Good Afternoon All, I am going to do a talk for the Woodchurch Local History Society in October on Work and Occupations in Woodchurch 1700-1900. As part of it, I want to include a piece on the lack of work in the village for much of the nineteenth century, and the large number of villagers migrating to other places in England or emigrating to other parts of the World. My own grandparents left Woodchurch a little later-about 1910- to emigrate to Canada, and no doubt half of me(!) would be living there today, had it not been for my grandfather's being killed in France in WWl and my grandmother then returning to England with their children. If your ancestor left Woodchurch in the nineteeth century, I would love to hear from you, especially if you know why they moved. Thanks, Josie

Hi, If you check the Paine family-tree that I deposited with the museum, I feel certain that my lot left the village in that century. Feel certain that it would have been work (or lack of it), that caused this. PP -----Original Message----- From: eng-ken-woodchurch-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:eng-ken-woodchurch-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Josie Mackie Sent: 25 August 2007 13:29 To: eng-ken-woodchurch@rootsweb.com Subject: [ENG-KEN-WOODCHURCH] 19th Century Migration from Woodchurch Good Afternoon All, I am going to do a talk for the Woodchurch Local History Society in October on Work and Occupations in Woodchurch 1700-1900. As part of it, I want to include a piece on the lack of work in the village for much of the nineteenth century, and the large number of villagers migrating to other places in England or emigrating to other parts of the World. My own grandparents left Woodchurch a little later-about 1910- to emigrate to Canada, and no doubt half of me(!) would be living there today, had it not been for my grandfather's being killed in France in WWl and my grandmother then returning to England with their children. If your ancestor left Woodchurch in the nineteeth century, I would love to hear from you, especially if you know why they moved. Thanks, Josie ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to ENG-KEN-WOODCHURCH-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

Hi Josie, According to David Eveleigh, in his 'The Victorian Farmer' (Shire Publications), the heyday of farming (pardon the pun) in the nineteenth century appears to have come to an end in 1875. As Woodchurch was then primarily an agricultural community, those seeking work on the land would have had a hard time of things. The weather deteriorated significantly in the years following (a climate change blip, perhaps), with the wetter seasons producing poor harvests. Cereal farmers were the worst hit, both by poor yields and cheap foreign grain imports. Dairy farmers, on the other hand, were less affected: the newly-constructed railways meant they could get their produce into urban markets quickly and no longer needed to rely on local sales. From the end of the 1870s more and more farmers began to sell their holdings, and by 1900 many of the well-established farming families had gone. This national depression in agriculture was certainly mirrored in Woodchurch. Improved transport together with better pay and working conditions in towns also attracted farm workers away from the the village and into urban-based industries and services. Interestingly enough, a gradual decrease in the village population--falling from 1269 in 1871 to 1050 in 1901--almost certainly supports this claim of significant migration away from rural areas at the end of the nineteenth century. And, of course, many families were persuaded, as was yours, by new and potentially lucrative opportunities in the colonies. All the best Gary Samson Canterbury, Kent NOW Available Online! 'A Stroll Around the Green' www.goldbern.co.uk/woodchurch/stroll.htm Josie Mackie said the following on 25.08.2007 13:29: > Good Afternoon All, I am going to do a talk for the Woodchurch Local > History Society in October on Work and Occupations in Woodchurch > 1700-1900. As part of it, I want to include a piece on the lack of > work in the village for much of the nineteenth century, and the large > number of villagers migrating to other places in England or > emigrating to other parts of the World. My own grandparents left > Woodchurch a little later-about 1910- to emigrate to Canada, and no > doubt half of me(!) would be living there today, had it not been for > my grandfather's being killed in France in WWl and my grandmother > then returning to England with their children. If your ancestor > left Woodchurch in the nineteeth century, I would love to hear from > you, especially if you know why they moved. Thanks, Josie

Hi Josie William Browne (25/01/1778 Shadoxhurst) & his wife Mary Rummery (1781 Woodchurch - father Robert Rummery) moved from the Woodchurch/Shadoxhurst area after their marriage (22/10/1803 Woodchurch) & after the birth of their first child, William (1804 Shadoxhurst) to Warehorne where their next 10 children were borne including my 2x grt grandmother, Harriet Brown (4/9/1820 Warehorne). I've no idea why they left & can't find them on 1841 census - William died in July 1841. As far as I know, William was an Ag Lab. I hope the talk goes well Best wishes Sharon ----- Original Message ----- From: "Josie Mackie" <josie.mackie@tesco.net> To: <eng-ken-woodchurch@rootsweb.com> Sent: Saturday, August 25, 2007 1:29 PM Subject: [ENG-KEN-WOODCHURCH] 19th Century Migration from Woodchurch > Good Afternoon All, > I am going to do a talk for the Woodchurch Local History Society in October on Work and Occupations in Woodchurch 1700-1900. As part of it, I want to include a piece on the lack of work in the village for much of the nineteenth century, and the large number of villagers migrating to other places in England or emigrating to other parts of the World. My own grandparents left Woodchurch a little later-about 1910- to emigrate to Canada, and no doubt half of me(!) would be living there today, had it not been for my grandfather's being killed in France in WWl and my grandmother then returning to England with their children. If your ancestor left Woodchurch in the nineteeth century, I would love to hear from you, especially if you know why they moved. > Thanks, > Josie > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to ENG-KEN-WOODCHURCH-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message > > -- > This email has been verified as Virus free > Virus Protection and more available at http://www.plus.net >