, and day of the Month," or something similar.
- Any column labeled "Admitted," "Date of Admission," "Day of the Week when Admitted," or something similar.
- It is sometimes located in the header of the image near the word "Admissions" or something similar and will need copied down to the records below until a new one appears. In some cases only the year is in the header with the month and day on the record level.
When both "Admission" and "Discharge" dates are present on an image, be sure to key the correct Admission or Discharge date for the individual being keyed.
Discharge Day
Key the day in its numerical form from the discharge date. Discharge date may be found on an image in several different ways including the following if available on the image:
- If an image has the word "Discharge" or "Discharged" in bold lettering at or near the top, as well as a column labeled "Day of the Month," "Date," "Year, and day of the Month," or something similar.
- Any column labeled "Discharged," "Date of Discharge," "Day of the Week when Discharged," or something similar.
- It is sometimes located in the header of the image near the word "Discharge" or something similar and will need copied down to the records below until a new one appears. In some cases only the year is in the header with the month and day on the record level.
When both "Admission" and "Discharge" dates are present on an image, be sure to key the correct Admission or Discharge date for the individual being keyed.
Discharge Month
Key the month as an abbreviation from the discharge date using the dictionary provided for assistance. Discharge date may be found on an image in several different ways including the following if available on the image:
If an image has the word "Discharge" or "Discharged" in bold lettering at or near the top, as well as a column labeled "Day of the Month," "Date," "Year, and day of the Month," or something similar. Any column labeled "Discharged," "Date of Discharge," "Day of the Week when Discharged," or something similar. It is sometimes located in the header of the image near the word "Discharge" or something similar and will need copied down to the records below until a new one appears. In some cases only the year is in the header with the month and day on the record level.
When both "Admission" and "Discharge" dates are present on an image, be sure to key the correct Admission or Discharge date for the individual being keyed.
Discharge Year
Key the year in its numerical form from the discharge date. Discharge date may be found on an image in several different ways including the following if available on the image:
If an image has the word "Discharge" or "Discharged" in bold lettering at or near the top, as well as a column labeled "Day of the Month," "Date," "Year, and day of the Month," or something similar. Any column labeled "Discharged," "Date of Discharge," "Day of the Week when Discharged," or something similar. It is sometimes located in the header of the image near the word "Discharge" or something similar and will need copied down to the records below until a new one appears. In some cases only the year is in the header with the month and day on the record level.
When both "Admission" and "Discharge" dates are present on an image, be sure to key the correct Admission or Discharge date for the individual being keyed.
Prefix
Key any titles before the given name, such as "Dr," "Mr," or "Mrs," as seen on the record using the dictionary provided for assistance. Only prefix values should be keyed into the prefix field.
Given
Key the first name or initial and any middle names as seen on the record using the dictionary provided for assistance.
Name is typically found in a column labeled "Name," "Patient's Name," "Name of Inmate," or something similar. Some names are written in a single column, but some names are separated into two columns, most often labeled "Surname" and "Christian Name."
Occasionally the name field may be split into a "Male," and "Female" column. In this case, key the names from both columns as individual records. Some images will contain more than one column of names.
Surname
Key the surname as seen on the record using the dictionary provided for assistance.
Name is typically found in a column labeled "Name," "Patient's Name," "Name of Inmate," or something similar. Some names are written in a single column, but some names are separated into two columns, most often labeled "Surname" and "Christian Name."
Occasionally the name field may be split into a "Male," and "Female" column. In this case, key the names from both columns as individual records. Some images will contain more than one column of names.
Suffix
Key all titles, such as "Jr" or "III," following the surname as seen on the record using the dictionary provided for assistance.
Admission Age
Key the age as seen at the time the record was recorded. If present, age may be found next to the word "Age" or "Aged."
Valid ages include numeric digits between "0" and "120" or certain acceptable fractions for ages displayed in months only. If an age includes years, months, and/or days key only the years. For example, "10 years, 7 months" would be keyed as "10". If an age includes both a year and a fraction, key only the year. For example, "3 3/12" would be keyed as "3". If an age appears only in months, key age as a fraction. For example, "7 Months" would be keyed as "7/12" and "18 Months" would be keyed as "18/12". If an age is expressed in weeks, days, or hours, "0" (zero) should be keyed as the age. For example, "3 weeks" would be keyed as "0" and "8 weeks" would be keyed as "0".
Gender
When present, key the sex or gender from the record ('M' or 'F'). On some images gender will be in a column labeled "Sex." On other images, the gender is represented by a tick or check mark in one of three columns labeled "Men," "Women," or "Children." The "Children" column will have columns labeled "M" or "F."
Birth Day
Key the day in its numerical form from the birth date. When present, birth date may be found in a column labeled "When Born," "Born," "Year Born," or something similar.
Birth Month
Key the month as an abbreviation from the birth date using the dictionary provided for assistance. When present, birth date may be found in a column labeled "When Born," "Born," "Year Born," or something similar.
Birth Year
Key the year in its numerical form from the birth date. When present, birth date may be found in a column labeled "When Born," "Born," "Year Born," or something similar.
From Whence Admitted
Key 'From Whence Admitted' as seen on the record using the dictionary provided for assistance. From whence admitted may be found in the column labeled or near the words "Parish from which admitted" or in rare cases simply "Parish."
Book Cover
Choose 'Book Cover' for images of the cover of each book.
Additional Image Samples
Index
Images of an internal index. An Index usually contains names (often in alphabetical order) with a corresponding page number so as to find the individual listed. Some indexes have alphabetical tabs on the right or left margin.
Additional Image Sample
Microfilm
Images that contain information about the microfilm reel. These are images that were introduced to the collection when it was microfilmed, and are not part of the registers.
Additional Image Samples
Title Board
Choose 'Title Board' for title board images.
Additional Image Samples
Cover page, Section header, etc.
Use the 'Cover page, Section header, etc' type for images that don't contain any data, but might be interesting to look at because they provide some type of context for the image set. For instance, historical notes, affidavits, and so forth.
Additional Image Samples
Image with no data
Use the 'Image with no data' type for images that don't contain any data or any useful context that might be interesting for someone to look at. For instance, an image containing only the blank background or an image with a microfilm target on it.
Additional Image Samples
