« Reply #10 on: Monday 19 June 17 22:53 BST (UK) »
There are a couple of trades that link Swaledale and Ribchester that could explain why your ancestors moved.
The first could be linked to working or mining metals because there was a lead mine in Swaledale and also near Ribchester, additionally there was iron and coal mining in the Ribchester area.
The second occupation could be weaving, or allied to weaving such as being a nailer (fashioning metal nails) etc. Up in Yorkshire there was weaving wool and down in Lancashire there was weaving cotton. As the Yorkshire Dales were (and are) sparsely populated, I should imagine there was more money to be earned further south.
It seems to me that as the fortunes of Ribchester declined he moved to Blackburn which prospered especially when the Leeds Liverpool canal arrived.
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