FRANCE: French connection

[jorose]

The Industrial Revolution in Iron: The Impact of British Coal Technology (on Google Books), mentions an iron works at Saint-Julien in the Saint-Etienne region. At around this time, it seems 'English-type' ironworks were being set up and workers were hired from Staffordshire and Wales  - Joseph Bessy, the owner of the Saint-Julien works, apparently hired most of his workers from Bilston.

This was during the 1820s - as time wore on, the local workers were trained and replaced the foreign ones.  There's a fair bit of information in the book about money etc.

Saint-Julien-Molin-Molette might be the Saint-Julien in the Saint-Etienne region that is mentioned.

[RoDe]

Hi Jorose

Firstly, small apology but I gave you a wee bit of duff information in my posting yesterday due to misreading Mary Hill's wedding certificate. I gave her fathers occupation as miner but it was in fact moulder.  Thomas Hughes, Mary's husbands father was the miner.

Now, many thanks for the information on Charles Hill.  I think you probably have the right person from the 1841 census because of them living in Hallfields. Several generations of the Harris family and also associated relatives (Hughes etc) lived there (Hallfields no longer appears on maps due to redevelopment decades ago). The info about French employers hiring English workers would explain why Charles Hill as a moulder was living and working in France at the time of Mary's birth in 1826.  However, Mary isn't listed in the 1841 census at which time she would have been 15 years of age. Could have been staying with relatives perhaps ? The other factor that makes me think you have the right Charles Hill is that there were other children born in France. Plenty for me to go at. I will have contact in June with a French couple visiting a neighbour.  I'd planned to ask them if they would be willing to do a bit of research for me when they get back to France.  Looks very much like you have narrowed down the area of search.

Kind regards
Royston

[jorose]

15 years old was old enough to be out to work - there is one, aged 15 or 16 (a bit blurred) in Bilston in 1841 at Temple Street with the family of John Winiper? (not sure on the surname there, index has it ias Winsper). Listed as in county but if the family she was living with gave the info they might not have known.

It's an interesting bit of history about the English workers who went to France - one I wasn't aware of before.