It turns out that my family (JARVIS) who lived in Walsall, Staffs for most of the C19th, originated from a tiny village in Berkshire (now Oxon) - Aston Tirrold. A couple of brothers, Thomas (b 1811) and Isaac (b 1822), both married women from Walsall around 1845 and raised their families there. I know from asking this question on the Berkshire List, that rural life at this time was far from idyllic (Swing riots, famine, transportation and the like). Clearly they needed employment but what possessed them to go as far as the Black Country? Was there some sort of assisted passage scheme to take the Berkshire or Oxfordshire rural poor to the industrial midlands, as happened to Stephen Fry's East Anglian ancestors, who were sent to Lancashire mills (see recent series of "Who Do You Think You Are?") Was there an obvious transport link (railway/ canal)? Any ideas how/why the brothers might have ended up in faraway Walsall gratefully recd. Graham Twickenham

The influx of people into the BC was enormous in the 19th C. A link between Country people and Walsall may be the Saddlery trade. Rural people would have been familiar with horse saddles and trappings and Walsall was not only a national centre of the industry, but internationally( empire) as well. I would be surprised if there are not good records of the trade in Walsall archives. Much of the trade was "cottage" based, records of this are likely to be sparse, as are coherent records of all the small nail makers and forge workers further west. The link for particular people may be opaque, as it is with my "Thompson" tribe who were engine workers and butty men at Round Oak and other smaller iron works at the same time.. Roger Thompson. Graham Stanley wrote: >It turns out that my family (JARVIS) who lived in Walsall, Staffs for most of the C19th, originated from a tiny village in Berkshire (now Oxon) - Aston Tirrold. A couple of brothers, Thomas (b 1811) and Isaac (b 1822), both married women from Walsall around 1845 and raised their families there. >I know from asking this question on the Berkshire List, that rural life at this time was far from idyllic (Swing riots, famine, transportation and the like). Clearly they needed employment but what possessed them to go as far as the Black Country? Was there some sort of assisted passage scheme to take the Berkshire or Oxfordshire rural poor to the industrial midlands, as happened to Stephen Fry's East Anglian ancestors, who were sent to Lancashire mills (see recent series of "Who Do You Think You Are?") Was there an obvious transport link (railway/ canal)? >Any ideas how/why the brothers might have ended up in faraway Walsall gratefully recd. >Graham >Twickenham > > >==== ENG-BLACK-COUNTRY Mailing List ==== >The Assistant List Admins are Jean Morgan and Jan Ross >(Couldn't do it without those two great ladies) > > > > >

Rogers reply to Graham referred to workers coming to Walsall from Berkshire and gave a possible explanation that they might be looking for work in the leather industry. Walsall Leather Museum's Web pages http://www.walsall.gov.uk/index/leisure_and_culture/leathermuseum/leatherworkers contain some very good lists of leather workers. There are 48 names, occupations and addresses listed from the 1801 Walsall Census. Another list dated 1813 comes from Thomas Pearce's "History & Directory of Walsall 1813" and then two more lists from the 1841 and the 1861 Census. Manufacturers are listed for 1900 and 1925. Regards Pat. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Roger Thompson" <roger.thompson@thompsonex.com> To: <ENG-BLACK-COUNTRY-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Saturday, April 29, 2006 6:13 PM Subject: Re: [B.C.] Transport links between Walsall and Berkshire > The influx of people into the BC was enormous in the 19th C. A link > between Country people and Walsall may be the Saddlery trade. Rural > people would have been familiar with horse saddles and trappings and > Walsall was not only a national centre of the industry, but > internationally( empire) as well. I would be surprised if there are not > good records of the trade in Walsall archives.

Hello Graham Have you found your JARVIS families on the 1851 Census in Walsall? Isaac Jarvis aged 29 born Aston BRK is a porter and his nextdoor neighbour is a railwayman so perhaps that is one reason for the move to Walsall, South Staffordshire. Isaac's older brother Thomas aged 39 is a packer born Acton BRK so no clues there but in his household is Sarah JARVIS (Mother) 70, widow, born Walsall. Is that another reason for coming to Walsall? Regards Pat. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Graham Stanley" <graham_stanley@tiscali.co.uk> To: <ENG-BLACK-COUNTRY-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Saturday, April 29, 2006 5:55 PM Subject: Transport links between Walsall and Berkshire > It turns out that my family (JARVIS) who lived in Walsall, Staffs for most > of the C19th, originated from a tiny village in Berkshire (now Oxon) - > Aston Tirrold. A couple of brothers, Thomas (b 1811) and Isaac (b 1822), > both married women from Walsall around 1845 and raised their families > there. > I know from asking this question on the Berkshire List, that rural life at > this time was far from idyllic (Swing riots, famine, transportation and > the like). Clearly they needed employment but what possessed them to go as > far as the Black Country? Was there some sort of assisted passage scheme > to take the Berkshire or Oxfordshire rural poor to the industrial > midlands, as happened to Stephen Fry's East Anglian ancestors, who were > sent to Lancashire mills (see recent series of "Who Do You Think You > Are?") Was there an obvious transport link (railway/ canal)? > Any ideas how/why the brothers might have ended up in faraway Walsall > gratefully recd. > Graham > Twickenham > > ______________________________