Dear Sue, Many thanks! Edward was an agricultural labourer in Countesthorpe, and continued to be one when he moved to Willenhall, although the sons that moved with him, or who were born after the move to Willenhall, did all worked in the locksmith trade. Edward is cited as a farmer in the marriage of one of his sons, Thomas (who became the Coroner of Canterbury under the name of JOHNSON), but I think that was a bit of poetic license! What intrigues me most, however, is why they should change their name to JOHNSON. The mystery continues! Best wishes, Judy (nee SOARS) Message: 1 Date: Sat, 6 Oct 2007 16:08:45 EDT From: SJEAST@aol.com Subject: [LEI] re Soars at Willenhall To: LEICESTERSHIRE-PLUS-L@rootsweb.com Message-ID: <c57.1984f597.3439454d@aol.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Hi Judy My husband informs me that Willenhall, Staffs. was developing as a world famous centre of the production of locks and keys at the time you mention, 1855-1860. This was brought about by a growth in banks and increase in the population. Yale locks began there for example. I don't know what occupations your family record but the answer may be found in the work they did. Even if they did not directly work at the lock and key factories, they may have had skills which supported the expansion of industrial growth there. It may be worth investigating. Best wishes Sue