General Resource Sites

• The Almshouse Association 
• Historic Asylums 
  America's vanishing historic asylums, state hospitals, sanitariums, county homes, medical hospitals, and other institutions.
• The Poorhouse Story 
  A clearinghouse for information about 19th Century American Poorhouses for history buffs, genealogists, teachers/students, and others with a similar interest. This is an ongoing project which continually updates information regarding the history and records available about the county poorhouses which dotted the American landscape from the early 1800s through the early 1900s.
  • History of 19th Century American Poorhouses 
  • Records - Poorhouse Records by State 
  • Cemetery List 
  • 19th Century American Poorhouses Message Board 
• The Poor Law 
  From the Peel Web.

Libraries, Archives & Museums

• Bawnboy Workhouse 
• Bawnboy Workhouse  ~ Ireland
• Museum of the Yorkshire Poor Law 
• The National Trust - The Workhouse, Southwell 
  The Workhouse was built in 1824 by the Reverend John Becher of Southwell, in Nottinghamshire. For over 150 years it housed the local poor, dominating the local landscape. But by 1997 this nationally important building was under threat of being turned into residential flats. Within a matter of weeks the National Trust stepped in to buy it with emergency funds, and started working to secure its long-term future as a monument to the Poor Laws and the poor. The Workhouse is expected to open to the public in 2002.
• Norfolk Rural Life Museum, Gressenhall 
  Gressenhall occupies the former Mitford and Launditch Union Workhouse, built in 1776.
• The Red House Museum  ~ Hampshire, England

Locality Specific

• The 19th Century Poor Law in Liverpool and its Hinterland: Towards the Origins of the Workhouse Infirmary 
  Article by M.W.Royden.
• 1901 Census - Institutions 
  Index to Institutions in the 1901 census of England & Wales.
• Almshouse Admission Foreigners & Nativity Records with Ships Names 1855-1858 (New York City, NY) 
  Searchable database of Almshouse records of New York City 1855-1858. These records provide immigration details, ages, places of birth and more. They list immigrants to Quebec, Montreal, New York, Philadelphia, New Orleans and Boston.
• Arapahoe County, Colorado Poor Hospital Records 1895 - 1899  ~ Colorado
• A Census Guide to Oklahoma's Poor Farms, Orphanages, Sanitariums and Institutions 
• Charities, Bureau of  ~ Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  Historical information of this city government agency and a description and location of its records from the Philadelphia Information Locator System.
• Charles Booth and Poverty Mapping in Late Nineteenth Century London 
• Charles Booth's 1889 Descriptive Map of London Poverty 
• Charles Booth Online Archive 
  Charles Booth's survey of Life and Labour in London 1886 - 1903. The survey interviewed workers and families to discover the level of poverty of Londoners at the turn of the century.
• Destitute Poor Removed from England to Ireland, from the 1st day of December 1860 till the 1st day of December 1862 
  Return of destitute poor removed from England to Ireland, from 1 December 1860 to 1 December 1862; the port of departure in England and the port of arrival in Ireland; also the number of years each person had resided in England; and the cause for and date of each removal.
• Jo Daviess County Poor House  ~ Illinois
• Marion Ohio Poorhouse 
  Admissions, deaths, discharges 1856-1888.
• Ogle County Almshouse Register Index, 1878–1933  ~ Ogle County, Illinois
  Compiled by the Illinois Regional Archives Depository System, Northern Illinois University.
• Onondaga County Poorhouse  ~ New York
  Includes inmate, deaths, and bound-out children transcriptions.
• Poor Farm, Reno Township, Reno County, Kansas 
• Poorhouses in Nebraska 
  From the NEGenWeb Project.
• The Poor Jews' Temporary Shelter Database 
  Searchable database of over 45,000 register entries of those who arrived at the Shelter in Leman Street, London from 1896 to 1914.
• Poor Records - Shows a New York Certificate of Removal from 1836 
• Some Washington County Poor House Records  ~ New York

Mailing Lists, Newsgroups & Chat

• Genealogy Resources on the Internet - England Mailing Lists 
  Most of the mailing list links below point to this site, wonderfully maintained by John Fuller. John indexes links for all known genealogy mailing lists, including RootsWeb and others.
• RootsWeb: Genealogy Mailing Lists: England 
  The majority of genealogy mailing lists are hosted by RootsWeb.com. Messages on RootsWeb lists are archived. The links to RootsWeb below point you to the archives (browse or search).

