Chester County History Center - Chester County Archives and Record Services - Chester County Board of Relief

About This Collection

This collections represents all extant records of the Chester County Board of Relief from 1861 through 1865. The Chester County Board of Relief was set up by the Act of May 15, 1861 P.L. 749, entitled "An Act to Create a Loan and to Provide for Arming the State" to aid local families of Civil War soldiers. Funded by state appropriations, its members included the County Commissioners and Court of Common Pleas Associate Judges. Township boards of relief were set up individually without legal precedent when townships felt the County Board did not meet the need for aid. Townships could petition the Board to assist their families although the Board did not always agree to help and the township boards assisted families without assistance from the county. The materials in this collection document the actives of the Board of Relief and provides detailed information on the families who sought its assistance. This collection is divided into four record series: account books, applications, correspondence, and administrative records. A full index to the account books, applications, and correspondence can be found here: https://www.chesco.org/1702/Board-of-Relief-1861-1865.
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Board of Relief Account Books
Board of Relief Account Books
Board of Relief, Civil War, Social Welfare, Poverty, Child Welfare, Account Books
The Chester County Board of Relief was set up by the Pennsylvania General Assembly’s Act of May 15, 1861, entitled "An Act to Create a Loan and to Provide for Arming the State" to aid local families of Civil War soldiers. Funded by state appropriations, its members included the County Commissioners and Court of Common Pleas Associate Judges. Township boards of relief were set up individually without legal precedent when townships felt the County Board did not meet the need for aid. Townships could petition the County Board to assist their local families, but the county did not always agree to help which motivated the township boards to aid families without county assistance. The account books were maintained to keep track of individual payments to families receiving assistance. The books include one page per family with additional pages in other volumes as necessary. Information includes: first and last name of the soldier; his rank; day, month, and year the money was given to a family and discontinued; pay order numbers and amounts of money given; voucher number; names and ages of soldier's children, wife, and other dependents; name and number of troop and regiment; name of soldier's captain; and place of residence, township or town. Each soldier's case had one voucher number and pay orders were given to the same voucher number. The end of the second volume and almost all of volume 3 are cases of United States Colored Troops. A separate, every name index exists for all volumes. For an index to this collection please see the following link: https://www.chesco.org/1702/Board-of-Relief-1861-1865
Board of Relief Administrative Records
Board of Relief Administrative Records
Board of Relief, Civil War, Social Welfare, Poverty, Child Welfare, Administrative Records
The Chester County Board of Relief was set up by the Pennsylvania General Assembly’s Act of May 15, 1861, entitled "An Act to Create a Loan and to Provide for Arming the State" to aid local families of Civil War soldiers. Funded by state appropriations, its members included the County Commissioners and Court of Common Pleas Associate Judges. Township boards of relief were set up individually without legal precedent when townships felt the County Board did not meet the need for aid. Townships could petition the County Board to assist their local families, but the county did not always agree to help which motivated the township boards to aid families without county assistance. This series contains miscellaneous records relating to the administrative function of the Board of Relief including minutes and resolutions, pay roll records, and committee books. The three small Committee books have one township per page. Each page lists one to three members of the township board of relief and the names of resident soldiers who are receiving county relief. Also listed are references to which volume and page in the set of three account books the soldier's account is on. The pay rolls of West Chester are for families of soldiers in West Chester receiving aid from the Board but they are a separate sequence from the vouchers. They include the date, pay order number, and a list of person’s signatures by the amount of money they received. Pay rolls include many names per page.
Board of Relief Applications
Board of Relief Applications
Board of Relief, Civil War, Social Welfare, Poverty, Child Welfare
The Chester County Board of Relief was set up by the Pennsylvania General Assembly’s Act of May 15, 1861, entitled "An Act to Create a Loan and to Provide for Arming the State" to aid local families of Civil War soldiers. Funded by state appropriations, its members included the County Commissioners and Court of Common Pleas Associate Judges. Township boards of relief were set up individually without legal precedent when townships felt the County Board did not meet the need for aid. Townships could petition the County Board to assist their local families, but the county did not always agree to help which motivated the township boards to aid families without county assistance. To receive the benefits of this program, families were required to submit an application. If the application was accepted the families would receive assistance based on their individual needs and circumstances. The applications are printed forms which include the same information as the corresponding account volumes. Information includes a full list of the soldier’s dependents, voucher number, page number the voucher is listed on in the corresponding volume, case history with dates and amounts of money given, date of enlistment, soldier's job or profession before enlistment, signature or mark of wife or dependent receiving aid, and date and signature of Board members affirming truth of documented information. A separate, every name index exists for this record series. For an index to this collection please see the following link: https://www.chesco.org/1702/Board-of-Relief-1861-1865
Board of Relief Correspondence
Board of Relief Correspondence
Board of Relief, Civil War, Social Welfare, Poverty, Child Welfare, Correspondence
The Chester County Board of Relief was set up by the Pennsylvania General Assembly’s Act of May 15, 1861, entitled "An Act to Create a Loan and to Provide for Arming the State" to aid local families of Civil War soldiers. Funded by state appropriations, its members included the County Commissioners and Court of Common Pleas Associate Judges. Township boards of relief were set up individually without legal precedent when townships felt the County Board did not meet the need for aid. Townships could petition the County Board to assist their local families, but the county did not always agree to help which motivated the township boards to aid families without county assistance. This series contains a small collection of miscellaneous correspondence between the members of the various township boards. Of particular interest is a small collection of letters submitted by wives of soldiers, either directly to the Board or through their representatives, describing their untenable circumstances in an attempt to receive aid or additional support. For an index to this collection please see the following link: https://www.chesco.org/1702/Board-of-Relief-1861-1865