Thomas Briggs born around 1825 in Silverdale / Warton Lancashire

[cjhampson53]

It does seem as though we are looking more towards The Lakes area

There is an 1841 entry for Kirby Ireleth for an 18yr old Thomas Briggs whose occ seems to read "hole river"??

You mentioned he dug tunnels so it's a very tenuous link

HO107/529/13/14/23

Hi Carole - thanks for finding those - I think the occupation is "Slate ......" - very similar starting letter to "Maryan Simpson" across the page - and it seems to be a common local occupation as there are three of them on the page plus a "Slate Dresser" at the bottom right and lots on the surrounding pages.  There's also another TB aged 19 with no occupation in Kirkby Ireleth, frustratingly both with widowed mothers - Ann born 1801 and Sarah born 1786. 
A quick look on ancestry for baptisms of the siblings, in the hope of a father's name for either Thomas, drew a blank.

[Galium]

Lancs opc has baptisms for Kirkby Ireleth, including two Thomas Briggs in 1821 (John and Sarah) and 1822 (James and Ann).

However, Kirkby Ireleth is some distance from the places that your Thomas names as his birthplace, being over near Ulverston.  I'm inclined to think that someone born in Kirkby Ireleth and growing up there probably wouldn't name Warton, Silverdale or Milnthorpe.

[cjhampson53]

Thanks, Galium - I think that eliminates of those two as the one I'm looking for was Thomas son of Thomas. 

[cjhampson53]

re the occupation "slate river" - seems to be the splitting of slates - see last sentence below

Mannix & Co., History, Topography and Directory of Westmorland, 1851
reproduced at http://www.stevebulman.f9.co.uk/cumbria/kirkbyireleth_f.html

Kirkby-Ireleth Parish

 The parish is noted for the production of excellent dark blue slate, and several thousand tons of this article are raised annually from the extensive quarries on Kirkby-Moor, at which a great number of men and horses are constantly employed.................................. The huge masses, thus brought down, being afterwards bored and blasted, the whole is reduced by means of sledge hammers and wedges to such pieces as may be conveniently carried away.

The next process is that of riving the rock into thin plates, which are formed or dressed into slates, and classed according to their size and thickness.

[cjhampson53]

A quick update - Thomas Briggs (1826 - ) was son of another Thomas Briggs, a farmer.  He seems to have had an older brother William Briggs born in Yealand in about 1813 so again in Warton parish.  It is quite likely that Thomas senior married a Hodgson but so far I've found no record of this.   If any of that rings bells with anyone I'd be glad to know. 

[wivenhoe]

Thomas BRIGGS born ~ 1825 -

Marriage...who did he marry, when and where.  What names do you see for witesses?

Children.....what children do you have for him?

Census  1871 - can you describe the family you see....names, ages, address?

[Galium]

I think the William Briggs you are looking at married Margaret Nicholson in 1841 December Q Carlisle district.  In 1851 they are in Filey, Yorkshire.  They have had one son named Tom Nicholson Hodgson Briggs born Filey 1849 - died the same year, and are soon to have another, Tom Nicholson Ridley Briggs, who is with them in 1861, when they are living in Yazor, Herefordshire.  (So you may also be looking for Ridley as a family name.)

In 1851,1861,1871 William says he was born at Lancaster.  It's reasonable for someone living in another county to just go with 'Lancaster' rather than expect locals to get 'Yealand' right, but does he say 'Yealand' anywhere?

Similar wandering lifestyle to your Thomas.  Do you have the marriage record for William and Margaret?

[cjhampson53]

Hi Galium, yes, that's the one.  In the 1881 census William's birthplace is given as "Yelland" which I'm told is how "Yealand" is pronounced. Thomas (1826-) was born in Silverdale Lancs - both Silverdale and the Yealands are in Warton parish.    Yes, I have marriage certificates for both Thomas (1826-) and William. Both show the father as Thomas Briggs, farmer.  Regarding the names of William and Margaret's two Thomas Briggs babies, we have Nicholson from Margaret Nicholson and Ridley from her mother Elizabeth Ridley.  Someone else worked this bit out and it's in an Ancestry family tree - William Nicholson (1773 – 1820) married Elizabeth Ridley (1772-1856) at Haltwhistle on 23/4/1796.  Margaret was the youngest of their six children.  That leaves us with "Hodgson" which I'm guessing is the maiden name of Thomas Briggs (senior) wife but so far no joy in locating her or a matching marriage.

Both William and Thomas (1826-) {and Thomas's son John } worked as railway "navvies" and therefore moved from job to job - pretty much wherever they pop up there is a railway being built at the time.  William, though, had a spell as an innkeeper in Filey and it looks as if Thomas must have visited him whilst working on the Malton to Driffield railway and thus met Mary Wright who he married in Filey in 1850. 
William and Margaret were married (in Carlisle) in 1841 but don't appear to have produced a living child until 1849 and even then he only lived a few months.  Their second Thomas died at age 48 at Ince in Makerfield in 1900.