I was gong to post about my ggrandfather James Blatchford.Who on the 1861 census for Guernsey Island,One of the English Channel Islands.was a Blacksmith.at age 16.He later became a Engine Fitter,installing steam engines in probably mail packet ships. keep on-keeping on-never quit. Roger

Origin unknown. in 1855 he was the Captain f the Queen of the Isles,a tramp steamer,hauling Mail,Cargo,Passengers,around the islands in the English Channel.Oliver Blatchford was the Engineer and my gggrandfather. In 1874 capt Scott sold the Queen of the Isles and became owner of the Princess. in 1876 Alderney Judge Nicholas Barbenson Capt nicholas Whales and Oliver Blatchford start there own company.The Little Courier as it was called. Pigots 1830 has a Capt George Scot from Berwick NBL there are other Scott's from this area that were Mariners. keep on-keeping on-never quit. Roger

Looking for information re Fred SORENSEN and family (wife Marie): There is a newspaper article (an undated clipping from the Indianapolis News) celebrating Fred¹s 61 years at the shop in Cicero (he had also celebrated his 80th birthday in the article written about 1950). The article also suggested that he had lived in Cicero since 1885.

Dee, I am no expert, but here is my understanding: in some types of early smithies, a giant hammer was used to shape the metal. Often smithies were located along streams, which were used as sources of power to run the hammer. Some of my ancestors in Sweden were 'hammarsmeds' - hammer smiths. There were other kinds of smiths who worked at a smaller scale; in Swedish there are separate words, knipsmed and spiksmed, for people who made flat items, ie. knives, swords, etc., and nails. At the bottom of this page, there is a picture in which you can see the head of one of these hammers: _http://www.olofsforsbruk.nu/ofb/link33.htm_ (http://www.olofsforsbruk.nu/ofb/link33.htm) Hope this helps, Kelly Wash. DC In a message dated 6/14/2004 10:18:52 AM Eastern Daylight Time, [email protected] writes: I have question about 'Hammermen', workers of wrought iron at iron furnaces in the mountains of Virginia and Tennessee. Is a 'Hammernan' considered a blacksmith? Or is it predecessor trade? I have several generations of 'Hammermen' in my family to emigrated from England to work at Iron Furnaces in Franklin and Wythe Counties Virginia. I will appreciate hearing from anyone who has an insight into these questions. Dee Saul Indianapolis HYPERLINK "mailto:[email protected]"[email protected]

I have question about 'Hammermen', workers of wrought iron at iron furnaces in the mountains of Virginia and Tennessee. Is a 'Hammernan' considered a blacksmith? Or is it predecessor trade? I have several generations of 'Hammermen' in my family to emigrated from England to work at Iron Furnaces in Franklin and Wythe Counties Virginia. I will appreciate hearing from anyone who has an insight into these questions. Dee Saul Indianapolis HYPERLINK "mailto:[email protected]"[email protected] --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.706 / Virus Database: 462 - Release Date: 06/14/04

I agree with other comments - this should be a more popular list. I have blacksmiths in both my maternal and paternal lines of ancestors. My maternal great grandfather Gideon Turcotte was a blacksmith as was his son Loumey. Gideon immigrated from Kingsey, Quebec to Newport Vermont about 1862 and then to Pawtucket, Rhode Island about 1901. In Vermont, he used the name James Hitchcock for a time. His son Loumey even applied for and received a patent for a "new" type of horseshoe. I was lucky (persistent?) enough to find a copy of the patent on the on-line US Patent site. My paternal grandfather, Alex McIntosh was also a blacksmith. According to family stories, he learned the trade from a blacksmith in Colorado. He left Cape Breton to go out west in search of gold, and ended up working for a blacksmith in Ouray and later the National Bell Mining Company and other mining companies. He eventually moved to Hot Springs Arkansas and was a blacksmith there. He had a shop of his own from 1904 to 1909 and at other times he worked for a William Shelton and also a J.G. White. He also worked for the Army and Navy Hospital in Hot Springs. I don't know where his first shop was, but he lived on Poplar Street. I saw there was another Hot Springs Arkansas blacksmith on the list -would love to know if he is familiar with other blacksmiths in Hot Springs. My grandfather lived there from about 1904 until he died in 1967. Cheryl in Massachusetts

