Hello, I found a member of my distant family worked as a silversmith. Would this have been a good job? I'm wondering whether when he died, would there likely have been enough money to support his widow or would she have had to work or go to the workhouse? Thanks, Stephen.

You don't give his address - was it in the Jewellery Quarter of Birmingham? The odds are that he was an employee in one of the many small workshops there or what is now known as an outworker and working in his own home. The occupations of his immediate family (if any) would be a good pointer. Mike Birmingham, England ----- Original Message ----- > I found a member of my distant family worked as a silversmith. Would > this have been a good job? I'm wondering whether when he died, would > there likely have been enough money to support his widow or would she > have had to work or go to the workhouse? > Stephen.

Stephen, What erta are we talking about? The Arnold family I am tracing had jewellers. Alfred worked for one called Arcott (maybe a father-in-law) before taking over the business. He then migrated to Australia in 1879 with a family, but there is some evidence that whoever took over the firm kept the business name for a number of years. His widow was OK, but whether as the result of the work in Birmingham, or later results from work in Australia, I am not sure. Ros, (South Australia.) ----- Original Message ----- From: Stephen To: [email protected] Sent: Thursday, July 17, 2008 10:38 PM Subject: [B ham] silversmiths Hello, I found a member of my distant family worked as a silversmith. Would this have been a good job? I'm wondering whether when he died, would there likely have been enough money to support his widow or would she have had to work or go to the workhouse? Thanks, Stephen. _____________________________________________ _____________________________________________ Have you considered adding "postems" to "your" events on www.freebmd.org.uk , giving your contact details? Other researchers will then be able to make contact. Click on the info button to add your postem. Any problems, please contact the List Admin: [email protected] ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message