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Reason for Yorkshire migration to Lancashire - 1880s

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  • Reason for Yorkshire migration to Lancashire - 1880s

    Hi all!

    I'm researching an ancestor who moved from Yorkshire (Halifax/Elland area) to Lancashire (Ashton-under-Lyne) in 1881. They were a cotton mill worker, both in Yorkshire and in Lancashire, and moved with their whole extended family (wife, kids, the wife's parents, siblings, etc) and I'm wondering... why? I assume it was something quite mundane, like more work or better pay, but I haven't found any solid clues so far.

    Does anyone know of anything in Yorkshire or Lancashire's history that might explain the move? For example, were there any big mill closures in Yorkshire around that time? Or were Lancashire mill owners going to Yorkshire to poach workers?

    Any ideas would be awesome! Thanks in advance

  • #2
    Almost certainly went for a better life, better money etc. My family were Lancashire weavers and popped up all o er the place, including Birmingham and Prussia! They seem to have been "key workers" and were sent by their employer to new factories to show an inexperienced work force how to do it the way the employer wanted. Some returned home after a few years, others made new life in the new place.

    Another reason may have been perks offered by a new employer. Many of the mill owners owned streets of houses and rented these cheaply to their employees, along with other benefits like basic health care and subsidised meals. Not all employers were wicked capitalists, lol.

    OC

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    • #3
      Thanks, OC! That's really helpful.

      Were you able to find any records relating to your family's moves or the mills they worked for? I know the name of the mill they worked at in Lancashire, but not the one in Yorkshire. Perhaps I could work backwards from that to find out why the moved.

      Comment


      • #4
        My 2x great grandfather, a weaver, moved towns (Yorkshire to Lancashire) after being involved in a long strike. I wouldn't have known why but for the fact he was arrested and fined for obstruction when the mill owner brought in striker breakers by train and the strike and the offence were reported in the local paper which I was able to find via my Find My Past subscription.

        Comment


        • #5
          That's cool, Jill! Would you mind sharing a link to the newspaper article?

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          • #6
            I did find information in a roundabout way, from local archives, mostly local newspapers and wonderful parish magazines which often published letters from former parishioners who had moved away. The Prussia connection I picked up from census, wondering why the middle child of seven was born in Prussia and not Lancashire. If you know the name of the factory/factory owner then google will turn up lots of information which might help.

            Not quite the same thing but one branch of my family farmed the same beautiful farm in Cheshire for over 350 years, yet suddenly upped sticks and moved into the slums of Manchester to work as a carter on the railways. It was the undoing of them and most of them died of consumption in the next 20 years. I couldn't understand what had prompted the move until I realised that the farm was bought by the railway company who threw in a job on the railway as a sweetener. The purchase money seems to have gone towards clearing debt. I expect the family saw this as a wonderful oppor as they didn't have a crystal ball!

            OC

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            • #7
              Originally posted by cbritland View Post
              That's cool, Jill! Would you mind sharing a link to the newspaper article?
              It's here (the last two columns about the strike in Barnoldswick) though now I've looked again I realise it's 1895 so outside the period you mentioned.

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              • #8
                Oh, dear, OC! Not such a great opportunity at all... :(

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                • #9
                  Originally posted by Jill on the A272 View Post
                  It's here (the last two columns about the strike in Barnoldswick) though now I've looked again I realise it's 1895 so outside the period you mentioned.
                  Thanks, Jill! It's still interesting, even if it's not directly related to my research

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                  • #10
                    I was interested to read that your family were cotton mill workers both in Yorkshire and Lancashire. In my experience the Yorkshire mills were mainly woollen mills with some linen, whereas the Lancashire ones were mostly cotton. Might be worth investigating that line if they really were cotton mill workers in Yorkshire because I think that would narrow down which mill it might have been.
                    Anne

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                    • #11
                      My 3 x gt grandfather moved from Yorkshire to Cheshire sometime before 1795 when he married in Stockport. His marriage license shows his occupation as Spinner. His children were all born in Stockport.

                      But then my gt gt grandfather moved to Lancashire before 1832 when he married my gt gt grandmother, his marriage record shows he was also "spinner". He died before 1851, so I know no more than that (apart from the fact that he quite drastically changed the spelling of his surname!).

                      Yorkshire was mainly wool. Parts of Cheshire were well-known for silk weaving (eg Macclesfield), I'm still trying to find out about Stockport. Lancashire of course was cotton.

                      I've always assumed that weaving and spinning was something of a "transferable" occupation, and that they moved to where the money was.

                      In the early days, of course, most spinners and weavers worked in their own homes .... and there are spinners and weavers cottages still to be found. In many of them, the attic was where they had their weaving machines, with windows to allow in plenty of light.
                      My grandmother, on the beach, South Bay, Scarborough, undated photo (poss. 1929 or 1930)

                      Researching Cadd, Schofield, Cottrell in Lancashire, Buckinghamshire; Taylor, Park in Westmorland; Hayhurst in Yorkshire, Westmorland, Lancashire; Hughes, Roberts in Wales.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        a nice little history on this site re Ashton


                        I hadn't realised that there was a shortage of cotton due to American civil war. I had wondered if the coming of the ship canal was a factor, but this was much later.

