"on the county"

[Douglas G. Wilson]

> Does anybody have a sense of how far back "(living) on the county"
> goes as a synonym for "on relief"? Google turns up a few modern hits
> (e.g., via searches for "living on the county" etc.) but as far as I
> can tell this meaning isn't listed under any dictionary's entry for
> 'county'.
Here it is from 1915:

http://books.google.com/books?id=U8kXAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA46&dq=%22on+the+county%22+date:1900-1965&lr=&num=100&as_brr=3

I think this is probably the same, from 1912:

http://books.google.com/books?id=HAEYAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA218&dq=%22on+the+county%22+date:1900-1965&lr=&num=100&as_brr=3

 From 1911:

http://books.google.com/books?id=8MmwWQB1Y6wC&pg=PA100&dq=%22on+the+county%22+date:1900-1965&lr=&num=100&as_brr=3

1910:

http://books.google.com/books?id=QuPfc8oCUGoC&pg=PA68&dq=%22on+the+county%22+date:1900-1965&lr=&num=100&as_brr=3

Here is "a charge on the county" = "a person on public assistance" or
so, I think, from 1897:

http://books.google.com/books?id=6j1YAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA243&dq=%22on+the+county%22+date:1850-1899&lr=&num=100&as_brr=3

1893-4:

http://books.google.com/books?id=XR02AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA582&dq=%22on+the+county%22+date:1850-1899&lr=&num=100&as_brr=3#PPA583,M1

1856:

http://books.google.com/books?id=SycgAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA159&dq=%22on+the+county%22+date:1850-1899&lr=&num=100&as_brr=3

-- Doug Wilson

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