Nail maker Leeds

[robshfds]

Does anyone know of nail makers in Leeds that the records might still be around from approx 1840-1860 please.

[stanmapstone]

Have you looked at http://www.historicaldirectories.org/

Stan

[robshfds]

I will look at it now - sorry I've taken so long to respond, but the power went off - thunderstorm here.

[robshfds]

Just looked, and it's a case of which one??  I hadn't realised that there would be so many of them.  Never gave it a thought - they must have made most things by hand in those days as not many industrial machines would turn out small items such as nails.

Thanks for the idea though.  Open to any more if anyone has any.

[behindthefrogs]

Nail making in those days was done by hand and more than that was acottage industry carried out by the whole family at home.  Most of the families engaged in it were in fairly dire circumstances.  The materials were provided by a nail factor who purchased the nails that they produced.

I am not very aware of what happened in Leeds but in the area around Halesowen nearly all the poor families were nail makers.

David

[robshfds]

I hadn't thought of them as that dire, but looking at the facts then I think you would be right.

[Comosus]

Some of my ancestors were nail makers (one of two I think were master nail makers). They were from Leeds, but originally from Huddersfield. I was extremely grateful that all the boys of the family were either paper stainers or nail makers as their name was Smith!

As for David's post, that just about sums up my ancestry

Andrew

[Melaniesoden]

My 2nd great grandfather had a cut nail factory in Leeds. he was called William Wilkinson. I'm looking for any other information about him and the factory .