My great-grandfather, Daniel Bolton, was born in Yorkshire in 1843 and later moved with his parents James and Grace to the Rochdale area.
Census returns show him thus:
1851 age 8 with parents in Soyland, W. Yorkshire
1861 age in Rochdale with parents (there is an odd entry shown on Family Search which shows father as "Jones", not James, and Daniel age 4! He should be 18 and is nevertheless described as a Cotton Worker.
1871 millworker age 28 with wife and family in Newhey/Butterworth area of Rochdale
1881 millworker age 38 with wife Betty and family in Newhey
1891 millworker age 48 in Crompton area with family
1901
farmer age 58 at Knott Booth, Burnedge with son James,
farmer's sonin 1896 his daughter married and his address then was also Knott Booth farm. I am wondering what kind of circumstances would lead a millworker to become a farmer, as I consider it to be a profession which is handed down from father to son in the main. His wife's family were also millworkers.
Knott Booth Farm still exists and is a Grade 2 listed building with mullioned windows and other attractive sounding features. I have found records of farmer William Witham (no relative) living there in 1879.
Any ideas where I could look to see exactly when beteen 1891 and 1896 he moved to Knott Booth and how he came to be a farmer??
Sorry, somehow I managed to print this twice 
