Blakeland Street, Small Heath

[Trees]

Does any one know anything about the history of Blakeland Street ,Small Heath please? The 1861 census shows 24 male and 15 female metal dealers or collectors and a couple of travellers. Was it a street owned by one metal dealer and the others working for him? Was it a settled traveller comunity? The vast majority seem to be born in Sedgley Staffordshire. The families all seem to connect by marriages along the way too. One family always list their children born in Sedgley or Upper Gornal even though they are found in censuses in Birmingham  ie John and Mary Lewis are in Aston Street 55 House in 1851 with 3 children born in Sedgley in 1851 then in 1861 they are in Blakeland st with the same children and 2 more all born in Upper Gornal. Did they return to Stafford to have the later children? Most odd if the trees on An..ry are to be believed Mary was the daughter of another family living in Blakeland St so why go back to Stafford for the births? Were they really travellers?
I am confused and curious
Trees

[jim1]

Small Heath didn't get a Parish church until the 1870's so they probably went back to their home Parish for the Christenings. Also Small Heath was in another County so births (officially) should have been registered there.
Small Heath was pretty much just clay & gravel pits with brickmaking the main industry.
By the mid 1800's land was being given over for housing which were mainly for the middle classes but the 2nd. half of the century saw a lot of working class houses being built so they must have been amongst the first tenants or they were in camps in the area which was only used for grazing as the land wasn't suitable for agriculture.
So the metal dealers/collectors could be settled Gypsies or have a Gypsy background.

[dusty2]

Quite a few families in Blakeland Street used St Saviour's in Saltley for christening their children (using addresses of either Blakeland Street or Little Bromwich, the latter being the proper name of the district Blakeland Street was in), including several of the metal dealing families, so the Sedgley connection is even more confusing!

[Trees]

Many thanks both for your replies I can't find many baptisms with the families I am interested in and wonder if they are non conformist.
The families in Blakeland St in 1861 that I know are on my cousin's tree are the Lewis and Flavells and it looks like the Stanley and Williams families are also connected all from Sedgley or Upper Gornal if you look at this one for John Lewis and go along Blakeland Street you will see what I mean about the Sedgley situation.John Lewis was brother of Jane, Benjamin's son Benjamin married Hannah Williams who is also in Bakeland St in 1861 It was a very close community.
RG 9/ 2186 fo65 p16
Trees

[dusty2]

Well, there was certainly a lot of non-conformism in the Black Country, and Sedgley and Upper Gornal were no exception, but it looks like they settled for the nearest option for Blakeland Street in St Saviour's after a while - lots of LEWIS and FLAVELL baptisms (including for the children of Benjamin and Hannah) and others in that street from about 1860 onwards. If these are of interest, the St Saviour's registers are available on Ancestry, or if you do not have access to that, I have my own transcription of the registers.

[Trees]

Oh dear it seems An..ry have a register missing for Saltley St Saviours they have
 1849-1865
  1888-1894
  1894-1898

I have looked right through the first register and only found one Flavell Harriett to James and Hannah mind he too was a metal Dealer so he may fit in as brother to Benjamin. But please can I ask you for the Benjamin and Hannah baptisms
It is most kind of you to offer this help.

[dusty2]

Ah yes - one of the registers was in very poor condition when I was making my transcription (well before the books were put online), so presumably they couldn't use it. Anyway, here are the Benjamin and Hannah baptisms (the last two items are Benjamin's trade and the address, as given in the register):

Sarah. born 3 Jun 1868, bapt 22 Nov 1868, metal dealer, Blakeland Street Little Bromwich
Joseph, born 8 Jul 1869, bapt 28 Dec 1873, steel caster, Little Bromwich
John, born 18 Aug 1870, bapt 25 Jan 1872, fathers trade Iron bedstead maker, address Little Bromwich
Parthena, born 1 Mar 1872, bapt 28 Dec 1873, steel caster, Little Bromwich
Benjamin, born 18 Nov 1873, bapt  28 Dec 1873, steel caster, Little Bromwich 
Edward, born 15 Jul 1875, bapt 12 Sep 1875, metal dealer, Blakeland Street

Note three of the children are baptised together, even though born at different dates.

There is a possible burial for the child John at St Saviours, on 6 Feb 1872, age given as 1 year and 5 months.

Hope this helps.

[Trees]

That is brilliant many thanks its good to see they were settled enough to have the children baptised. I'll check the other connected families and may ask for a further look up if that's alright. The name Parthena, sounds quite Romany to me I think I'll pop a question on the travellers board in case anyone there has come across these metal collectors/dealers etc its a very interesting find a bit different from the usual Ag Labs. and labourers which make up the majority of my own tree.

For interest is Blakeland Street anywhere near Stechford? I seem to remember being shown Little Bromwich hospital and being told it was where the small pox victims were being treatred way bak was it in the early 60's i think my grandparents lived in Stechford.
  Trees

[dusty2]

Stechford is the next district along, to the east of Blakeland Street, the boundary being the River Cole, maybe half a mile away. The hospital used to be the infectious diseases hospital, but in recent years has grown and it is now Heartlands Hospital, which is about a quarter of a mile east of Blakeland Street.

If you want any more entries from the St Saviour's records, just ask.