Moving about England in 1810 ish

[vonni]

Hi,

I am trying to work out How feasible/likely it would be for a labourer in about 1810 to have travelled from North Yorkshire to London with his wife and to have a child there and then travel back at some later time.

There is a Mary Ann Hodgson in my Tree Born 1811 ish with parents John Hodgson and Elizabeth. (Parents names worked out from census and Mary Ann’s marriage certificate. In the early census it states she was born in Caldwell but in later years it says London with a reference to ?Cove on one return.

It’s a bit strange and I am fairly certain they are not different women. There is a baptism for a Mary Ann in Caldwell in 1813 but I think this relates  to another family of Hodgson in the village as the father was a Carpenter/Wheelright and lived longer than Mary’s father who seems to have died prior to 1841.

So my question is, how feasible is it that she was actually born in London especially given the change in birth location given on the census. A fellow researcher thinks the London reference was made up but I would  at least like to consider It. I have found a baptism in Covent Garden that fits but given how common the names are this is very speculative.

Any thoughts?

BW

Vonni

[KGarrad]

Stagecoach?
Horse and cart?
Horse?
Coastal boat?
Even walking was feasible (3 or 4 miles per hour; 8 hours per day)

[philipsearching]

Stagecoach?
Horse and cart?
Horse?
Coastal boat?
Even walking was feasible (3 or 4 miles per hour; 8 hours per day)

The distance from Caldwell to central London is about 250 miles.  A labourer on his own could work his way down (working on a boat or walking/hitching rides and doing odd jobs for food - but how likely would it be for a labourer with a wife and small child to make the journey from London back to North Yorkshire?  Would he save enough money for coach fares, food and lodgings?

It is not impossible, but I think it is unlikely.

Philip

[Top-of-the-hill]

   I should think ship from the Tees would be most likely. (Crossed with Philip's post.)

[vonni]

Yes I'm thinking unlikely.
But then there was a stately home near to Caldwell, Stanwick Hall. Perhaps her father worked for them?
I don't know, but it's strange how her place of birth changed when she got older to London. It's not like she could pretend where she was born as it's a small village and people would have known.

[Skoosh]

The Napoleonic wars & militia acts led to working folk travelling throughout the country, the canal boom & general drift from the country to the towns ditto.

Skoosh.

[venelow]

Hi Vonni

I am tending to think that this would be unlikely given the parish settlement laws of the time.

http://www.victorianweb.org/history/poorlaw/settle.html

Maybe this was why they ended up returning to Yorkshire. However the village was quite close to the Great North Road so they could have hitched a ride on a cart. Maybe they had relatives in London who promised a job. Maybe they just wanted an adventure. I assuming Mary Ann was their first child.

Can you give us some more information about the census so that we can look at the birthplace entry that says ? Cove. There might be a clue there. Did she marry? Who was her husband. Where did she live?

Venelow
Canada

[Melbell]

Vonni

I cannot comment on your couple, but I have people in my tree born end-18th Century who moved in their early 20s from Worcestershire to Sussex, and I have never been able to find out why. There is no obvious reason and they came from a very ordinary family.  But in my case, at least I know that they are the correct individuals.

I expect many other researchers will have similar cases.

Melbell

[ggrocott]

All I can say is that I have a young lady born Lucy Lickfold in Sussex (not exactly a common name) who became Lucy Gallon, wife of Edward Gallon.  The only possible marriage I can find took place up in Rothwell, Yorkshire in 1835 and then the happy couple returned to Sussex.  I am fairly sure Edward was from  Northumberland.  I would love to know how and where they met but probably never will.  Unfortunately Edward died young in 1849.