Stevenson of Loughborough born 1803

[vivijune]

Diddy, you're amazing! I mean it! There I was just a week ago putting up a routine question, starting with the earliest name of an ancestor, querying why a Bennett in Tiverton married a young woman from Loughborough so far away from Leicestershire and out comes this wonderful complex story of the Industrial Revolution. At 11 years old she was part of an exodus of lacemakers who left their old lives behind them and and move with Heathcoat. According to the Tiverton Museum website "500 men, women and children walked to Tiverton to form the nucleus of his new workforce" in a factory that later employed 2000.

Yes, walked! What a bond he must have had with those people. No wonder he was good to their widows and educated their children. I'll contact the Tiverton Museum directly and see what else they have that might relate to John Stevenson who was actually on that list of workers you sent and see if they hold information in their archive passed on from the original Heathcoat Factory.

Thanks so much for hanging in with me on this one and helping to assemble so much rich detail.

[vivijune]

Diddy, would you please confirm...... I know you found John Stevenson in Tiverton including his chapel record but we still need to rule out that other Elizabeth and her brothers back in Quorn. As you suggested, I checked the 1841 and 51 census and those brothers Thomas, Joseph and John are a smith and 2 ag labs living in the village next to Quorn- Barrow on Soar. So we know they aren't the family. Maybe I've got confused doing this but do we still have the likely couple called John and Elizabeth and would you confirm that they are from Quorn and not Loughborough? By the way that Quorn Village Historic Site is great, like you I was even able to see the list of tombstones. They've done a great job.

Seeing the list of those original lace workers that left I noticed Towndrow but also William Cuthbert which accounts for why they called their first son was named William Cuthbert Bennett. Perhaps he was the godfather. Like Stevenson he doesn't have an occupation listed beside his name whereas most on the list do.

Would John Stevenson's occupation be listed on the marriage certificate for William Bennett and Elizabeth when they married in the mid 1820's? I haven't ordered one before but I assume they are available from Devon and the father's occupation would be there? Thanks again.

[diddymiller]

i was assuming that the 5 children - Eliz ,Ann,Thomas,joseph,john were all siblings and children of John & Eliz of Quorn. are you sure the ones you found on census are the same people?

you will not get a full cert for an 1820's marriage - its before 1837. you may still get an occupation on the original record which will be in parish records.

not sure what to do to confirm right children/family.  hope the tiverton museum can help.  let me sleep on it!

Diddy

[vivijune]

I found 3 men living in Barrow Upon Soar (next to Quorndon) on the 1841 census. Two are living together Thomas and Joseph Stevenson. All show place of birth as simply Leicestershire.

Their ages are Thomas 25 and Joseph 20. (This is the1841 census and therefore age #were rounded.) Living on another village street is John with the age of 25. I looked for them on the 1851 and 1861 and 1871 census and there's no record I can see so there's no real date of birth or notation of village born for any of them.

The baptism dates you gave me were as follows: Thomas 1813 (1816 on '41 census) Joseph 1815 (1821  on the '41 census) and John 1818 (1816 on the '41 census)

It seems to me this isn't the family. Apart for them seeming to have stayed in the locality I would have thought it difficult for a family to go on the road and cross 250 miles of England with toddlers. If John was baptized in 1818 it would be after the group of workers had left. If the Luddite destruction happened in 1816 I would have thought the migration would have taken place in 1817.

[diddymiller]

yes - I had that thought - heathcote although visiting Devon at the time of the attack (Malcolms work) was not expecting to move so quickly. therefore i suspect the men would have gone with him and the wives /children followed later. As john was young (don't forget he could have been born year or so before baptism) the family may have stayed as bit longer or the boys returned before 1841 to family.

Theory - you were looking for a Stevenson family with wife Eliz & daughter Eliz moved L'boro to Devon - we found a stevenson family John with a wife Eliz & daughter Eliz moved L'boro to Devon. seems to me this must be the family.

suggestions for plan of action:

*you can check with Tiverton musem for details of that family
*you could put a request on the Devon board here for any details of Johns death
*you can chaase up Eliz & Williams marriage - the original might just have John as a witness

*I can check the baptism records of the children in L'boro library for extra detail /Johns occupation
*I can check John & Elizs marriage for same
*I can look in L'boro marvellous local history room for extra Luddite details  relating to the men who moved - John Heathcote is BIG in this town so suspect there may be books /photos etc.
* i can check the L'boro 1811 census to see whos about.
my only problrm is transport at the moment as health problem means i can't drive /walk far - but if i get a lift (son has car) I'm on the case - well in myself but got vertigo.  need something to do so this is great!!

Diddy

[vivijune]

I have exciting if confusing news!

Thanks for your enthusiasm and help Diddy.

