Why so many family deaths and moves out of Forest in 1870s? (General)

by 10noyrum , Wednesday, October 11, 2006, 06:19 (6619 days ago) @ Ashton

My ancestors moved to South Wales from the Forest of Dean simply to find work, which they found in abundance. The old, small scale coal mines and tin industries in areas like Bristol, the Forest and Somerset were running down at a time when huge quantities of deep-mine coal were being discovered in South Wales. The presence of iron ore, coal and limestone in the "Top Towns" such as Ebbw Vale, Merthyr Tydfil etc led also to a burgeoning of the iron, steel and tin-plate industries. The minerals were made accessible by the great developments in engineering and steam power at the time. Railways were built to transport the output to the great ports of Cardiff, Newport and Swansea. It is difficult to exagerate the difference of scale and opportunity which such "up and coming" areas presented to our ancestors in the 19th century. The proximity of South Wales to Gloucestershire, Somerset and Devon made it a convenient place to move and the skill sets brought by these people meant they found work with little difficulty.