                        Have you seen this list:
                        Last edited by cbcarolyn; 20-04-19, 21:27.
                        Carolyn
                        Family Tree site

                        Researching: Luggs, Freeman - Cornwall; Dayman, Hobbs, Heard - Devon; Wilson, Miles - Northants; Brett, Everett, Clark, Allum - Herts/Essex
                        Also interested in Proctor, Woodruff

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Originally posted by cbcarolyn View Post
                          a nice little history on this site re Ashton


                          I hadn't realised that there was a shortage of cotton due to American civil war. I had wondered if the coming of the ship canal was a factor, but this was much later.

                          Have you seen this list:
                          https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/1891_C...ton-under-Lyne

                          The southern states of the US were major cotton exporters, but the ports were blockaded by ships of the northern states during the Civil War, hence no cotton getting to England.
                          My grandmother, on the beach, South Bay, Scarborough, undated photo (poss. 1929 or 1930)

                          Researching Cadd, Schofield, Cottrell in Lancashire, Buckinghamshire; Taylor, Park in Westmorland; Hayhurst in Yorkshire, Westmorland, Lancashire; Hughes, Roberts in Wales.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Due to the American civil war, I think the UK began to import greater quantities of cotton from India. After processing, the fabric was made into garments which were then exported back to India at a hefty profit. There was also a cotton trade with Egypt at this time, but that lessened, consequently causing economic problems for Egypt.

                            Jay
                            Janet in Yorkshire



                            Genealogists never die - they just swap places in the family tree

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              just curious if it had anything to do with the Ashton Canal ? Huddersfield Canal becomes Ashton Canal - only 6 miles long but maybe a Mill owner along the Huddersfield Canal built a mill on Ashton Canal to save transport costs ???
                              Allan ......... researching oakes/anyon/standish/collins/hartley/barker/collins-cheshire
                              oakes/tipping/ellis/jones/schacht/...garston, liverpool
                              adams-shropshire/roberts-welshpool
                              merrick/lewis/stringham/nicolls-herefordshire
                              coxon/williamson/kay/weaver-glossop/stockport/walker-gorton

                              Comment


                              • #16
                                also a wiki page when some of the mills opened:


                                I am always disappointed that I never know where my family worked, I know what they did, and where they lived, and that they were employed and not an employer - but not where.
                                Carolyn
                                Family Tree site

                                Researching: Luggs, Freeman - Cornwall; Dayman, Hobbs, Heard - Devon; Wilson, Miles - Northants; Brett, Everett, Clark, Allum - Herts/Essex
                                Also interested in Proctor, Woodruff

                                Comment


                                • #17
                                  Carolyn ............ if they worked in a Lancashire cotton town, then look on an old map for a mill close by. Mill owners tended to build terraced housing radiating away from their mill to be lived in by their workers. Workers never lived far from their place of work in the early years.T hat had changed somewhat by the late 1800s, but could give you an idea.
                                  My grandmother, on the beach, South Bay, Scarborough, undated photo (poss. 1929 or 1930)

                                  Researching Cadd, Schofield, Cottrell in Lancashire, Buckinghamshire; Taylor, Park in Westmorland; Hayhurst in Yorkshire, Westmorland, Lancashire; Hughes, Roberts in Wales.

                                  Comment


                                  • #18
                                    all mine were in London, Dad knew where his grandfather worked, as there were loads and loads of piano manufacturers in Camden, so was pleased to know that one, but I have paper stainers, horsekeepers, electrician, spring to mind, even blacksmiths where they were employed.
                                    Carolyn
                                    Family Tree site

                                    Researching: Luggs, Freeman - Cornwall; Dayman, Hobbs, Heard - Devon; Wilson, Miles - Northants; Brett, Everett, Clark, Allum - Herts/Essex
                                    Also interested in Proctor, Woodruff

                                    Comment


                                    • #19
                                      I wondered why a couple of children in one Paisley family were born in St Petersburg. Turns out that dad was sent by the thread works (of which there were several in Paisley) to oversee the opening of a new factory. He later split from his wife and went to open another factory in Spain. His son became a power loom engineer in the Manchester area.
                                      Another oddity was a child of a Sunderland family born in Norway. The family was heavily involved in "Sunderland Lustre" production and they spent time in Norway expanding their knowledge of pottery production.
                                      Uncle John - Passed away March 2020

                                      Comment


                                      • #20
                                        Uncle John ......

                                        ...... I have the same happening with a brother of my direct ancestor who had a couple of children born in Russia. The first thing I noticed was that the children concerned had very Germanic names. Very puzzling at first!

                                        Turned out he was a very competent engineer in a cotton factory and was sent to Moscow to help set up a new factory there. He spent 3 or 4 years there, then came back to Oldham and took up a position with the same employer. He died a pretty wealthy man ;)
                                        Last edited by Sylvia C; 23-04-19, 17:12.
                                        My grandmother, on the beach, South Bay, Scarborough, undated photo (poss. 1929 or 1930)

                                        Researching Cadd, Schofield, Cottrell in Lancashire, Buckinghamshire; Taylor, Park in Westmorland; Hayhurst in Yorkshire, Westmorland, Lancashire; Hughes, Roberts in Wales.

                                        Comment

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