England Delinquent Fathers, 1700s and 1800s (National Institute)

Abscondence
Churchwardens and overseers of the poor put adverts in local newspapers, and from 1857-1903, in the Poor Law Unions’ Gazette (Wood 2002), offering rewards for apprehension of runaway fathers as shown below.

Runaway in Maidstone Journal 19 January 1802

Runaways in Maidstone Journal 22 Nov 1791

Repentance
Repayment Bond 1763 Tonbridge, Kent,

Magistrates Orders
Summaries of the orders relevant to the parish made by magistrates at Petty and Quarter Sessions are sometimes encountered in the parish chest material. Extracts from the typed one covering the period 1775-1825 for Frant in Sussex appear below. Although clearly not original documents, these act as finding aids for useful material concerning the inhabitants.

Extracts from Magistrates Orders for Frant, Sussex 1775-1825, 

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