Quakers

[diavalos]

Are there any Quaker experts out there, who may know why  a whole family of Quakers who were Tailors and woolen drapers in Essex would move to the North of England one to Bradford one to Preston  one to Kendal Cumbria.and one to Macclesfield Cheshire in the mid 1800s. They all seemed to settle in those areas have  succesful businesses and continued to live in these places until their deaths. I know that George Fox's friend  Margaret Fell's daughter married a John Rous who came from Essex could that be a connection?.
Any help please.
Joyce

[madpants]

I have a sort of answer to your question, the first part is a quote from Wikipedia

In the later part of the 1700s the manual labour-based economy of the Kingdom of Great Britain began to be replaced by one dominated by industry and the manufacture of machinery. It started with the mechanisation of the textile industries, the development of iron-making techniques and the increased use of refined coal. Trade expansion was enabled by the introduction of canals, improved roads and railways. The introduction of steam power (fuelled primarily by coal) and powered machinery (mainly in textile manufacturing) underpinned the dramatic increases in production capacity.[2] The development of all-metal machine tools in the first two decades of the 19th century facilitated the manufacture of more production machines for manufacturing in other industries. The effects spread throughout Western Europe and North America during the 19th century, eventually affecting most of the world. The impact of this change on society was enormous.[3]

I also found a book on Google books about the Quakers in English Society although it finishes around 1725, it talks about the distribution of Quakers in Essex.
The Quaker numbers were gradually declining from the early 1700's and with the coming of the Industrial revolution maybe your family thought that if it was going to have to move to a town because of it they may as well be in the Quaker heartland.

[Christopher]

Elizabeth Airey: a widow living in Kendal aged 81 5mo. 6 1850 (I'm not certain what the 6 means) is listed in "The Annual Monitor for 1851 or, Obituary of the members of the Society of Friends in Great Britain and Ireland, for the year 1850" / Anonymous http://infomotions.com/etexts/gutenberg/dirs/1/8/5/0/18502/18502.htm

[Mean_genie]

I think the '5mo 6 1850' is the date, ie 6th May 1850, judging by the others in the list. Quakers did not use the names of months, but described them as First Month, Second Month etc. (I've got a copy of Dates and Calendars for the Genealogist, but not to hand, or I'd check properly).

Mean_genie

[Christopher]

Thanks for your assistance Mean_genie.

It is the date and month.

Christopher