Genealogy Chat

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No mgnv you missed the point. I was simply drawing attention to the importance of textiles, which were also used to clothe people domestically, in our history. By the Middle Ages wool was our most important export. One of our common surnames is thought to refer to walking on wool in those times.
By the way if you are interested in the history of mining generally and the ties between the two countries I can recommend a stay in Ballarat, S. Victoria and spending a weekend at their working museum. Excellent value for money.

Denis - yeah, I saw that, but I couldn't decide if the claim that sea-coal formed part of the history of mining in the UK, and we'ld do better to explore cotton production in Kent was an attempt at sarcasm or else that the poster was two bricks short.

Actually, it is a bit of a problem finding how ordinary folk lived. I bet you could find half the ball-gowns worn at the ball on the eve of Waterloo before you found the clothes that one wagon driver wore taking supplies up to the troops there. Also, there's not much in the way of diaries, etc., from a largely illiterate workforce.

I really think you only get 1st person accounts from the colonies when you get literate folk forced back into the older ways when they're first setting up their homesteads. You can't put tractors or other mechanical implements onto the land until the stumps have rotted and been cleared out. I've seen the country round Robertson NSW and it really is quite "English". (It was the location for Babe, the talking pig film). I'm sure you can locate suitable accounts of the early days in places like that, and probably can separate out the Australian factors, like clearing the land.

I'm more familiar with the corresponding Canadian literature like Traill's account:
http://www.archive.org/details/cihm_34025

Settler's diary in:
http://www.archive.org/details/cihm_22860

"Protracted discussion"? I must have missed that. However, I did see am interesting contribution by mgnv.

What parts of Kent and Devon are you interested in? That is crucial, traditional industries varied a lot throughout the counties.
Katie

Familytree Forum has a Timeline section for just this purpose:

http://www.familytreeforum.com/content.php/946-timeline

Hi Sue,
You mentioned one of your ancestors was a Customs officer. The historical records for Customs (now part of HM Revenue & Customs) are located in the Merseyside Maritime Museum, Albert Docks, Liverpool.
There is three hundred years of history, including smuggling, on this website:
http://liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/maritime

Hello all - I do enjoy reading about any history:-)) I found this website that looks interesting.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/familyhistory/bloodlines/

It gives military, working life and migration timelines. The military one is particularly interesting if we have male ancestors who disappear for awhile. Knowing there were wars and battles at the time may help place them.

Thanks again for your input.

S

Well mgnv a protracted discussion on the history of coal mining in Kent and elsewhere in the UK isn't really helping Sue with her ancestors. Perhaps it would be more useful to explore other avenues such as the Corn Laws (1791 and1813), wool,cotton, silk and flax production and developments in the Industrial Revolution. Under the Corn Laws restrictions were placed on the import and export of grain which forced up the prices and benefitted the landowners but the higher food prices led to opposition from the new industrial classes and the formation of the Anti Corn Law League in 1839. The Acts were subsequently repealed in 1846.

The often forgotten Sheerness Naval Dockyard on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent was founded in 1667 and planned by Samuel Pepys. It was closed in the 1960's.

www.sheernessheritagecentre.com

Perchino - 1890 eh - it's a bit shocking to find something one learned in high school is of such recent origin. I'ld have guessed it was known from time immemorial, but I suppose it's not as obvious as sea coal washing up on the beach after a storm like in Northumberland. My family's not from the south, but I'd heard of labour troubles in WW2 and smoking cliffs from coal seam fires.

As for shipyards -
By the reign of Elizabeth I (1558 -1603) the River Medway at Chatham had become England's principal fleet base with the majority of the Queen's ships overwintering in the river. From 1570, under the terms of John Hawkyns' ‘bargain' the majority of repair and maintenance was undertaken at Chatham in new facilities built around Sunne Hard, a site later occupied by the Ordnance Board.
http://www.thedockyard.co.uk/The_Dockyards_History/Tudor_Dockyard/the_tudor_yard_1547_1613.html

Sue, it can be very useful subscribing to the rootsweb mailing lists for the counties that are of interest - for instance

http://lists.rootsweb.ancestry.com/index/intl/ENG/DEVON.html

http://lists.rootsweb.ancestry.com/index/intl/ENG/KENT-ENG.html

x x

Thank you Perchino and mgnv for your answers. No - Edwardian Farm hasn't arrived yet but I've been watching Victorian Farm. A real eye-opener. Most of my Devon ancestors worked on the land or were good sea-faring stock. One ancestor from Kent appears to have been a Customs officer and was killed by smugglers - that was found just by Googling. I also found a couple of sites showing the clothing worn during the 17th century - not just the aristocrats but what was worn by the ordinary working people.

It really puts things into perspective when you realise that an ancestor was born in London around the time of the Great Fire or that they lived through the Black Plague. My husband's grandfather was born near London at the time of Jack the Ripper. I've also found a timeline for wars that Britain was involved in and a timeline for changes in work conditions and the introduction of the Poor Law etc. All very interesting.

Thanks again.

Sue

Coal not discovered in Kent until 1890 and historically not a principal mining area such as Staffordshire, Leicestershire, Forest of Dean and Derbyshire. There are websites devoted to mining history.

It's a mistake to think of Kent as a purely rural county when it contains the navy's main shipyard and a substantial coalfield.

Hi Sue,
Try registering with the University of Leicester
http:// www.le.ac.uk
Their library site is very comprehensive
http://www.le.ac.uk/li
Has the television series Edwardian Farm arrived Down Under yet? Currently shown here on BBC 2 on Thursdays it is a reconstruction of daily life in the farming community on Dartmoor in Devon. It is possible to watch our programmes on the BBC website.
Social history books are available at discount prices on the amazon.co.uk website or try ebay
Do you have the occupations of your ancestors? This is a good start point for social history online. Try this site initially and alter county name as required:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/legacies/work/Kent

Lovely Joy:-)) Thank you my friend.

S x