HARRIS, John - born 1846, Liskeard

[RedFox]

My ancestor, Jane Dawe, was born in Linkinhorne in 1849.  At some point, she married John Harris; their first son was Joseph J. Harris, born in Linkinhorne about 1869-70.

Jane Harris and her son, Joseph, both appear in the 1871 UK census record for Linkinhorne, Cornwall.  John was not in the record.  He may have been at the mines, or have gone elsewhere to seek work.  I know from the 1881 UK census record for Yorkshire, that he was in Cornwall through 1874.

In the 1881 UK census record for Yorkshire, John, Jane, and Joseph J. appear.  As well as two children born in Cornwall (1882 & 1884) and two children born in Skelton, YKS. (1877 & 1879).   James, Jane's father, also is on the record.   The family lived at 76 Jackson St., Brotton, Yks.

I am interested in finding out more about John Harris.   In 1871, Jane is listed as a copper miner's wife.  In 1881, John is listed as a Pit Sinker.   I would welcome hearing from anyone with a connection to John HARRIS, or any DAWE or BAWDEN from Cornwall (Joanna Bawden, was James' wife's).

[cousinjack]

Hi RedFox
I don’t know if this helps much, as I can’t find an obvious connection at the moment, but my wife has Harris ancestors from that area who moved to Brotton. Thomas (b 1844 in St Austell) was the son of John, born about 1814 in Kenwyn, and Ann, born in Marytavy.
Thomas had a brother John (born about 1840 in St Austell), and one called Joseph (born about 1844 in Altarnun). Two later brothers, Michael and Elisha were born in Linkinhorne in 1845 and 1847). As mines closed, the family moved around. Thomas and his wife Christiana’s last home in Cornwall was at St Ive. Sometime in the 1870s Thomas moved to Brotton, where he was  a “pit sinker” on the 1881 census.
I think there was  a decline in mining in the Liskeard area in the 1870s, and so a lot of Cornish miners finished up in places like Brotton, where new ironstone mines were being set up to supply the industries in Middlesbrough, and experienced miners needed.
There are several coincidences here -  Linkinhorne, some of the Christian names, the occupation of pit sinker, and the move to Brotton – but with no evidence, coincidences can mislead! And Harris was a fairly common Cornish name.
All the best
Cousin Jack

[RedFox]

Hi, Cousin Jack.  There's a possibility of a connection.  Jane Dawe and her husband John Harris settled near Brotton.  That town is one that her family moved to.  It was between 1870 and 1880 that her uncle Richard Dawe moved his family to Yorkshire.   Her father also moved his family there; her mother died there and I believed in buried in Brotton.   Jane and John Harris [and family] and her brother John and his wife and family move to Lancashire before the turn of the century.  I haven't worked on the info for almost a year.  So dates and place names are foggy right now.  I can check for the exact info.

Some of the background you gave about John's parents and siblings sounds familiar.  Yes, the mining in Cornwall decreased between 1870 - 1880.  Some went to Durham, some to Yorkshire, some Lancashire, some to Wales - at least those who stayed in the UK.  Others went to Africa, SA, and the US.  I know the Dawes had a lot of friends who ended up in the Brotton area and the town in Lancashire where some settled.  Amazingly enough, Dawe was a common name in Cornwall also.