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!