Genealogy Chat

hi helen-thank you for sussex listings

My ancestors were farmers in Northumberland during 1870 ish to 1901 ish. would appreciate any info. Thank you for your time Debbie

Hi Nell, I have been reading your thread with interest. The unions certainly did very well for the labourers in 1947. 90 shillings was in fact £4. 50p. per week and in 1947, this was not a bad wage. I started work at 16 in 1949 and was offered anything from 25 shillings to 27/6d. per week. I was determined that I would not start work for less than 40 shillings and managed to find work as a wages clerk at that rate, which was £2.00 per week. I made wages up for skilled engineers who at that time were only on 2 shillings and 5pence threefarthings an hour. My god how times have changed. Mary

I was on a thread earlier about occupations, and a guy called Peter (I think) gave this great site - http://rmhh(.)co(.)uk/currency(.)html He actually gave the page about occupations, which was very interesting because i had quite a few in my tree that i had no idea what they were. lol But I explored the site and the currency converter is great fun - and interesting. Great for comparing wages between then and now. I am off to google for mill workers wages now. lol

nudge

Thanks Nell, Lucia :-)

thankyou nell for this useful information, very much appriciated !!!! kind, regards, julie

Suffolk 1850 7s. 11d (one of the lowest for the country) 1872 13s. 1898 10s. 6d 1910 12s. 9d 1913 not available 1919 36s. 6d 1924 25s. (rose to 29s. 2d after Ag. Wages Act that year) 1938 34s. 1947 90s. nell

hello, would you be so kind to look up suffolk please. thankyou!!! julie.

Susan I have to agree with you with town v country. My Gloucester grandfather was one of 8 children and they all lived to a ripe old age apart from a girl who was killed in a road accident. My Norfolk grandfather was one of 10 and again they all lived except a boy who died of meningitis. But my London-born grandmother suffered poor health, including anaemia, most of her life. Her mother had 9 pregnancies, two children that died in infancy, and only 3 survived to adulthood. Going back, I see that apart from a few infant deaths, the children all thrived. One of my Norfolk gt gt grandmothers was one of 13 - again two children died, but they were twins and so more likely to have been premature. nel

Hi Helen Many thanks for the Somerset figures. I shudder to think how many hours they worked a week for less than a pound. When researching my tree i was amazed at the sizes of the families, 8-12 children the norm, it seems. I guess feeding wasnt a major problem as most country folk knew how to be self-sufficient and Ag Labs also had farm perks. As well as growing their own fruit/veg, many kept chickens - some kept pigs... and of course there were plenty of rabbits back then (which had 2 good things about them - food, and they sold the skins) But money was still needed to keep those huge households alive and running. The other half of my family tree is based in the mill towns of Yorkshire. Same large families and poor wages - but what nightmare working conditions it must have been in those mills. The towns were also overcrowded and heavily polluted by factories and household chimneys. Few houses had gardens - certainly not the working class houses. I reckon my Somerset folk where a lot better off in many ways. My Yorkshire grandmother lost her husband in WWI and she moved down to Devon with her son, then about 7 (my father). It must have blown his mind - all that fresh air and green fields. Apparently he spent many an hour wandering over the fields and beaches down there. He loved the countryside with a passion.... something he passed on to me.

Thanks a lot Nell,it really does seem they lived hand to mouth and i`m greatful for the information you kindly posted. best wishes Diane

Diane Yorkshire West Riding: 1850 14s. 1872 15s.6d 1898 16s. 1910 16s. 11d 1914 not available 1919 41s. 1924 35s. increased to 36s. after Ag. Wages Act. 1938 36s. 1947 90s. nell

Grant Sussex 1850 10s.6d 1872 13. 4d 1898 14s. 1910 14s.10d 1914 not available 1919 38s.6d 1924 not available. 1938 34s.3d 1947 90s. nell

Hello Helen, would you please have a look at west riding of yorks,my g.g.grandad was an Ag-lab for over 75 years-he had a very large family and lived to be 88!It would be interesting to see how much he earned to support such a large family. Thank you Regards Diane

Thanks for looking for Flintshire. Denise

hi-could you look-up sussex please?

Somerset 1850 no figures available sorry 1872 14s. 1898 12s. 6d. 1910 13s. 6d. 1914 14s. 6d. 1919 28s. 6d (rose after 1924 Ag Wages Act to 32s. a week for 52 hours) 1938 36s.0d. 1947 90s. It's interesting that wages seem to have gone up much more quickly in the 20th century -- due to Union influence or galloping inflation? nell

Hi Helen, One half of my tree is from Somerset and nearly all the males were agricultural labourers - can you give me some info too please? Much appreciated Sue

I suppose that wages were held a bit low. because before mechanisation, the farmer would have needed a small army of workers? most interesting, Li'l Nell, thanks...........