Genealogy Chat

anyone know if someone was mentioned in an examination book of an admin.record of quarter sessions c. 1865 what it would be about,and what is an examination book,could it be a record of an interview.thank you

I thought Quarter Sessions were to do with court cases. It would suggest that an examination book was to do with the examination of some part of the evidence - interviews certainly seem likely. Perhaps, when this message moves the thread back up the order, someone else will spot it and be more exact for you! Christine

Chloe People were examined to determine whether they were entitled to stay in a parish/receive help from the parish under the Poor Laws. My gt gt gt grandfather is in just such an examination book. You can see them in the local record office. They are of course handwritten so it helps if you have someone else to help decipher the script, but the staff in the office I went to were very helpful. The book didn't give the questions, just my relative's responses. I found out details such as how many pigs he kept, how much his rent was etc. So the information is likely to be about a person's ability to provide for themselves/their family. In addition to the record of his examination, there was in a separate book (huge thing with metal clasps to hold it shut) the record of the Quarter Sessions, with the names of the two Justices of the Peace and their decision about my gt gt gt grandfather, which meant he was allowed to stay in the parish he'd been evicted from. nell