Greetings Listers I'm confused as to whether the Settlement Certificate referred to below is FROM St Clement's or TO St Clement's. PARISH OF HASTINGS ST CLEMENT Catalogue Ref. PAR367 - Former Catalogue Ref. PAR367 Creator(s): Church of England, Hastings St Clement Parish, East Sussex Overseers of the Poor: settlement - ref. PAR367/32 - Settlement certificates FILE - Settlement certificate - ref. PAR367/32/1/232 - date: 3 Nov 1773 [from Scope and Content] Thomas Daniel the younger, wife Dorothy and child Mary (2); Hastings All Saints Could some one sort me out please? Many thanks Pam Beaudesert, Queensland, Australia

Hello Pam, I would suggest that it just means what it says on the tin - ie your relative's legal settlement was Hastings St Clement, and any one of the following could be true: 1) The relative was seeking poor relief elsewhere and was subjected to an examination and the last legal settlement was established to be Hastings St Clement (a removal would probably then have followed) 2) The relative was seeking poor relief in Hastings St Clement and was subjected to an examination and found to be legally settled there, and therefore entitled to remain and receive the relief. 3) The relative was looking to work/reside elsewhere, and just sought a certificate from his home parish acknowledging his settlement in the hopes that he would be more welcome in the new parish if they had the comfort of knowing that Hastings St Clement acknowledged him and were prepared to take responsibility for him until he was established in the new place. Regards -----Original Message----- From: sussex-plus-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:sussex-plus-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of PMR Sent: 22 March 2014 00:23 To: SSX-PLUS Mailing List Subject: [SXP] Settlement Certificate puzzle Greetings Listers I'm confused as to whether the Settlement Certificate referred to below is FROM St Clement's or TO St Clement's. PARISH OF HASTINGS ST CLEMENT Catalogue Ref. PAR367 - Former Catalogue Ref. PAR367 Creator(s): Church of England, Hastings St Clement Parish, East Sussex Overseers of the Poor: settlement - ref. PAR367/32 - Settlement certificates FILE - Settlement certificate - ref. PAR367/32/1/232 - date: 3 Nov 1773 [from Scope and Content] Thomas Daniel the younger, wife Dorothy and child Mary (2); Hastings All Saints Could some one sort me out please? Many thanks Pam Beaudesert, Queensland, Australia ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to SUSSEX-PLUS-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

You do have to be *really* careful how you use and interpret any catalogue or index entry for Settlement Certificates. In most cases, the records are filed at according to the parish where the documents were found in the parish chest. The Certificate would be given by the parish where the person was legally settled (parish A) to the parish where that person was living at the time (parish B), acknowledging that (A) had financial responsibility for the person, should they need recourse to Poor Relief. So, it is most likely that the Certificate would be found in the parish where the person was living (parish B), but that isn't always the case! So, in the example that you have quoted, it looks as if the parish of settlement would have been Hastings, All Saints and that they gave the Settlement Certificate to Hastings, St. Clement. Am I certain about this, NO! To be certain, you need either to see the original document at ESRO; or look at the image on film or fiche at your local LDS Family History Centre; or refer to a reliable published digest that makes the distinction clear. For the latter, and in the case of this particular entry, I recommend "Eastern Sussex Settlement Certificates 1670 to 1832" by Michael Burchall, published by the PRTS on CD and available from the SFHG Bookstall, or via the Parish Chest website, or perhaps your library service has a copy or can obtain one for you. Best wishes, Marion Woolgar Bognor Regis, West Sussex