• GEN-Institutions Mailing List 
  For anyone with a genealogical interest in British institutions such as work-houses and hospitals.
• POORHOUSES Mailing List 
  For the discussion of the Poorhouses that were homes to thousands of people in any and all states and anything pertaining to them including these people, circumstances, finding their families, history of poorhouses, etc. Archives: browse or search.
• TEWKSBURY_HOSPITAL Mailing List 
  For anyone with a genealogical interest in Tewksbury Hospital, Tewksbury State Hospital and Infirmary, and Tewksbury Almshouse (same place just different names) in Tewksbury, Middlesex County, Massachusetts from May 1, 1854 to the present. Archives: browse or search.

Poor Farms

• Greene County Poor Farm 
  Census, newspaper articles & pictures of the Greene county Arkansas Poor Farm.
• Johnson County Poor Farm  ~ Iowa
• List of Residents of Hamilton County Poor Farm from 1900 Census  ~ Nebraska
• Platte County, Nebraska Poor Farm 
  Transcribed records from about 1897 to 1938. Be sure to read the "Remarks" column. "Left unceremoniously" was a popular method of exit.
• The Wythe County Poor Farm  ~ Virginia
• Wythe County Poorhouse Farm  ~ Virginia

The Poor Law, Work Houses, Poor Houses & Poor House Unions ~ U.K.

• Alcester Union and Guardians Part 2: The Workhouse 
• Bedfordshire and Luton Archives and Record Service: Bedfordshire: Poor Law Union Records  ~ U.K.
• Cambridgeshire Poor Law Papers Index  ~ England
  Searchable online database from Cambridgeshire Family History Society.
• Care Of The Poor  ~ Wales
  From the Powys Digital History Project.
• Database of Poor Law records for West Sussex 
  Transcriptions of over 8,000 records from documents of Settlement and Removal 1662-1835. Organized by surnames, order types, year & parish. From the Sussex Record Society
• FDCA Poor Indexes - Index of Poor Registers  ~ Dundee, Scotland
  From the Friends of Dundee City Archives. Online index of Liff & Benvie Register of Poor (1854-1865) and Dundee East Poorhouse Register (1856-1878).
• Floor Plan of Blackburn Union Workhouse  ~ England
• The Headington Poor Law Union History Site  ~ Oxfordshire, England
• Headington Union Workhouse Formerly on London Road  ~ Oxfordshire, England
• History of the Workhouse 
  Excellent site full of information on the UK workhouse system. Includes information on the Poor Laws, maps of the Poor Law Unions, scans of original records on diet, instruction, and rules, and more.
• How It Was: Conditions in the Workhouse 
  Article by Dr. Marjie Bloy.
• Index to "Paupers in Workhouses 1861" (10% sample) 
  This lists adult paupers in workhouses in England and Wales.
• Leitrim Poor Law Union Map  ~ Ireland
• The National Archives | The Catalogue | A-Z Index of Leaflets  ~ U.K.
  • Court of Requests, 1485-1642: a Court for the 'Poor' 
  • The Poor and the Poor Laws 
  • Poor Law Records, 1834-1871 
• National Archives of Scotland Fact Sheets - The Poor 
• The National Learning Curve | Snapshots | The 1832 Poor Law  ~ U.K.
• The Norwich Census Of The Poor 1570  ~ England
• Poor Children of Elham 
  Late 19th to early 20th century names of interest for people who think they had descendants in Elham, Kent, England.
• Poorhouses  ~ Dundee, Scotland
  Research guide from the Friends of Dundee City Archives.
• Poor Law  ~ United Kingdom
  • Poor Law Union Database 
    Alphabetical listing of parish or place names giving county, Poor Law Union, and record office information.
• Poor Law: Board of Guardians 
  From the Powys County Archives Office in Wales.
• Poor Law Index  ~ Angmering, Sussex
• Poor Law Union Map of Ireland 
  Marking workhouses both before and after 1849.
• Poor Law Union Records  ~ England
  From the Northamptonshire Record Office.
• Poor Law Union Records  ~ England
  From the Somerset Archive and Record Service.
• Poor-Law Unions  ~ Leicester & Rutland, England
• Poor Law Unions/Registration Districts 
• Poor Law Unions and Registration Districts of Warwickshire 
• Poor Relief  ~ Scotland
• Post Medieval Workhouses  ~ Herefordshire, England
  • Herefordshire Workhouses A-Z 
• Poverty and Welfare in Industrialising England 
  Online tutorial with original documents and transcriptions of selected records.
• Public Record Office of Northern Ireland - Poor Law Records 
• Roscommon Poor Law Union Map  ~ Ireland
• Rossbret UK Institutions 
  Information on asylums, almshouses, prisons, hospitals, orphanages, workhouses & the Poor Law.
  • Almshouses 
  • Poor Law 
  • Workhouses 
• A Short Explanation of the Poor Law 
• The Union Workhouse 
• Walkhampton Poor Law Records  ~ Devon
  An excellent general overview of how the Poor Law was implemented at the parish level & what records it generated.
  • Miscellaneous Poor Law Records 
  • Overseers’ Accounts 
    • List of Overseers 
  • Parish Apprenticeships 
    • Apprentices Index 
  • The Walkhampton Poor House 
• West Sussex County Council: Poor Law Database 1662-1835  ~ England
  • Poor Law Records 
• Winslow Workhouse Records  ~ Buckinghamshire, England
  Online searchable database from the Buckinghamshire Family History Society.
• The Workhouse ~ The Story of the Workhouse 
  Provides information on many of the workhouses in the United Kingdom including their history, constituent parishes, location, and often pictures. Provides lists of staff and inmates from the 1881 Census for some workhouses and often gives the current location of the workhouse records with a brief inventory.
  • The History of Poor Law Unions 
  • Poor Law Unions in England 
  • Poor Law Unions in Wales 
  • Poor Law Unions in Ireland 
  • Poor Law Union Maps 
  • Workhouse Records and Archives 
• Workhouse Childrens Clothing 
• The Workhouse Homepage 
  Information on workhouses, asylums, hospitals, and more. Includes a developing directory of workhouses by county in the UK.

