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IntroductionMany of us are puzzled when we do census look ups and find ancestors doing the strangest things for a living. No doubt our descendants will be equally puzzled about us in a 100 years time:-)A number of good "netizens" (is that a word?) have gone to a lot of trouble to collate lists of these old trades and occupations. If you wish to benefit from all this hard work then click on the sites below. If you have trouble connecting to any of these sites, or if you know of another site which might be of interest then please email me. The Keeper of the Oracle -Peter Cox. |
This picture shows the tiny village of Blacko near Colne, which sprawls along the road from Nelson to Gisburn. The cottages are typical of the Lancashire countryside but apart from that what is the attraction of Blacko? Well, the tiny dot on top of the hill is a well known local landmark called "Blacko Tower". I believe it's what is known as a "folly", having no obvious purpose except to give a glorious view of the surrounding area when you climb to the top. Blacko is also known for one of its sons, Jimmy Clitheroe, whom I fondly remember listening to on the radio, long before the days of Television. |
Occupations
There are quite a few sites that give lists with brief explanations, here are some I've been given.I couldn't get through to this one, perhaps you'll have better luck.
http://www.gendocs.demon.co.uk/trades.html
This one is by Tony and Lynda Langham, true friends of genealogy and long time Lancophiles, who have a terrific web site (I love the animated pictures:-) with lots of other links and info.
http://members.ozemail.com.au/~tonylangham/Mainpage.html
This one is from John Joseph Lacombe who has a huge list of other genealogy links on his web site.
http://www.cpcug.org/user/jlacombe/terms.html
Child Labour
Want to know how children were treated in the 19th century? Let your kids read this it might make them more grateful!http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/IRchild.main.htm
Coal Mining
This was one of my most interesting finds:http://freespace.virgin.net/tony.smith/manor.htm
Cotton Industry
If you have ancestors that lived in Lancashire then there's a good chance some of them will have been involved in the cotton industry, which dominated Lancashire commerce through the 19th and the first half of the 20th century.This site gives quite a good history of the cotton industry
Farming
I want to know what it was like in the 19th century, any suggestions?