Author Topic: Links: Migration  (Read 13736 times)

Offline Welsh Jen

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Links: Migration
« on: Tuesday 16 November 04 10:48 GMT (UK) »
Migration to Wales, (& in general)

The population of Wales increased dramatically during the second half of the nineteenth century. To understand the reasons for this I have put together some links for your information, Enjoy!

http://www.agor.org.uk/cwm/themes/Life/society/migration.asp

http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/history/sites/themes/society/language_industrialrevolution.shtml

Push and Pull factors of Migration:
http://www.geography.learnontheinternet.co.uk/topics/migration.html


Offline Amy K

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Re: Links: Migration
« Reply #1 on: Friday 19 November 04 19:29 GMT (UK) »
The valleys of South Wales during the 1800's became a 'melting pot' of different people and cultures. After the Welsh and the English, the next largest national group to come in were the Irish. In 1861 there were already 18,000 Irish in South Wales, the largest number being in Merthyr Tydfil.

In Dowlais and in Abercraf at the head of the Swansea Valley there were communities of Spaniards, in Merthyr there were small groups of Russians, Poles and Frenchmen.

Between 1851 and 1911, it is estimated that some 366,000 people moved into the South Wales Coalfield. The peak of this migration occurred between 1901 and 1911 when 129,000 people moved into the area. Such was the rate of growth at this time that South Wales absorbed immigrants at a faster rate than any where in the world except the United States of America.

Case Studies

The Italians

A nationality that were not large in number but which were very noticeable as most of them were involved in running cafes in the new valley towns were the Italians. They came mainly from Bardi in northern Italy and they followed the first family to come - the Bracchis - to the Rhondda and other Valleys.

Julio Bracchi was amongst those wanting to earn a decent living. He left Bardi in Italy and in 1890 he opened the first Italian café in the Rhondda. Thousands of colliers living and working nearby meant that the business became an instant success and soon he opened three more cafés.

Back in Bardi, people learned of this success and many more families decided to travel to South Wales to open their own cafés. Soon names like Rabaiotti, Viazzani and Bacchetta were well known. Collectively they became known as "Bracchis" and with their Latino looks and panache, they broke many hearts.

The story of Serafino Bacchetta is a cameo of the story of the Italians in Rhondda. Born in Gazzo in Bardi, he left in 1914, aged 14, to join two older brothers already in Wales working for the Rabaiotti family in Newbridge. He and his brother returned to Italy during the war to do military service. His brother was killed and in 1920 Serafino returned to Wales on his own.

Dorinda Sidoli, his wife to be, also left her native Bardi at 14 years and had worked in domestic service in Milan before arriving in Wales.

In 1932 Serafino opened Bacchettas Café in Porth.

The Somalians

The Somali community in Cardiff has the largest British-born Somali population in the UK. They were originally drawn to Cardiff as seamen at the end of the 19th century, shortly after the opening of the Suez canal, to work in the thriving docks. These young men came as sailors, not as refugees or slaves, driven by the desire to earn money to buy more livestock back in Somalia. Some of them settled down and married local women, whilst others returned home periodically to visit their families, living in boarding houses during their time onshore. The boarding houses were run by Somalis and provided the visiting sailors with the familiarity of shared language and customs.



Information contained within Census Lookups is Crown Copyright:  www.nationalarchives.gov.uk

Offline Welsh Jen

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Re: Links: Migration
« Reply #2 on: Friday 19 November 04 19:59 GMT (UK) »
The valleys of South Wales during the 1800's became a 'melting pot' of different people and cultures. After the Welsh and the English, the next largest national group to come in were the Irish. In 1861 there were already 18,000 Irish in South Wales, the largest number being in Merthyr Tydfil.

The Irish influx can be seen with these figures:

In Glamorganshire Wales there were 2,798 Irish born living in Glamorgan in 1841, then in 1861 this number had reached a much higher number of 14,268 there was however a dip in the numbers of Irish born individuals living in Glamorganshire Wales in 1881 with the approximate number of 11,241. This could be due to the Irish simply moving onto to other Counties in Wales or the rest of the UK.

