Mobility in early 1800s

[heymarky]

My ancesters Robert Dyer and Isabella McBean had 7 children. The birth records of these children seem to indicate the the Dyer family moved around an awful alot, but it kind of looks like they stayed with / near family.

Was it common in early 1800s Scotland for families to move around so much

Do any of you who are more familiar with Scottish geography see any patterns in the places below

Robert and Isabella were married in 1831 in Inverness, Inverness. That's Isabella's home town, but Robert was born (1806) in Girvan, Ayr.

Robert, like his father, was a currier. (he curried leather)

Heres the kids:

• James, 1832,
  • Inverness, Inverness
  Hugh, 1834,
  • Aberdeen (place from 1851 census, date from various)
    Old Machar seems like a safe bet, but I have no evidence of it...
  Rebecka, 1835,
  • Old Machar, Aberdeen (Isabella has a brother in St. Nicholas, Aberdeen, Aberdeen)
  Rebecca Reid, 1837,
  • Beith, Ayr (Robert is from Ayr)
  Isabella, 1838,
  • Perth, Perth
  Marion Logan Georgina, 1841 twin,
  Eliza Scott Robina, 1841 twin,
  • Glasgow, Lanark (at least one of Robert's brothers is nearby)

As always, thanks in advance for any clues!

[emanday]

Hi heymarky,

I can only tell you what I have found so far. Amongst my lot I have one line who seemed to live, procreate and die, for multiple generations in one small area in Ayrshire, then suddenly the individual I am following moves to Glasgow with her husband! Having said that, they lived at the same address there for approx 50 years!

I have other lines that seem to have followed the wind. One thing I have noticed is that, in the main with my lot, those with trades seemed to go where the work was, while those who worked in rural pursuits remained close to home. The unskilled ones neither favoured one way nor the other!

That's my take on it, from my own folk's movements, but there are a whean of people on here with a lot more knowledge who will be able to give you better information.

[Muriel]

Some of mine certainly moved around - they were cotton spinners. Parents were married & had their first 3 children in Lochwinnoch, Renfrewshire in the 1790s, then they moved to Spinningdale, Sutherland (where there was a mill for a while), then back to Lochwinnoch about 1806 until 1815, then to Eaglesham, Renfrewshire. Their surviving children ended up moving to Glasgow in the 1830s, although one of their sons & his family spent some time in Gatehouse of Fleet & Hawick before returning to Glasgow & then emigrating to Massachusetts in about 1870, when he was in his 60s. Other branches were much more static.

Muriel

[joette]

I can trace the gradual movement from Banff-Bortriphinie to Keith &Deskford &Aberdeen then into Perth & the onto Glasgow,Edinburgh & then Niagara & New Jersey for my McKimmies.Some stayed in the Banff/Aberdeen areas.They were mainly Crofters/Agr workers.
Some lines lived,died in same villages & some moved from Ireland to Scotland.
They seemed to move around where/when certain industries were eg my Ploughman GGGreat-Grandfather Scott moved from Roxb to Midlothian to work at the Papermaking.
They also seemed to delight in moving around Census time & lots had children baptised in all sorts of places-my Veitch GGGGrandparents had children baptised in Edinburgh,Lanark(never the same Parish!),Peebles.Two sets of their Grandchildren went to Australia with no knowledge of the other going & with their descendants having no knowledge of each other until I put them together.
I think our ancestors were forced to go where the work was & were a lot more mobile than we think.

[Russell]

Hi Mark

I think we tend to apply some of our present experience to our ancestors.
We think of a removal of a house crammed full of furniture with all the accessories we require for modern living.
Back a hundred and fifty years they had very few personal posessions and extremely limited furnishings.
Beds were often part of the fabric of a house. with recess beds and, if you were in up-market accommodation, a box bed i.e. with a door to close it off during the day.
No wardrobes required if you only had your working clothes and Sunday best. Even into the early 1900's many women and almost all children had no shoes
Most of a household goods could be packed into a wooden chest.
A table, a couple of chairs, some bedding and few kitchen essentials could be loaded on a small cart then off on the road.
In my childhood in the 1940's even quite small children were sent off on a four or five mile walk to school in country places, so walking fair distances was not unusual. I have found census entries where people labelled as vagrants or travellers were included in the household having probably asked if they could bed down in a barn or outhouse. One such group in Kirkcudbrightshire was an Irish family with 3 children who were presumably making their to a 'better' life in Glasgow.
Makes me glad I live in the present though.

Russell

[joette]

Me too Russell.I had a "discussion" with a fellow volunteer & she was saying she was glad not to be young today!
I strongly disagreed.No going down the mine or scaring crows& picking stones when you are a toddler,not dying of "teething".Being literate.Going to the other side of the World but knowing that you can be home in a couple of days if need be,pick up a phone use e-mail to contact your loved ones.I think young ones have a great life ahead of them-if we don't burn up or drown the Planet first!