Prior to start posting on the Devon board regarding a death for the father of Elizabeth Bennett I looked at deaths in Tiverton. I noticed a death for a John Stevenson in 1866, aged 67, who I think might be Elizabeth's brother because he's born in Loughborough! I checked him out on the Tiverton 1851 census where he is listed as superintendant of a factory. In 1861 he is listed as Superintendant of machinary at a lace factory! Checking his address he looks as if he's living with his wife, Jane, and an only child Emma in Heathcoat company housing near the factory just like the widowed Elizabeth! If this is true he and his sister would have walked with their mother Elizabeth, across England. Her date of birth (based on census etc) is 1779 in Loughborough.

This is where it's going to get confusing in Devon. This younger John Stevenson would have been old enough to be counted on that list of the original list of workers you sent over yesterday. He would have been 17 in 1816. I thought I caught site of another Stevenson name- William Stevenson lower down. We've been assuming the father of Elizabeth was John but where did we get the idea that it had to be John for sure? Maybe she named her child John Stevenson Bennett for her brother AND father, or maybe she named him for her brother only, which leaves it open that her father could have had a different first name.

Since there should be a record of their baptisms in Loughborough for Elizabeth I just want to verify that on her death certificate she is listed as being born in 1803,. On 2 census there's a mistake in her age but taken from 61,71, and 81 census, those would make her born in 1803 too.

This keeps getting better and better!

 

[vivijune]

Correction. Only John Stevenson is on the original list of Heathcoat employees (males only.) Some have a notation of their occupation but not him. There's also a statement on that list saying it's incomplete. Only 30 men are listed and for there to have been 500 people in total making the exodus I would have thought there needed to be 2-3 times that number.

I was mistaken when it comes to William Stevenson. He's not listed on that original list instead he's showing up further down as being one of the people who had a Loughborough birthplace on the 1851 census. I found him (born 1805 in Loughton, Loughborough)and in the 51 census he's listed as a smith born in and in 61 as a smith in a lace factory. He would have been 12 or 13 when he left for Devon.

He may or may not be a sibling of Elizabeth or John but it would give one other name in the Loughborough baptism records to look for in case he is. Birthdays of John 1799, Elizabeth 1803 and William 1805 are so close together.

(Although 2 of those Quorndon/Barrow on Soar names are the same, I also found a death for an Elizabeth in BOS so I think that verifies that that that family stayed in the Quorndon area and can be dropped.)

Many thanks again, this is certainly fun and sorting this out keeps the brain sharp!

 

 

[diddymiller]

spent a short time in Library this morning.

bad news /good news?

John Stevenson of Quorn was a farmer according to 3 of his childrens baptisms so i think we can rule him out unfortunatley.

that leaves the marrigae of  William Stevenson = Elizabeth Rogers 7/10/1799 loughborough but i couldn't find any children baptised there for him.

the heathcote records - i found the original dissertation that we saw extracts online from. it says that a lot of the people who went were baptists so i suppose its possible that daughter Elizabeth was born Loughborough but might have been baptised Tiverton as baptists baptise later / as adults.

there are some baptist records in L'boro but didn't have the cabinet keys up stairs and can't trek up and down so next time.. there was a letter apparantly sent from Tiverton back to the L'boro baptists so there might be a list of who went from the community in 1816.

there was more in the dissertation about the journey:
treadition has it that they went along the Fosse Way (old A46) south of Leicester / to Cirencester /then west to Wiltshire through the vale of taunton. the summer was the wettest on record and some took their frames with them.

the Tiverton workers did not welcome them with open arms and some men did not like the fact that 1. they had to sign an agreement of 21s a week ( less than L'boto pay on reduced wages) for 5 years. so some set up on their own and eventually opened another factory.

next time i can check the local paper although i think the dissertation lady probably got info from there. also the baptist records.

you could put a query on the Devon board for Eliz baptism in Tiverton?

Diddy

[vivijune]

Thanks you so much for going into the library yesterday and finding that original dissertation on the migration. Is there any way I could obtain a copy?  Please let me know if there is.

The picture of that exodus of people is getting more and more interesting. Not exactly a surprise that Tiverton people were less than thrilled to have 500 newcomers showing up one day walking through Taunton Vale 1n 1816. Apart from the 500 number of strangers, Loughborough people would sounded different. Question: when you say "workers did not welcome them with open arms" does that mean Heathcoat had a second lace factory already in operation in Devon or was it just town's people's reaction?

As you say it looks like the likely parents are William Stevenson and Elizabeth Rogers married in 1799. As we've discussed there are likely to be 3 children who may found in the Loughborough baptist records when you can finally get to them. Your point about baptisms happening later is a good one. (Again, can't thank you enough for your continued interest and help.)

I will go on the Devon board today and see if they are showing up after 1816 baptized as teenagers in Tiverton. I'm very interested in that letter from the Tiverton baptists to the same in Loughborough. It could be very revealing.

Also, if workers signed an working agreement for wages at 21 shillings there should be a list of workers who signed the document or simply a list of original workers. I assume it would be in the Heathcoat company records or the Tiverton Museum has it, if one exists. If we've found the right father for Elizabeth 1803 , there should be a William Stevenson, her father,  as well as the 17 year old brother, John Stevenson on that list. (Possible son William -the smith, would have been too young to show up.)

Off to post on the Devon Board!