Hello list I¹m currently involved in social history research relating to my Irish forebears, whose family name was Cox. They originated from County Roscommon and were victims of the Ballykilcline clearance and evictions of 1847/8, which took place during The Famine. Most of these unfortunate people went to Canada & the USA, but my ancestors finished up in Northumberland. 1851 sees Henry Cox in Embleton, Northumberland, when he was designated labourer. Sometime after 1851 and before his marriage in 1856, my direct ancestor, Daniel Cox was in Alnwick, where he was an agricultural labour. A third Cox brother, Patrick Cox was married in Berwick in 1852 and may have been living in Berwick in 1851, Patrick was a tailor. By 1861 all three men were in Stockton on Tees, but had children in Northumberland until 1857; however, it is the Northumberland connection I am seeking guidance on and how they came to be in these separate and relatively remote locations I¹m aware that a major restoration of Alnwick castle began in 1854 and it took ten years to complete. Also, the railway from Newcastle to Berwick was being completed, with the Tweed Bridge at Berwick built between 1847-1850, which allowed for the completion of the subsequent rail link up the east coast from Newcastle to Edinburgh. I suppose that the above work was more lucrative and that many of the local agricultural workers in Northumberland were leaving the land to work on those projects, or in the coalmines at this time, thereby freeing up agricultural jobs. It would appear from the census returns that there were many Irish in rural Northumberland during the 1850s, but does anyone know why Northumberland was so popular, as opposed to other rural areas? Also, as I¹ve mentioned, the vast majority of the Ballykicline victims crossed the Atlantic, so I¹d like to discover why my ancestors chose the northeast of England. Does anyone else know of any others evicted from Roscommon finishing up in Northumberland? Regards Andrew Wood

Hi Andrew, If you don't get any joy from this group on the subject, then you could always contact the Tyneside Irish Centre who have a history club and there should be someone attached to that able to respond to your query. Here's the link: http://tynesideirish.com/history-club/ There was also the massive industrial growth around Tyneside that must have left gaps for cheap Irish agricultural labour in Northumberland too. Maybe there was less Irish intolerance too, based on the fact my Irish ancestors who originally settled in St. Helens, were forced to anglicise their names due to the prejudice they encountered. Yet as soon as they moved to Tyneside, they felt able to revert. Good luck with your answers. Maureen Davison