« Reply #2 on: Thursday 21 March 19 02:46 GMT (UK) »
Until I saw the history of Wombourn, I would have said your ancestor probably had a furnace, bought different thicknesses of iron bars and his whole family helped him cut and hammer different types of homemade nails into shape.
I now think the family could have worked in a nearby slit mill that specialised in making nails.
Different types of nails would be needed in the industrial revolution and additionally I believe tons of nails were shipped all over the world.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wombournehttp://www.sedgleymanor.com/trades/nailmakers2.html
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