Regarding Thornliebank it may be significant to mention that this was a substantial textile works, and there would have been a considerable flux of population into and out of the factories. Commenced in 1778, there were major changes to the activities in the 1850s when the cotton mill discontinued and printing took over, and there was also a progressive shift from skilled craftmen to predominantly operatives as technology changed. So people came and went pretty regularly. Sometimes in the census families forget where the children were born, being less able to say accurately whether born before or after arriving at a mill.
