This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: kay1707 Surnames: Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/localities.britisles.scotland.ayr.general/13988.2/mb.ashx Message Board Post: There are records for Irvine Relief Church (later United Presbyterian and United Free) 1777-1918 in the National Archives of Scotland catalogue [http://www.nas.gov.uk/onlineCatalogue ref starts with CH3/409]. The Irvine Relief Church session minutes from 1777-1831 include a record of marriages and baptisms [CH3/409/1]. Those from 1831-1855 include baptisms [CH3/409/2]. If it was the Relief Church school it is possible the minutes include some mention of the school and also possible that the school master was the clerk to the session. The Relief Church was founded in 1761 and is associated with Thomas Gillespie's opposition to patronage (the right of lay patrons, usually landowners, to nominate the local established Church of Scotland parish minister). Take another look at your ancestor's writings. In what context does 'poor relief' appear? Poor relief before 1845/6 Acts (following the 1844 Royal Commission on the Scottish poor laws) was administered at parish church level as a form of 'collective support'(parish collections and donations from landowners). By the 1830s this had been put under pressure by the economic and social transformation from a rural to urban society and no longer worked. SCAN on poor relief and poor laws: http://www.scan.org.uk/knowledgebase/topics/poorlaw1.htm http://www.scan.org.uk/knowledgebase/topics/poorlaw2.htm NAS guide to poor relief records http://www.nas.gov.uk/guides/poor.asp Detailed extracts from official evidence http://gdl.cdlr.strath.ac.uk/haynin/haynin1404.htm Best wishes, Kay in Edinburgh Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board.