Mountbellew Poor Law Union, Board of Guardian Minutes, 1852-53

Includes:

-    ‘Letter from same (Poor Law Commissioners) acknowledging the receipt of the Clerk’s communication of the 0^th instant relating to the females selected for emigration from Mountbellew Union who are at present in Hospital and stating that the Commissioners under the circumstances withdraw their consent to the proposed expenditure for assisting, Bridget Somers, Catherine Kerrane, Bridget King and Mary Flynn emigrate’.
‘The Medical Officer having stated that Mary Flynn one of the emigrants referred to in the above letter was recovered and fit to proceed with the other emigrants’ .
‘Resolved that the PLC be requested not to withdraw their consent to the expenditure out of the rate to assist her to emigrate; and that as the other three females who are in Hospital will not be able to proceed at the time appointed for the sailing of the ship the Commissioners consent be requested to assist the following persons to emigrate in their stead, viz;- Catherine Tully, Castleblakeny ; Mary Dooly, Clonbrock ; Mary Mannion, Ballinakill’ (12 Nov, 1852, pp30-31).

-    ‘Letter from same (PLC) forwarding a printed form, to be filled in with the particulars relating to Mary Flynn, Catherine Fully, Mary Dooly and Mary Mannion whom  the Board of Guardians propose to assist to emigrate’ (19 Nov, 1852, p48).

-   ‘Letter from Poor Law Commissioners acknowledging receipt of the form of Descriptive list, respecting certain pauper inmates of the workhouse of Mountbellew Union whom the Board of Guardians propose to assist to emigrate to Australia; and stating that the Commissioners await the report of Mr O’Brien, Poor Law Inspector on the subject’ (26 Nov, p68)

-    ‘Letter from Emigration commissioners forwarding Forms of application to be made by the four young women who the Board of Guardians propose substituting in the places of Bridget King, Biddy Somers, Mary Flynn and Kitty Kerrane who have been reported unfit to undertake the voyage to Western Australia’ (p69).

-    ‘Letter from same stating that their agent at Dublin informed them of the arrival there of 30 young women selected for emigration from Mount Bellew Union workhouse, on their way to Plymouth where they would present themselves at the Depot some days, of course, before the time named in their order for Embarkation; and that the emigration Commissioners instructed their Officer at Plymouth to keep a separate account of the expenses incurred for the subsistence for the young women from the date of their arrival at the Depot to the date the 26^th instant which will be forwarded to the Board of Guardians for payment as the Commissioners cannot undertake to provide accommodation or provision for emigrants for any period before the day mentioned in the embarkation order’ (p70).

-    ‘Letter from same referring to the printed form relating to the cases of four inmates of the workhouse whom it was proposed to assist to emigrate to Australia, and stating that they have received a report from Mr O’Brien Poor Law Inspector in which he states that he proceeded to the workhouse on the 26^th ultimo to inspect the parties in accordance with the commissioners instructions but that the whole party having gone to Plymouth for the purpose of embarkation he was unable to make the requisite inspection.  Mr O’Brien reports that one of the girls, named Mary Flynn, was amongst the number originally approved for emigration by the Commissioners, and that the remaining three substituted for a similar number of approved parties who were disabled by sickness from proceeding on the voyage, have been reported by the Medical Officer as having been in every respect as eligible as those in place of whom they were selected.  As the parties left the workhouse before Mr O’Brien had an opportunity of inspecting them, the Commissioners cannot express any approval of the persons who have been selected, and on future occasions the parties should be not allowed to go until such approval has been obtained.  The Commissioners however are not disposed under the circumstances reported by Mr O’Brien to raise any objection to the expenditure which has been incurred in those cases’ (3 Dec, 1852, p89).

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‘Read letter from the Government Emigration Officer at Plymouth forwarding an account of the Board and lodging for 2 days, prior to the date of embarkation order, at the Plymouth Depot of the 30 young women sent from Mount Bellew workhouse to Australia which amounted to £6 and requesting payment of same’ (10 Dec, p111).

-    ‘Read letter from Charles Filgate Esq offering to pay £2.10.0 towards assisting a poor person named John Gill aged 50 years to emigrate to America, provided the Board of Guardians would pay, for said purpose a like sum out of the Rates of the Division (Clonbrock) to which he is chargeable’ (p269).

-    ‘Read letter from Wm Cruice Esq making a similar offer of £2.10.0 towards enabling Kitty Kerrane, an inmate of the Workhouse to emigrate to American, the Division (Castleblakeny) to which she is chargeable to pay a like amount towards defraying the expenses of her emigration’ (p269).

-    'A boy named Peter Forde, who had been an inmate of the Ballinasloe Workhouse up to the 26^th April 1851 chargeable to this Union, under the Reservation Order, and who has since then been in service in the Ballinasloe Union, was this day brought upon a car to this workhouse suffering under consumption…’ (p369).