| Description | Whilst the surviving minutes date from April 1879, the Removal committee was founded some time before this. It is referred to within the Board of Guardians minutes as both the Removal committee and also the Committee on the Supervision of the Removal Department, although since both committees appeared to have the same function it is unclear why these changes of name took place.
From the Board of Guardians minutes, it appears that the committee was founded in mid-1870. At the Guardians' annual meeting in April, there is no reference to the committee being formed, however, by the July of that year, there is a note relating to the minutes of the Removal committee meeting on the 20th July being read to the Board (see GP B/2/1/38). The committee consisted of 12 Guardians, whose job it was to oversee the removal from the Union of paupers who were registered for poor relief elsewhere. The committee was also responsible for tracking down any family members to whom the individual could be charged.
As a consequence, the surviving minutes are largely made up of lists of individuals - sometimes with some basic biographical information such as age and place of residence - along with the name(s) of the Union or relatives chargeable. As such, it makes a useful source for tracking down individuals. Some financial details are also given, listing the money received from the relatives of paupers, and the amount expended in identifying and removing individuals. The volumes are not indexed. |