Many family historians will come across direct links to ancestors who were affected by poverty. Yet despite the burgeoning interest in genealogy the history of pauperism & of poor relief has rarely been written about & no previous book has provided a guide to documents & records that family researchers can use to their trace their pauper ancestors. In this accessible & informative introduction Robert Burlison gives a vivid account of poverty & the poor. He identifies relevant records indicates where they can be found & offers essential advice on how this information can be used to piece together the lives of distant & not so distant relatives.