Hi list,
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 name 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 because 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