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Week 23: My ancestor was a collier/miner

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  • Week 23: My ancestor was a collier/miner

    Week 23: Collier/miner

    Did someone in your tree work in a coal or some other sort of mine?

    This is an opportunity to showcase a miner from your family tree, you might want to offer a short biography and speak about their work eg
    Name
    Birth location/date
    Family background
    Where you've found them on the census
    Their workplace/employer
    Any tips on researching this occupation?

    [Next week: Pub/hotel/inn worker]

  • #2
    Oh, Yeah Gods! If I could have written an essay on all my potters, I would expect nothing less than a Ph.D. for a thesis on my innumerable miners, colliers etc. I will post up though about a direct ancestor who had an unfortunately nasty end in the 1860s. Watch this space!

    Comment


    • #3
      There aren't many miners in my family.

      Only 2 I can think of. My Grandads brother Leonard Lowe was a miner at Clifton Colliery in Nottingham.

      Also when researching my Carter family from Danby/Loftus in North Yorkshire I found one of the descendants was a Jet miner in Whitby. Can't remember his name though.

      OH,s tree has so many miners including his Dad that I would be here forever with them.
      Lin

      Searching Lowe, Everitt, Hurt and Dunns in Nottingham

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      • #4
        My Cornish line moved to the US about 1880 to continue their mining. My g'g'grandfather was one of many children, and one of the last to immigrate - his mother was living with him, and he didn't move until she was gone.

        Seems like they would mine when they were young, then move on to farming (if they lived that long).

        Comment


        • #5
          My Great Grandfather, John Hymers Robson, was born on 28 January 1862 in Halton Shields, Northumberland the son of a farmer. By the time of his marriage to Annie Maria Rowley in December 1881 John had moved away from the farm to work as a coal miner on the outskirts of Newcastle. By 1891 the couple and their eldest 4 children had moved to Carrs Row in the Newburn Hall area. I believe this property to be associated with the Montague Fire Clay Pit where John was now working (it was knowl locally as "Carr's Pit" By 1901 all 10 of their chidlred had been born but tragedy had already struck with 4 of the children having died; the olderst of those being 14. By this time the oldest son, Hymers, was working down the mine.

          Our next sighting of the family is in 1905. The third son, James born on 6th April 1891, is 14 and now of an age to be employed. He joins his father and brother as part of the approximately 60 strong workforce at the Montague Clay Pit. He starts work on the surface and after aroud a week he was sent underground. His job was as a landing lad coupling the coal tubs together. On the fateful day in May 1905 he realsied he had forgotten his bait (or packed lunch) and set of back to the surface to fetch it. Unfortunately as he was doing so some tubs became loose and ran back down the track crushing both his legs, one severely, and also hitting his head. He was taken home to be treated by the local doctor and then on to Newcastle Infirmary. He succumberd to his injuries on the night of 29th April 1905.

          John Hymers Robson continued to work at the pit until 1915 when it closed. He contiuned to work as a miner, by 1921 working for the West Denton Coal Co. Ltd in Scotswood. Of the other children only 3 surviived after 1918 dying in 1966, 1979 and 1980 respectively. Annie passed away in 1943 living in retired miners cottages at Throckley and John passed away in 1949

          I have one unproven story of my great grandfather which makes sense given the amount of times he would have had the doctor out to the family over the years; and also the fact he rose to Deputy Overman at the colliery. I was told he had set up a local miners freindship league - ie where everyone paid in a small sum every week and any doctors fees would have been paid out if it was need to pay doctors fees.

          As an aside, the Doctor who attended my Great Uncle James moved south at around the same time as my grandparents and was their family doctor for many years.
          Barbara

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          • #6
            My husband, his father and two brothers, and his great grandfather all worked in the local coal mines but those stories are either too recent or not well enough researched to be posted here
            Barbara

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            • #7
              I have a woodman who is described as a collier because he made charcoal, but as there is only one reference to him doing it (on the marriage cert of one of his children) I will save him for week 37, people who worked with wood.

              Comment


              • #8
                My mother spent many years as a colliery nurse in North Staffordshire. I don't know whether she knew that her maternal grandfather died as a result of a mining injury or that her uncle died in the 1895 Diglake mining disaster - his body never recovered - possibly lies beneath the M6.

