Hi Marilyn, someone on here will know more about the History of Coal Mining than I do, but I believe Coal was being Mined in the BC as far back as the 1500's. But it was the Industrial Revolution that made the Black Country the work shop of the world from the 1700's onwards, which has sadly declined in the last 50 years. The men working under ground, I was referring to the 1700's and 1800's. Best Wishes from Linda.

Thanks, Linda. So, that would mesh with the family stories about my GG GF working at some point in the coal mines. At one point he was kicked in the face by a horse, and always kept a mustache to hide the scar. Perhaps horse-drawn carts to haul the coal out of the mines or some other type of incident? Who knows. Details never known and anyone that would have had them are long gone. (He died before I was born.) I do see him (and brothers, father) in the census in the iron industry, and understand that he (and father)were lay Methodist ministers. I do know my ancestors were very much influenced by the Industrial Rev. in the BC area, as it seemed that the DAVIES moved closer each generation towards this area, and were at Ironbridge by 1810. First known marriage was 1750, but with a name like DAVIES and generation after generation of Samuels (or Wm, Thomas or George or Edward; Mary, Ann or Eleanor or Elizabeth), that's likely as far as I'll get them back. But that's ok. I have a far broader sense of the folks from 1800 on than I did when I started and that gives me peace. Best to all, Marilyn ----- Original Message ----- From: "Lin Lamberg" <linlamberg@btinternet.com> To: <staffordshire@rootsweb.com> Sent: Saturday, March 03, 2012 10:07 AM Subject: Re: [STAFFORDSHIRE] 1881 -- The Iron Works, Moxley/Wednesfield > Hi Marilyn, someone on here will know more about the History of Coal > Mining than I do, but I believe Coal was being Mined in the BC as far back > as the 1500's. But it was the Industrial Revolution that made the Black > Country the work shop of the world from the 1700's onwards, which has > sadly declined in the last 50 years. The men working under ground, I was > referring to the 1700's and 1800's. Best Wishes from Linda.

There is evidence of limited mining of coal back to Roman times in England. Its use was quite restricted for many centuries; most houses did not have proper fireplaces with chimneys, and coal did not give good results when used for smelting metal. Coal was used on a moderate scale by lime burners and smiths at an early date. Later, domestic use increased rapidly. Mining was limited to relatively shallow working in most places because of the difficulty of removing water from the workings until the development of effective steam engines. The industrial revolution brought a partnership between steam and coal - engines allowed extraction of much more coal from deeper, more extensive workings and steam power used more coal as it was applied to more tasks. Coal was applied to manufacture of glass and pottery, and eventually the problems of using coal for metal extraction were solved. Naturally the scale of the industry as well as the technical details of the workings altered hugely. My own family worked as coal miners at least as far back as 1793 and yes, I am sure working conditions were pretty grim when compared against modern standards. However, late in the 18th century changes in agriculture were displacing vast numbers from their rural lives. Mining was relatively well paid at this time and provided many families with a livelihood for generations. Ian On 03/03/2012 15:07, Lin Lamberg wrote: > Hi Marilyn, someone on here will know more about the History of Coal Mining than I do, but I believe Coal was being Mined in the BC as far back as the 1500's. But it was the Industrial Revolution that made the Black Country the work shop of the world from the 1700's onwards, which has sadly declined in the last 50 years. The men working under ground, I was referring to the 1700's and 1800's. Best Wishes from Linda. > ****************************** > ATTENTION TO ALL:- When replying please remove the details that do not apply to your mail and change the SUBJECT LINE for best useage of ARCHIVED MATERIALS. > ------------------------------- > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to STAFFORDSHIRE-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message > > > ----- > No virus found in this message. > Checked by AVG - www.avg.com > Version: 2012.0.1913 / Virus Database: 2114/4848 - Release Date: 03/03/12 > >