Completed. Framesmith & Lace Manufacturers, Leicester, Nottingham, Devon & Paris

[Framesmiths1816]

Hi,

I am a decedent of a family of Framesmiths and small Lace Manufacturers from, Coleorton, Shepshed and Loughborough. I have been researching my family for most of this year and have found out quite a bit that we didn't know. My 4xG grandfather and his brother were born in Coleorton between 1785 and 1789. Isaac, the young brother, married Sarah Cooke of Shepshed in 1807. By 1816 they had 3 or 4 children and he was working in Loughborough for John Heathcote. It is very likely that Isaac and Sarah were on the Tiverton march in 1816 as their next children were born in Tiverton and there are documents with Both Isaac and John Heathcotes signature for 1818. Isaac stayed in Tiverton until about 1822 and then went to Paris for Heathcote. By 1829 they were back in Leicester and were small Lace Manufacturers and Framesmiths. It has been suggested that the two brothers, Isaac and John are the "Mssers Warners" referred to by William Felkin and who developed Cartwright and Warner's power loom in 1829, being the only Mssers Warners that can be located in the Loughborough/Leicester area at this time.

I have reached that point in my research where I am not sure where to go next. I have been told that Sheila Mason's book Nottinghamshire Lace contains a reference to them but I have not yet located a copy. I have also been told they are mentioned in the "Restriction of Hours Deed - 1829" but I have failed to locate this document so far. I cannot locate anything on Diane Birks - The Loughborough Exodus of 1816. The University of Leicester history department deny all knowledge of this dissertation.

I think that John and possibly his wife Sarah are living in Nottingham by 1841. Sarah (if she is his wife) runs/owns a boarding academy at 19 Stoney Street, Nottingham and that John is a 'Lace Agent'. Both John and Isaac disappear from the records after 1843 (Isaac) and 1846 (Sarah/John) and I can find no death record for any of them. The BMD records are very patchy and the IGI information contains tantalizing contradictions.

What I like to do next is find if there could be information anywhere for their earlier lives and parents Thomas Warner (c1757 Colorton) and Ann (c1759 Coleorton). I suspect that they were probably Framework Knitters/Framesmiths.

If anyone knows of books, archives, documents, societies etc that may have records for this period and area then I would be very grateful for the information/pointer.

Thank you - Mark

[copperbeech5]

Hi Mark,

I believe I have seen a copy of Sheila Mason's book in the Archive at Nottingham, and I have defiantly seen one for sale very recently on ebay.

Hope this might help!

Copperbeech5

PS It might be worth trying Nottingham University, they seem to have a lot of documentation.... not sure what thought.

[Framesmiths1816]

Thanks Cooperbeech5,

Please excuse my ignorance but I don't know Nottingham because I don't live anywhere near it.

Does Nottingham University have a Lace related archive? When you say Nottingham archive, do you mean the County Records office?

I have been watching Ebay but I must have missed the copy of Sheila Mason's book you mentioned. I really must set up an auto search for it.

Framesmiths1816

[sillgen]

There is a copy of the Mason book on www.abebooks.co.uk but very expensive.  I am sure they will have a copy at the County record Office - I expect their catalogue is online.  They could probably answer your other queries too.   Nottingham was one of the major centres for the lace industry.   I am interested in the lacemakers travelling to Paris - where did you find information about that?
Andrea

[Framesmiths1816]

Hi Andrea,

Thanks for the pointer.

I worked out my ancestor Isaac's movements from the birth of his Children. Very unusually the 1841 census gave his youngest daughter Selina's birth place as Paris. Her year of birth (1823 to 1826) fits with the dates for Heathcote's Paris factory on the Rue de l'ourcine. Heathcote's brother-in-law Thomas Hallam was the manager of the of the Paris factory and was responsible for the move to St Quentin in 1826/27. My guess is that Isaac and family went to Paris from Tiverton around 1822/23 to build, install and setup the 150 frames that the Paris factory had. He probably stayed to see them moved to St Quentin. Certainly by 1828 he is back in Leicestershire where he contracts with Cartwright and Warner of Loughborugh.

How do I know all of this? Well it is a combination of the available facts with reading as much as I can find. Much of the information came from William Felkin's book "A History of Machine made Hosiery and Lace Manufacturers" although Gillian Kelly of the Australian Society of the Lace Makers of Calais helped me some key bit of information. The ASLC have a lot of information on the Lace Makers that went to Calais and then emigrated en mass in about 1850 to NSW. www.angelfire.com/al/aslc/

Did I answer your question ok?

ATB - Mark

[sillgen]

That is fascinating.  I am looking for the family of William Hammersley who was born in Calais in 1826 and his father, Benjamin, was a lacemaker.   It all makes much more sense now.  Many thanks.
Andrea

[Framesmiths1816]

Hi Andrea,

I am not sure of the significance of this but I had a quick look around and found this

HAMMERSLEY Benjamin - Fairlie 1834 46/297 25 Feb 1846 45/1467 [4/4261] 975 On the recommendation of Commissioner Massie 
HAMMERSLEY Benjamin - Fairlie 1834 48/0088 14 Feb 1848 45/1467 [4/4268] 977 On the recommendation of Port Macquarie Bench

These are "Ticket of Leave" passport records from NSW, state records. They refer to a ship "Fairlie".  The Fairlie is one of the ships known to have brought the Nottingham/Calais lace workers over in 1848. However, Hammersley is not in the ASLC list of known Lace workers. I suggest you contact Gillian Kelly and the ASLC as this might be significant to them as well as you.

You have probably seen it but chapter 21 of Felkin is about Lace making in France.

Regards - Mark

[sillgen]

That is very interesting as Benjamin Hammersley disappears and his wife remarries another Lacemaker John Grundy.  I assumed he had died but may be he left her and went off to Australia?  My daughter is about to spend a year in Port Macquarie - wonder if she will do some research for me??  I think the beach is more likely to be her priority, sadly.
Andrea

[Framesmiths1816]

Hi Andrea,

Interestingly, a "Ticket of leave", if the information I found is correct, is also given to a convict. It looks like a permission to travel for special circumstances. These references are for documents in the state archive, so you might be able to find more out. Maybe he also remarried in NSW. Perhaps he changed his name to avoid possible legal issues? That might explain why there are no other Hammersley records in the index.

I assume you have seen the 1851, 1871, 1881 and 1891 census records for a William Hammersley born Calais?

ATB - Mark