Did a quick search "Nurse Child census listing"--- This was copied from Rootschat forum 2005: Some of nastiness described below no doubt happened, but in other reads the mother was able to be reunited with her child after her cimcumstances changed for the better. More reading available for you there in Rootschat... Often, when transcribing 19th-century censuses, I would come across the phrase "Nurse Child" but would not know what was meant. I have discovered that this phrase hides a very tragic story relating to illegitimate or unwanted children. Before the Elizabethan poorlaw was changed in the 19th-century care of illegitimate children and their mothers was haphazard. The 19th-century poor law changed this and placed the responsibility on the mother. Most times, she was unable to hold a job and to feed the infant. One solution to her problem was the baby farmer. This person would for a small fee, offer to take care of the infant. As soon as the money stopped coming (or before), the infant would be starved to death or just dumped in a convenient place. This procedure continued until the end of the century when horror stories in the newspapers, compelled the government to act.

It can also mean that,when the mother died at the birth or was ill afterwards, the baby was "farmed out", if not it would almost certainly die through lack of milk so is not always a horror story -----Original Message----- From: eng-north-yorks-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:eng-north-yorks-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of DianneSlipkid@comcast.net Sent: 20 April 2008 16:57 To: eng-north-yorks@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [ENG-NORTH-YORKS] what is a "nurse child"? Did a quick search "Nurse Child census listing"--- This was copied from Rootschat forum 2005: Some of nastiness described below no doubt happened, but in other reads the mother was able to be reunited with her child after her cimcumstances changed for the better. More reading available for you there in Rootschat... Often, when transcribing 19th-century censuses, I would come across the phrase "Nurse Child" but would not know what was meant. I have discovered that this phrase hides a very tragic story relating to illegitimate or unwanted children. Before the Elizabethan poorlaw was changed in the 19th-century care of illegitimate children and their mothers was haphazard. The 19th-century poor law changed this and placed the responsibility on the mother. Most times, she was unable to hold a job and to feed the infant. One solution to her problem was the baby farmer. This person would for a small fee, offer to take care of the infant. As soon as the money stopped coming (or before), the infant would be starved to death or just dumped in a convenient place. This procedure continued until the end of the century when horror stories in the newspapers, compelled the government to act. ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to ENG-NORTH-YORKS-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message