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                • #9
                  Originally posted by GallowayLass View Post
                  Oh, Yeah Gods! If I could have written an essay on all my potters, I would expect nothing less than a Ph.D. for a thesis on my innumerable miners, colliers etc. I will post up though about a direct ancestor who had an unfortunately nasty end in the 1860s. Watch this space!
                  Totally forgot about this. Will post later.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    John Holmes was born in 1845 in Lount, Leicestershire. He was one of six children. Edward, his father was a coal miner and by 1851 they were living in Whitwick, Leicestershire in 1861 John was also working at the colliery. I don't know which colliery they did work at there were a few nearby.

                    by 1871 John had married Fanny Robinson and they had moved with their son Isaac to Annesley, Nottinghamshire. John had gained employment at Annesley Colliery which was a relatively new colliery having been opened in 1865. The family stayed in Annesley raising 8 children, sadly two died in infancy.
                    by 1901 John was 56 years old and still working at the colliery. By 1910 John had died leaving his wife Fanny, and sons Isaac, John and Herbert and daughters Eliza, Emma and Louisa.

                    John did also work at Annesley Colliery as a lamp cleaner this work he could do sitting down as he was crippled. Herbert did work at the colliery but I'm not sure quite whether he actually worked down the pit.
                    Julie
                    They're coming to take me away haha hee hee..........

                    .......I find dead people

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      My 3xGGF Daniel HARRISON was a collier / miner and sometime potter born c.1824 in Hanley, Staffordshire (no baptism record available - the volume is said to be likely destroyed), 3rd child to John HARRISON and Mary DUNN who married in Yorkshire as that's where she came from. The banns say John is "of the parish" which doesn't match the 1841 census where he is Y for born in Staffordshire and Mary is N. They had eight children in total that I know of and the first remained in Yorkshire with his maternal grandparents and the couple moved to Tunstall, Staffordshire. No idea why. The youngest child was fortunately born in 1839 which finally gave a mms for Mary. John's occupation in 1841 was packer which was the pottery industry. Unfortunately for me, neither John nor Mary (sometimes Mary Ann) are identifiable on the 1851 census.
                      In 1843 Daniel married Ann COLCLOUGH, daughter of William COLCLOUGH (potter - sadly not the well off pottery factory owning lot) and Miriam CARTLIDGE
                      They had 5 children - William (my 2xGGF HARRISON), Serena who later becomes Selina, John (died 6 months old), Prudence (very much mis-named we think LOL) and Victoria (died 22 months old)

                      In 1861 Ann and her 3 surviving children are living in Chell, Staffordshire while Daniel (now a collier) is boarding at Eliza Square, Tunstall with Henry Dean and his wife Emma.

                      Daniel suffered an industrial accident in 1869 and had 2 death certificates the first of which says he died 14 June 1869 at North Road, Burslem his cause of death was simply paralysis of the lower limbs (5 weeks) and the the informant was a Henry SHIPLEY who registered the death a day later on 15 June. Presumably he was the person Daniel was then lodging with or at least a near neighbour of his lodgings as Henry SHIPLEY was still in North Road, Burslem on the 1871 census. I found out from the registrar that this certificate was registered incorrectly as there was an inquest into Daniel's death and the only legally registered one was that where the coroner was the informant. I had originally phoned Stoke on Trent register office because I was confused by there being 2 deaths of a Daniel HARRISON in the same place in the same quarter - one page apart in the GRO index - and one local certificate number apart on ukbmd.org. One of them was aged 44 at death and the other aged 45. I had assumed initially they were two different men and I wanted advice on which was mine before I ordered it. At this point I had no idea about his cause of death or any inquest.
                      The registrar went off to check for me and drew the anomaly to my attention and the likelihood there was only one man. She said that strictly she should only supply the one with the coroner as informant but we had a wee chat and I asked if there was any way that I could get the 1st one as the name of the informant ought to be a family member and that would solve the matter for me. Obviously she couldn't say who that was but we did manage to discuss what the wording of the cause of death was on each certificate. Just as I was about to give her the card details to purchase the coroner's version, she said "Oh, oops!, look what I've gone and done. I've pressed select on the 1st one by mistake, Ah well, it'll just have go through now!" I swear I could hear a smile over that phone line

                      The coroner adds on the second death certificate that Daniel's injuries were due to a fall of dirt upon him while at work. The roof fell in at Grange ironstone pit owned by Heath and Son.
                      There was a short article in the Birmingham Post for 17th June which notes that coal fell upon Daniel and he died a day later on Tuesday 15th June. This does not correspond with death date on the first certificate. Working the dates back five weeks means the colliery accident must have happened around 10 May. I thought I had since ordered the coroner's version but I've been through all the piles of certs I can find and it seems I didn't. I've ordered the pdf tonight as the Stoke on Trent registration website is still not accepting order for certificates for family history purposes.