Publications, Software & Supplies

• Cyndi's List Genealogy Bookstore 
  A categorized list of genealogy research books that looks a lot like my bookshelf at home.

• Amazon.com Genealogy Bookstore - Poor Law 
  The following are individual book titles of interest for this topic. The book links below point to the Amazon.com bookstore online where you may purchase the book if you wish. These links are provided to bring these published resources to your attention as an aid to your research. Follow the links to books of interest to make note of their title, author, publisher, and ISBN. You might then use this information to obtain the book from your local library or your favorite corner book shop.
  • Annals of the Poor 
    A book by Eve McLaughlin.
  • The Bradford Poor Law Union: Papers and Correspondence with the Poor Law Commission, October 1834-January 1839 
    A book by Paul Carter.
  • An Economic History of the English Poor Law, 1750-1850 
    A book by George R. Boyer.
  • The English Poor Law, 1531-1782 
    A book by Paul Slack.
  • An Introduction to Poor Law Documents Before 1834 
    A book by Anne Cole.
  • Michigan Poor Law 
    A book by Isabel Bruce.
  • The Old Poor Law in Scotland 
    A book by Rosalind Mitchison.
  • Poor Law Union Records: 4. Gazetteer of England and Wales 
    A book by J.S.W. Gibson.
  • Popular Opposition to the 1834 Poor Law 
    A book by St. Martins Press.
  • Poverty, Migration, and Settlement in the Industrial Revolution: Sojourners' Narratives 
    A book by James Stephen Taylor.
  • Poverty and Poor Law Reform in Britain: From Chadwick to Booth, 1834-1914 
    A book by David Englander.
  • Problem of the Poor in Tudor and Early Stuart England  
    A book by A. L. Beier.
  • Records of the Almshouse of Prince George's County, Maryland 
    A book by the Prince George's County Genealogical Society .
  • Second Home: Orphan Asylums and Poor Families in America 
    A book by Timothy A. Hacsi.
  • The Union Workhouse 
    A book by Andy Reid.
  • Vermont Warnings Out 1779-1817 Vol 1: Northern Vermont 
    A book by Alden M. Rollins.
  • Vermont Warnings Out 1779-1817 Vol 2: Southern Vermont 
    A book by Alden M. Rollins.
  • The Victorian Workhouse 
    A book by Trevor May.
  • Warning Out in New England 1656-1817 
    A book by Benton.
  • Workhouse Children: Infant and Child Paupers Under the Worcestershire Poor Law 1780-1871 
    A book by Frank Crompton.
• Ancestry.com - Iosco County, Michigan Paupers, 1869-1934 
  Searchable database available by subscription.
• Basic Facts about Lunatics in England and Wales 
  A book by Pamela Faithfull.
• Using Poor Law Records 
  By Simon Fowler, from the National Archives, United Kingdom.

Report a Broken Link / Update a Link