Agriculture in 1894

[SmallTownGirl]

My g.g.father died when my g.father, Albert Gould, was only nine months old.  Then, in 1894, when Albert was 16 his mother died in North Littleton. 

There's a story in the family about Albert being "tricked" by an uncle/some uncles into signing away some land and Albert himself being "sold" to a farmer in North Warwickshire.  I've found absolutely no evidence of them owning any land, and, given that one of the uncles had brought up Albert's [much older] illegitimate half-brother, I think the "sold" thing was them taking the trouble to find him employment and somewhere to live. 

However, it begs the question, about why Albert couldn't find work in the local agricultural/market gardening industries.  Ancestry LifeStory, which I rarely look at, for this period says  "Progress made by the United States and Germany in manufacturing and agriculture in 1891, affected many in the United Kingdom, including Albert Gould during the Great Depression of 1873 to 1896." and that got me wondering if anyone knew of a slump in agricultural work in that part of Worcestershire around that time, or could suggest any possible sources of relevant information?

Thanks
STG

[Kay99]

Unless I am misreading this article the depression seems to have stimulated the growth of horticulture/market gardening in the Vale of Evesham http://www.rootschat.com/links/01n4x/

Kay

[SmallTownGirl]

Unless I am misreading this article the depression seems to have stimulated the growth of horticulture/market gardening in the Vale of Evesham http://www.rootschat.com/links/01n4x/

Kay

Oh, thank you - even if it does blow a bit of a hole in my theory that economic depression = loss of agricultural jobs in the area   

STG

[mike175]

I think the depression caused a more general loss of jobs in agriculture across the country at that time, largely due to the fall in the price of grain, meat and dairy produce which could be bought in from overseas more cheaply. I believe many farmers went out of business and a lot of farm labourers were forced to find work  elsewhere.

Mike

[Yegvard]

Hi,

Ancestry have the "Return of Owners of Land" for 1873. Although many years ago it was a free transcription and may still be findable on the Internet.  Worcestershire and Warwickshire are on it.  I could only see one GOULD.  An Elizabeth in Rowington.

Cheers

Mike

[SmallTownGirl]

Hi,

Ancestry have the "Return of Owners of Land" for 1873. Although many years ago it was a free transcription and may still be findable on the Internet.  Worcestershire and Warwickshire are on it.  I could only see one GOULD.  An Elizabeth in Rowington.

Cheers

Mike

Thanks.  I've never found any of my Goulds having two halfpennies to rub together.

[SmallTownGirl]

I think the depression caused a more general loss of jobs in agriculture across the country at that time, largely due to the fall in the price of grain, meat and dairy produce which could be bought in from overseas more cheaply. I believe many farmers went out of business and a lot of farm labourers were forced to find work  elsewhere.

Mike

The North Warwickshire area has coal mines, so perhaps farmers there had difficulty attracting/retaining workers who preferred the higher wages from the mines and that's why they'd have been interested in recruiting from farther afield (see what I did there?  ) 

Eventually, Albert became a coal miner himself. 

Thanks everyone
STG