These numbers however do not take into account of any children born to Irish parents & the possibility of birthplaces not being enumerated in the census data or any enumeration districts missing.

Such mass migration did not go unnoticed by the locals of any Town or Village. The Irish mass exodus had a great impact on the poor law union, as numbers of Irish paupers grew they also outgrew the resources available for their survival. The Irish were the subject of much resentment due to the Irish being employed with lower wages and in effect taking the job opportunities from many local men. As more problems like this surfaced the Irish were then faced with the hard stance taken up by the local parish & sent back to their Irish homeland. 


Offline chrish53

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Re: Links: Migration
« Reply #3 on: Monday 13 June 11 20:57 BST (UK) »
Part of my own family migrated into Wales from Dorset sometime between 1871 and 1881. It was my Great-grandfather and he settled on the Gower peninsular and married before moving to Llanelli sometime around the turn of the century. His family had been Agricultural workers many of whom lost their livelihoods during the Agricultural Revolution of the time and some even died in the Workhouse.

I assume it was the prospect of work in the mines and factories of South Wales that drew the young and often unemployed of the rural communities to those 'dark and satanic mills' from what we would now consider to be a rural idyll.
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Offline Huwcyn

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Re: Links: Migration
« Reply #4 on: Friday 17 June 11 20:56 BST (UK) »
One thing which I do not quite understand, from a North Wales perspective. An awful lot of quarrying and farming families from Caernarfonshire went to the USA in the middle part of the 19th century - Pennsylvania, NY , Wisconsin  , Ohio etc . Why did so comparatively few not travel the 150 miles or so South ( some did of course , but later ) . I cannot find a trace of a single relative who did move south.
Owen , Parry , Pritchard, Foulkes  o Llanddeiniolen
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Rowlands o Tywyn

Offline chrish53

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Re: Links: Migration
« Reply #5 on: Friday 15 July 11 17:24 BST (UK) »
One thing which I do not quite understand, from a North Wales perspective. An awful lot of quarrying and farming families from Caernarfonshire went to the USA in the middle part of the 19th century - Pennsylvania, NY , Wisconsin  , Ohio etc . Why did so comparatively few not travel the 150 miles or so South ( some did of course , but later ) . I cannot find a trace of a single relative who did move south.

That is quite true. Remembering the antipathy of the Northern Welsh towards their Southern counterparts could it be that they would sooner depart to other ends of the earth rather than lower themselves?
I tried being normal once, it was the worst 5 minutes of my life!
Chris

Offline jimbach

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Re: Links: Migration
« Reply #6 on: Friday 15 July 11 18:02 BST (UK) »
huwcyn     take a random look at the homevillages of those killed in mining disasters    eg  cilfynydd   plenty of north wales villages among them      jimbach

Offline gwilliams3

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Re: Links: Migration
« Reply #7 on: Saturday 27 December 14 15:18 GMT (UK) »
My grandadfather was born in Tylorstown in 1909, his parents had not long moved there from Pembroke. His dad and three uncles all moved there within 1 year of each other. Sometime later they moved to Cheltenham, my grandfather was married in Cheltenham in 1934. I have not yet uncovered when and why they moved to Cheltenham , but the Tylorstown pit was coming to the end of it's life.
I have discovered an unknown brother of my grand-father who died after "serious" surgery in Cardiff, aged 14.

Offline Griffl

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Re: Links: Migration
« Reply #8 on: Tuesday 13 January 15 20:08 GMT (UK) »
huwcyn     take a random look at the homevillages of those killed in mining disasters    eg  cilfynydd   plenty of north wales villages among them      jimbach

I very much agree with you jim...
I was quite surprised seeing that many of those killed were originally from the north of the country
Although  I do find that this is were later disasters eg about 1910 ish shall we say

I also find that many of the miners did not actually raise they're families down here but were just boarding and later moved back up north...