Emigration of coal miners (General)

by lesleyr , London, Thursday, May 20, 2010, 09:57 (5379 days ago)

Hello
I have been working on my family history for a while and have started to wonder why so many of my ancestors and their siblings left the Dean Forest for other parts of the country, and indeed other parts of the world. Many of my coal miner Whittington ancestors left the Forest during the period 1850 to 1890 (approximately) for the coalfields of Nottinghamshire, Yorkshire, South Wales and the US. From what I have read, the coal mines in the Forest were still going strong at that period and there would be work available so why would they go? Would they get paid more somewhere else? Would they have a better chance of housing? Did it become easier to move away (railway development?).
I realise that this is not just an issue with my family because this website has a section of Emigration so there must have been others. Perhaps members of the forum could throw some light on why people left.
Many thanks,
Lesley