Hello Christene, Economic migrants, family ties or the opposite, religious reasons, booted off the land, young and newly married and had to find somewhere to go, under-age marriage so went somewhere else? If it were me, I would look at where they lived before they moved and where they lived "in" Walton. Is the latter a bigger land holding? Did they move to a (new) lead mine or one paying more? Were they non-conformists who were ostracised in West Allendale? Was there a family connection? I think there are lots of avenues to investigate, as well as the social history of the two areas. You may be lucky and have the father's occupation given in children's' baptism records. Regards Graham On 31/08/2014 8:46 a.m., Christene Hoffert via wrote: > Hi, > Can anyone give me some history of West Allendale particularly in the > 1776-1778 when my family left there for Walton, Cumberland. I just wonder > whether there was a reason for the move.

Christene: Graham is correct in saying that there could be many reasons for a move, and it is unlikely that after all this time we shall ever get to understand completely why they went. There are, however, some points arising from Graham's answer. One is that it wouldn't be to find a better-paying lead mine, since there were none in Walton! The geology is quite different even though it is only a few miles away. Even in West Allendale, many people combined part-time farming on a small-holding with part-time working in a lead mine. Neither paid quite enough to live on but put together they could just about get by. So it is quite possible that going to Walton was a means of escaping the hard, dangerous, unhealthy, work in a lead mine. I don't think it is fair to say that nonconformists were persecuted in Allendale. Methodists were very strong there and just north (ie down-dale) from Carrshield was the Limestone Brae Primitive Methodist Church (strangely enough, it still exists but is now a Buddhist Temple!), which was the local centre for them once that "Connexion" had been founded. In the 1770s all Methodists were, effectively, Wesleyan, and that was quite strong throughout the Northumberland and Co Durham Dales. Carrshield Wesleyans were part of the Alston Circuit (Cumberland), and existed by 1805 and the Primitive Methodists in Carrshield were founded in 1825, ie more or less as soon as the Primitives broke away from the Wesleyans. Perhaps this indicates some division among the local Methodists, though whether it goes back to the 1770s is another matter. From the C of E point of view, the church at Carrshield, also known as Allen High Chapel, was a Chapelry of Allendale parish. Its registers go back only to 1823. however, so that was probably the date of its founding. Before that it seems the alternative for West Allendale people was either (1) to face the long trek over the hill to Allendale Town, (2) to go down the Dale to Ninebanks, another Chapelry of Allendale, founded in 1764, or else (3) to go to a local Wesleyan Chapel. Early Wesleyan churches in Ninebanks Chapelry were at High House (by 1805), Keenley (by 1750), or Wolf Cleugh (near Coalcleugh: by 1805). Walton was not only in a different county (Cumberland) but also in a different C of E Diocese (Carlisle). Let us not forget that there was also a considerable following in those Dales for the Society of Friends (Quakers). All in all, then, a potentially complex situation! Geoff Nicholson -----Original Message----- From: Graham & Christine Fairless via <northumbria@rootsweb.com> To: Christene Hoffert <christene.hoffert@gmail.com>; northumbria <northumbria@rootsweb.com> Sent: Sat, 30 Aug 2014 22:47 Subject: [NMB] West Allendale Hello Christene, Economic migrants, family ties or the opposite, religious reasons, booted off the land, young and newly married and had to find somewhere to go, under-age marriage so went somewhere else? If it were me, I would look at where they lived before they moved and where they lived "in" Walton. Is the latter a bigger land holding? Did they move to a (new) lead mine or one paying more? Were they non-conformists who were ostracised in West Allendale? Was there a family connection? I think there are lots of avenues to investigate, as well as the social history of the two areas. You may be lucky and have the father's occupation given in children's' baptism records. Regards Graham On 31/08/2014 8:46 a.m., Christene Hoffert via wrote: > Hi, > Can anyone give me some history of West Allendale particularly in the > 1776-1778 when my family left there for Walton, Cumberland. I just wonder > whether there was a reason for the move. .. Please quote the minimum necessary to put your reply on context. Please introduce yourself at the top of every post. The NORTHUMBRIA FAQ page is located at http://www.bpears.org.uk/NorthumbriaFAQ/ ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to NORTHUMBRIA-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message