Boston States Migrations Family History Weekend, Friday June 11 - Sunday June 13, 2004 Waltham Massachusetts The "Boston States Migrations" includes more than 400 years of circular migrations between eastern Canada, New York and New England for a whole array of ethnic, religious, occupational and family groups. Many folks went west only to return to this circle of families that still go "over home", even if the homefolks say they are "from away"! Politics, war, trade, famine, disease, shipping practices, land, rivers, turnpikes, canals, railroads, timber, mining, the Industrial Revolution, the growth of both urban and farm communities created push/pull factors for group chain migrations. Collateral families, neighbors, co-workers and parish members created "sister communities", where resources in one location solve puzzles in another. Join us for a weekend of events and resources, featuring Sandra Devlin, Atlantic Canada Genealogy Columnist; Paul Bunnell, Loyalist Resources; Maureen Taylor, Photo Identification, Preservation, Heritage Albums and Scrapbooks; Sharon Howland, Washington County Maine Resources; PLUS! Family History tables, migration videos, vendors and regional history resources. Space is limited for the June 11 video replay of the 1999 Boston States Fair migration patterns, ships and railroad resource talks, as well as the June 13 Family and Group table reservations. Visit http://bostonstates.rootsweb.com/ and register on-line at http://www.GenealogyFair.com/2004BSFHF.htm CBC's Maritime Magazine recently devoted a half hour program to Sandra Devlin: "Missing Links" newspaper column has been helping Maritimers solve genealogical mysteries for almost a decade. If you have Real Audio, you can listen to the show at http://novascotia.cbc.ca/radio/maritimemagazine/archives/archive147.html Whether you are just getting started or need help with a particular problem, this is an opportunity to learn about resources or share with others. If you cannot attend, but would like your research interests posted, you may send a "Wanted Poster" (see example http://bostonstates.rootsweb.com/wanted+poster.jpg). Also, if your local society would like to send flyers, please address to GenealogyFair, 233 Lake Street, Waltham MA 02451 Canada Census Campaign information and petitions will be available for attendees to help resolve the overdue 1911 Census release! Search the archives or subscribe to the Boston States mailing list for event updates http://lists.rootsweb.com/index/intl/CAN/BOSTON-STATES.html Cheers! Sharon Sergeant GenealogyFair.com

Great story! By chance I have a Krupp rifle my grandfather brought home from WW1, says Krupp Munitions Fabriken 1916 on the breech (yes I know not spelled right). His father was the blacksmith. Dan Hogan On Friday, February 27, 2004, at 08:24 PM, [email protected] wrote: > Here is the story of my grandfather, Wilhelm Altenkamp of Borbeck, > Germany, > near Essen in the Ruhr Valley. > > As a toddler, he and his brother were tragically orphaned when their > father > killed their mother and went to prison. The year was 1897. > > Their mother's family sent the boys to a boarding school/orphanage > until they > finished grammar school. "Willi" graduated in 1908 and was then > apprenticed > to a blacksmith to learn his trade. > > He lived and worked with his master, who grew very fond of Willi and > was > something of a surrogate father. He gave Willi extra money on > Saturdays and > insisted he go out and have some fun. When Willi's apprenticeship was > over, he > turned down the offer to stay on as a fully paid journeyman. He felt > he should "see > how it's done somewhere else." > > That was 1914. By August he was marching through Belgium with a > machine gun > on his back. After he was injured, he became an Army blacksmith. I > have a photo > of him in a leather apron and an Army hat. > > When he got out of the Army, he went to work for Krupps Ironworks, the > industrial giant of the Ruhr Valley. > > In 1920, he saw my grandmother on stage in an operetta and fell in > love at > first sight. They were married a year later and had 2 children. > > In 1923, the French occupied the Ruhr Valley and took over mining, > transportation, and industry, setting off run-away inflation like the > world has never > seen before or since. (I realize this was a complicated situation, not > caused > solely by the occupation) Krupps paid my grandfather twice a day. He > would race > home with a wheelbarrow full of currency, and my grandmother would > dash to the > baker's with it to try to get a loaf of bread before the prices went > up. > > In the middle of this chaos, Wilhelm Altenkamp was promoted to > supervisor at > Krupps, but when the French took over the factory, he was demoted. "I > was back > on the anvil," he said. > > My grandfather saw no future for his family in Germany, so he wrote to > his > wife's relatives who had emigrated to America. They sent him a > steamship ticket, > and he arrived in New York Harbor on July 4, 1925. He thought the > fireworks > were a welcome gesture for his ship. > > He worked for a blacksmith in Chicago for a year and was able to send > for his > family in 1926. By 1928, he had established his own shop. The shift in > transportation from horse and buggy to automobile drastically changed > his business. > He became more of an all-purpose fix-it man, especially when the > depression > hit and people repaired things instead of buying new ones. My mother > and her > friends used to stand at the shop window and watch him, powerful arm > working a > piece of metal and brilliant sparks flying. > > By the late 1930's, this trade was no longer enough to make a living. > Now a > proud American citizen, William Altenkamp trained himself as an > industrial > welder and got a job at Chicago's Continental Can Company. He loved > his job and > the union. He stayed until his retirement at age 65 in 1960. > > When people asked him what he had done before retiring, he would reply > in his > thick German accent, "I vas un blacksmit." > > Linda in Boston

