Overseer of the poor

Anoverseer of the poorwas an official who administeredpoor reliefsuch as money, food, and clothing inEnglandand various other countries which derived their law from England, such as theUnited States.

England

In England, overseers of the poor administeredpoor reliefsuch as money, food and clothing as part of thePoor Lawsystem. The position was created by thePoor Relief Act 1597.

Overseers of the poor were often reluctant appointees who were unpaid, working under the supervision of ajustice of the peace.The law required two overseers to be elected everyEaster,andchurchwardensorlandownerswere often selected.

The new system of poor relief reinforced a sense of social hierarchy and provided a way of controlling the 'lower orders'.Overseers of the poor were replaced in thePoor Law Amendment Act 1834,and replaced withboards of guardians,although overseers remained in some places as a method of collecting thepoor rate.

Duties

Overseers had four duties:

• Estimate how much poor relief money was needed in order to set the poor rate accordingly;
• Collect the poor rate;
• Distribute poor relief; and
• Supervise thepoorhouse.

Vermont

In theU.S. stateofVermont,the former post of overseer of the poor was an electedtown officeresponsible for welfare benefits. A 1797 law requires town overseers to "relieve, support and maintain" the "poor, lame, blind, sick and other inhabitants within such town or place, who are not able to maintain themselves."Some records survive of relief recipients, along with amounts provided.Several towns maintained town farms (known as "poor farms" ) in which the poor lived and worked for their support (akin to the workhouses of England).Some disabled Vermonters were sent to theBrandon State Schoolinstead.

Effective October 1, 1968, Vermont abolished the post of overseer of the poor,and the state took over welfare.

See also

• Poormaster
• Overseer (slave plantation)