I appreciate for those with no connections it will not be all that relevant but for those
with British ancestry, the Yesterdays site contains thousands of names of folks many of
whom were strays or strangers, away from their recognised abode or expected parish.
The Settlement Certificates and particularly the Settlement Examinations give a good
account of what can be found in Record Offices and if you have any such overseas
connections with the UK they are well worth the effort in trying to see if such a
document(s) survives for your ancestors, particularly if they have "moved". It
may be they are even within this list, but if not, it still gives a good idea of what can
be found in their respective parishes and County Record Offices.
Bastardy records may names the father, Apprenticeships let you know who the young lads and
lasses went to serve, some as young as seven years. There may be instances of Apprentices
running away becaus of cruelty on behalf of the Master.
Removal documents record those folks who fell on hard times and were removed back to their
last legal Settlement. Thousands were moved all over the Country.
mike
http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~spire/Yesterday/index.htm