Forest miners going to Wigan (Parish Records)

by Jefff , West London, Middlesex, Tuesday, January 23, 2018, 19:51 (2283 days ago) @ Megan

Hi Megan,
thanks for posting, you are very welcome of course. Also thanks for your other post on this PHIPPS thread explaining how the Wigan mines were actively sending Overseers to the FoD searching for miners to move north.
http://www.forest-of-dean.net/fodmembers/index.php?id=49229

Regarding your potential search of the local newspapers at Cinderford (Presumably the "DF Mercury" which is not yet online), I have just tried a quick search of the BNA site which holds the Gloucester Citizen which of course coveres the FoD. I was a VERY quick look, but thus-far I've found no adverts etc relating to Wigan, hopefully you may have better luck. Similarly, the excellent and free-to-access Welsh Newspapers site has not yet given any clear hits, altho' I msut say I was surprised by just how many references there are to the mines of Wigan including Ince, even including an article stating how a Church in Wigan started holding Sunday Services in the Welsh language in 1889, presumably due to demand from Welsh miners who had moved there.

Also very apparent was what at first glance seems a high number of mining disasters occurring in the Wigan area, which of course sadly created demand for more miners. Now maybe the Wigan mines were no different than other areas, I've not researched this thoroughly, altho the Lancashire coalfield was prone to explosions due to gases which were not present in the FoD mines, and at one time was the worst in the UK.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lancashire_Coalfield#Mining_disasters

I wonder if it also suggests the rapid expansion of the Lancs coalfield (far bigger than the FoD for example), meant that a higher percentage of their homegrown miners or even owners were not the most experienced hence knowledgable, and so needed more experienced or wiser men from other areas such as the FoD with a longer background in mining ?
http://newspapers.library.wales/home

Finally, on the general subject of local men moving to Wigan for work, thanks for your posts which reminded me to update the forum regarding Lewis Bradley, see
http://www.forest-of-dean.net/fodmembers/index.php?id=49235

J