Proposed Project

[Mark Dudley]

I am thinking of trying to collate all the information for Foleshill in Warwickshire, starting with the 1841 census and trying to work backwards and then forwards to link the families.

Has anybody any thoughts about process?

[Margaret in Burton]

Do you mean just your families or all families in Foleshill?

Can't help with how you should go on but I have a death cert for a James Birch from Foleshill in 1899, a wrong cert to me. You can have it if you want it.

[kiterunner]

The 1841 might not be the best one to start with, because it doesn't give you exact ages and family relationships.

What was the population size of Foleshill at that time?

[Mark Dudley]

Pinched from http://www.denspages.co.uk/roots/foleshill_history.htm: In 1801 the population of Foleshill was 3,026. There were just over 600 inhabited houses, four times the number found in 1730. There were 937 industrial workers, all thought to be weavers, and only 65 agricultural workers in the parish. By 1818 there were in the parish 2,544 weavers. The population continued to grow rapidly. In 1831 there were 6,969 people and a total of 1,575 houses and building was still in progress. But the ribbon weaving itself had then passed its peak. The great increase in 1831 was not of weavers, whose numbers had remained constant, but of people who were in fact suburban residents of Coventry. The ribbon trade was subject to unpredictable changes of fashion, and had to face competition from abroad and from other districts of England.

[kiterunner]

Sounds like it'll keep you busy, then, Mark!

[anne fraser]

It sounds interesting. I think I would start with 1851 as it gives exact age and place of birth.

[Olde Crone]

I did/am doing something similar but it is taking ages and I have taken an Ancestry break which hasn't helped of course.

I started with the 1851 as it was much easier, went back to the 41 and then forward to 61 and onwards. Depending on how I felt, I bmd-ed them forwards.

Even with only a few thousand people, it is a mammoth project, but absolutely fascinating.

~OC

[Margaret in Burton]

I did similar with Shimpling in Suffolk where most people seem to be related to my Mortlock's. I got the parish registers on microfiche as well, I do have a fiche reader. It is invaluable for burials as the BMD only have ages after 1866.

[Olde Crone]

Forgot to say....doing mine on Tribal Pages because you can have floating families on there, which is very useful for this type of exercise!

OC

[Mark Dudley]

Tribal Pages sounds good - thanks for all that everyone.

It is something I've been thinking about for a while and it will definitely keep me busy!

[Mark Dudley]

What I'm really interested in is getting back to about 1760 when it really was a small village and the Dudleys appeared from nowhere.

Thomas Dudley anyone?

[Olde Crone]

Ah, well, that's why I started mine too, to find out when mine appeared. They appeared about 1750....out of nowhere, lol!!!

Even though my project is nowhere like complete, it is already apparent that everyone in the village is related to everyone else and that I come from a very small gene pool.

OC

[Margaret in Burton]

The reason I started my Shimpling project was that I kept coming up with the same few surnames over and over again marrying into my Mortlock's over the generations. At last count I had connected 1000 people through marriages and the subsequent children over 150 years. It's far from finished, in fact I haven't looked at it for ages. I've only done from about 1750, when the Mortlock's suddenly appeared, to 1900. My collection of fiche for the parish registers only go to 1900.
I must get back to it sometime now we have the 1911 census.

[marquette]

I did a similar thing with Graffham Sussex. I started with the 1841 census in an excel spreadsheet. Then added the parish register (from the IGI) and bmd info where I could. It was interesting how far afield people married from this tiny Sussex village. I don't think there was any big population increase and it looks about the same size now.

I have not woven the threads of the families but, like Marg, I should get back into it.

Di

[Guinevere]

Check that Coventry FHS or Warwickshire haven't done it already, Mark. Both are very active.

Sounds like an interesting project. 'imself has a few in Foleshill and, as you know, it's just up the road from me.

The Foleshill weavers were quite "mobile" and many moved in from Bedworth, Nuneaton and Coventry and out again by the next census.

[Mark Dudley]

I'll do that Gwynne. Thanks

[Anstey Nomad]

My great great grandfather Samuel bradbury was born in Foleshill in 1849...

AN

[anne fraser]

My grandmother's family were coalminers and someone has done a similar project on rootsweb for the north Somerset coalfield. It is really interesting going forward to see what happened to the mining families when the coalfields declined.

I agree with old crone about tribal pages being good. You can add a guest book so that people can leave comments and extra information and you can add about sixty photos to a free site to make it more interesting.

[Lindsay]

There's study of Earls Colne in Essex which has cross-referenced every mention of every person in the village since medieval times. I don't know if that might suggest a way forward for you? I believe there's about 30 years work there:)

http://linux02.lib.cam.ac.uk/earlscolne/contents.htm

[Mark Dudley]

I believe there's about 30 years work there

:eek:

[Kit]

I believe there's about 30 years work there:)

In that case bye Mark and enjoy your project. ;)

I wonder how many of us will still be doing this hobby of ours when you return.

[Mark Dudley]

:) ;( :d