Jo commented... >1)Was it well known in the late 1800's that there was work on the island (I >just can't imagine what took them there!)? I have no particular knowledge of the late 1800's but economic conditions in England in the first half of the 19th century were very poor. All but the wealthy struggled, especially those at the bottom of the economic ladder. In the 1840's one branch of my ancestry, Hibberds, migrated from the Six Penny Handley area of Dorset (where they'd lived from at least the late 16th century), where they were freeman tenant farmers, to roughly the area bounded by Ventnor, Niton, Godshill, and Newchurch. Cousins and siblings made similar moves from the 1830's until the 1850's. And some even moved back. All worked as tenant farmers on the Isle of Wight. Although many Hibberd families remained on the IOW and remain today, some, mine included, sought what they thought were greener pastures in Australia and New Zealand, South Africa, North America, and elsewhere. >2) What departure points from the mainland would have been used in those >days? I have no specific knowledge, but wouldn't be surprised if they might have hired fishing boats to take them across the Solent. I'm sure that providing such passage was a good way for a fisherman to augment his income, especially when the fishing was not good and that it was likely cheaper in those days, especially with an entire family, than booking passage on a commercial vessel. Kelvin Kean Elverson, Pennsylvania US