RootsChat.Com

Wow, it's nice to see some others who have ancestry in the Midlands. My great grandparents, Harry Higginbottom and Sarah Smith emigrated to the States around 1919. They previously lived in Sheffield. Both families settled in the Sheffield area between 1840-1860. Prior to that my Higginbottoms and Leatherbarrows travelled through the west Midlands from Sheffield to Liverpool. The Smith family travelled the eastern Midlands. Almost 100% of the Higginbottom men were listed as tool grinders from my g-grandfather going as far back as I can in the records. Interestingly, the entire extended family emigrated to Millbury Massachusetts to work for Buck Brothers Tools. The company had expanded and built a housing complex called "Buck Village". According to my grandmother, almost every house in the village was occupied by a relative either from the Higginbottom or Smith side. All the men worked as edged tool grinders.

I would love to chat with anyone who has Romani family from the Midlands. Sadly it appears the family decided to hide their ancestry from their kids when they came to the US. I only uncovered our real history in the past few years.