Here is the story of my grandfather, Wilhelm Altenkamp of Borbeck, Germany, near Essen in the Ruhr Valley. As a toddler, he and his brother were tragically orphaned when their father killed their mother and went to prison. The year was 1897. Their mother's family sent the boys to a boarding school/orphanage until they finished grammar school. "Willi" graduated in 1908 and was then apprenticed to a blacksmith to learn his trade. He lived and worked with his master, who grew very fond of Willi and was something of a surrogate father. He gave Willi extra money on Saturdays and insisted he go out and have some fun. When Willi's apprenticeship was over, he turned down the offer to stay on as a fully paid journeyman. He felt he should "see how it's done somewhere else." That was 1914. By August he was marching through Belgium with a machine gun on his back. After he was injured, he became an Army blacksmith. I have a photo of him in a leather apron and an Army hat. When he got out of the Army, he went to work for Krupps Ironworks, the industrial giant of the Ruhr Valley. In 1920, he saw my grandmother on stage in an operetta and fell in love at first sight. They were married a year later and had 2 children. In 1923, the French occupied the Ruhr Valley and took over mining, transportation, and industry, setting off run-away inflation like the world has never seen before or since. (I realize this was a complicated situation, not caused solely by the occupation) Krupps paid my grandfather twice a day. He would race home with a wheelbarrow full of currency, and my grandmother would dash to the baker's with it to try to get a loaf of bread before the prices went up. In the middle of this chaos, Wilhelm Altenkamp was promoted to supervisor at Krupps, but when the French took over the factory, he was demoted. "I was back on the anvil," he said. My grandfather saw no future for his family in Germany, so he wrote to his wife's relatives who had emigrated to America. They sent him a steamship ticket, and he arrived in New York Harbor on July 4, 1925. He thought the fireworks were a welcome gesture for his ship. He worked for a blacksmith in Chicago for a year and was able to send for his family in 1926. By 1928, he had established his own shop. The shift in transportation from horse and buggy to automobile drastically changed his business. He became more of an all-purpose fix-it man, especially when the depression hit and people repaired things instead of buying new ones. My mother and her friends used to stand at the shop window and watch him, powerful arm working a piece of metal and brilliant sparks flying. By the late 1930's, this trade was no longer enough to make a living. Now a proud American citizen, William Altenkamp trained himself as an industrial welder and got a job at Chicago's Continental Can Company. He loved his job and the union. He stayed until his retirement at age 65 in 1960. When people asked him what he had done before retiring, he would reply in his thick German accent, "I vas un blacksmit." Linda in Boston