                      Daniel was buried 20 June 1869 at St Paul, Burslem. Ann died in 1883 at Gt York Street, Hanley and is buried in the churchyard at St John the Evangelist, Goldenhill so maybe the two of them had parted company somewhere between the 1861 census where they at separate addresses but both shown as married and 1869 when Daniel died.
                      Last edited by GallowayLass; 15-06-22, 21:12.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Originally posted by GallowayLass View Post
                        My 3xGGF Daniel HARRISON was a collier / miner and sometime potter born c.1824 in Hanley, Staffordshire (no baptism record available - the volume is said to be likely destroyed)
                        FS has a transcription from a BT for your man.
                        Daniel Harrison
                        Male
                        17 Oct 1824
                        Hanley, Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom
                        Hanley, Stafford, England
                        John Harrison
                        Male
                        Mary
                        Discover your family history. Explore the world’s largest collection of free family trees, genealogy records and resources.


                        They have the film, but you have to go to them to view it

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                        • #13
                          Thanks for that link. There was an LDS centre in Dumfries, I’m not sure if it is still there or open yet if it is. Will make enquiries. I had that transcript from FMP and various queries on Staffordshire groups on the net resulted in me left thinking it no longer existed due to damage.

                          EDIT: it is open for 2 hours on Tuesday mornings and 2 hours on Wednesday evenings. There is a mobile number but no email.
                          I wonder how long it usually takes for a film to arrive at the centre once ordered?
                          Last edited by GallowayLass; 16-06-22, 09:31.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            A lot of my family were miners/colliers/coal hewers in Northumberland and Co. Durham. My husband's ancestors were all Ag. Labs. living in Somerset, but, when work was short they hopped over the Bristol Chanel to South Wales and worked in the coal mines, some descendants still live in South Wales. I have often wondered just how these sons of the soil felt when they first went down the dark, grubby mines after being used to the wide Somerset skies, it must have been awful for them.
                            Margaret

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                            • #15
                              Originally posted by GallowayLass View Post

                              EDIT: it is open for 2 hours on Tuesday mornings and 2 hours on Wednesday evenings. There is a mobile number but no email.
                              I wonder how long it usually takes for a film to arrive at the centre once ordered?
                              Film ordering went away a long time ago - but I think the images have been digitized and available online at an FHC. Maybe you could ask the FHC personnel if they could see the image before you make the trip to them.

                              Also - are there other records that might be on the film? It's indexed, so you should be able to find them.

                              Comment


                              • #16
                                PhotoFamily Hopefully baptisms of his siblings. I’ll phone later.
                                Didn’t know about not needing to order films anymore. That’s very good news.

                                Comment


                                • #17
                                  Obviously flipped my lid this afternoon . Whilst keeping an eye on the tennis from Queen's Club, I decided to find out just exactly how many of my forebears (direct lines, blood related, married ins and extended families) were involved in the mining industry at some point in their lives. Three hours later , I have a result.
                                  This includes 3 of my own direct lines and OH's maternal side as far back as his Grampa 'Nom' - actually GGF as his late mother was in the same position birth-wise as mine was. There are many, many more in his full tree - coal, tin, lead, ironstone and shale oil. I haven't the will power to count them

                                  114 men who between them held down 184 jobs over the course of their working lives. A few had up to 5 different jobs. Phew!

                                  Comment


                                  • #18
                                    Thomas Orange Milner was born in 1844 Danby Yorkshire.

                                    On 1881 and 1891 census he was an Ironstone Miner. Not closely related but his mother was the sister of my G Grandmother and witness at their wedding.

                                    1901 he was a labourer and died in 1903 in Hartoft Yorkshire
                                    Lin

                                    Searching Lowe, Everitt, Hurt and Dunns in Nottingham

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