Thanks, Emma! Linda in Boston

thanks, Diana Linda in Boston

Ila, many thanks for the bibliography and the wonderful summary of the craft. Linda in Boston

In a message dated 2/24/2004 10:57:39 PM, [email protected] writes: << A story handed down to me, and still told in St Louis today is that Michael was so mean to horses that he once knocked one out cold! This is probably why he abruptly left for Chicago around 1907. I have a picture of him taken in 1891, you should see his shoulders! >> Thanks so much for a great story! Best, Linda in Boston

In a message dated 2/24/2004 8:57:21 PM, [email protected] writes: << Have you researched the Guild of Metalsmiths or the Artist Blacksmith Association of North America? >> Not yet, but thanks for the tip! Linda in Boston

Hi all, In reading over what I wrote about my interest in blacksmiths, I realized I said my great-great-grandfather. I should have left out one great. His name was Frederick A. KALBITZ, born in Gebesee, a small town north of Erfurt, Germany. He apparently was a traveling blacksmith there, and made his way to Hamburg. Since great-grandma was from Hamburg, I assume that's where they met. They married, had 3 sons (all of whom died before the age of 3), and was active politically. That got him in trouble, as he was a Social Democrat at a time when that was forbidden, at least in his part of Germany. He was banned from Hamburg and its environs and sent back to Gebesee. There may have been more incidents, as the family story is that he left Germany one step ahead of the police. He made it to Chicago, where pregnant great-grandma joined him later in 1881, just in time to give birth to my grandmother. They had one more daughter. He died in 1927. His blacksmith shop was very near the center of the city. I know little of his work, but do know he was active in German groups, probably with men of his own political persuasion. Looking forward to learning more about the blacksmith trade. Lois

Thank you for a great, informative email. I printed it to add to my genealogy file and will try to find the books you recommend.

Hello, all........... I am (still) researching a line of SNOWDEN/SNOWDON blacksmiths from Yorkshire, England. Some emigrated to Pennsylvania in the early 19th century, drawn by the iron and steel industries of the Pittsburgh region. Would like to hear from anyone with connections to smiths or farriers in either of those areas. Donna Edwards (Jordan)

My great grandfather, Henderson O'Neal is listed as a blacksmith in Dalark, Clark County AR on the census. His son, Zachariah (Zack R.) O'Neal was a millwright. Little is known of Henderson other than he was evidently born in NC, went to TN and then to AR. Emma in NM

Hi Linda, You wrote:- >My grandfather was a blacksmith in the teens through the 1930's. I am >researching the trade to get a better sense of what his work life was like. As a >freelance journalist, I'm working on a story about my exploration, describing my >visits to contemporary blacksmith shops and museums. > >Why are you interested in blacksmithing? How are researching the subject? >Have you gone to smithing demonstrations, or perhaps learned the craft yourself? > >I would appreciate your response. > >Regards, >Linda Kush >Boston MA Both my Grandfather and GGrandfather were master blacksmiths and had their own smiddy (Scottish variety of smithy) in Edinburgh, Scotland (Tom and James Moyes). I spent a period of my early life living with my Grandparents - my father had been called up to fight in WW2. The smiddy was near the house and I spent many hours watching my Grandfather at work and taking a great interest in what he was doing. Please write to me directly if you would like me to write a bit about my memories (early 1940s - late 1950s). -- Gordon S McKean Dumfries, Scotland Mailto:[email protected]

--- [email protected] wrote: > My great grandfather was a blacksmith in Missouri in the late > 1800s & early 1900s. I am trying to get as much information as > I can about his life. > My great-grandfather was also a blacksmith, beginning as an apprentice in New York state in the 1860s, he moved to Michigan where he married (in 1875) and had a blacksmith's shop with a wagon shop attached. In 1884 the family moved to southern Missouri. He died there in 1893. I would like to know more about what it was like to be a blacksmith in that period of time. What would his apprenticeship have entailed? Thank you! ===== Jane Irish Nelson [email protected] Jane's Genealogy Jigsaw: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~irishgirl/ __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail SpamGuard - Read only the mail you want. http://antispam.yahoo.com/tools