Ag Lab

[ruthm]

HI, Am i right in thinking that Ag labs would move around from village to village following work? I seem to have picked it up some where but i don't know eher from or if its true!

some of my ancestors were ag labs and his children seem to have been born in various places in the same area of herefordshire, for example, Richard Turner was b ledbury, his wife Hannah b Linton, the children were born in Linton, Stanford Bishop & Whitbourne. Is this normal?!

[MarkJ]

It would certainly seem logical - depending on the work available in the area. Most of my own ancestors were agricultural labourers, but they seemed to stay put. Perhaps because of the rural nature of the villages they lived in - I expect there was plenty of work in the local area.
I would expect to see more movement later in the 19th century - as agriculture began to become mechanised and less people needed.
The type of farms may also have a bearing - huge farms needing to import labour from further afield perhaps?
Others on the forum may have different views of course :)

[Jan1954]

Hi Ruth,

My Ag Labs moved in their search for work. They covered Castle Camps & Shudy Camps (Cambridgeshire), Ashdon & Radwinter (Essex) plus Haverhill (Suffolk).

These villages were all within a 10 mile radius of each other (but have Records Offices in different counties |banghead|)

I have another clutch who travelled round Suffolk: Theberton, Eastbridge, Covehythe, Middleton - again within a 15 mile radius or thereabouts.

You went where the work was, especially if you were working on small farms, where there could be just 3 or 4 "permanent" Ag Labs and were just needed for certain seasons, like harvesting.

Jan

[ruthm]

thank you both very much! i thought i was dreaming!

Mark, the type of agriculture they worked in is interesting, yet another research topic methinks.
Jan, I have another group in Devon who at first glance seem to have moved around too, but in a smaller area, looks like it was quite normal then.

[BeccaHarris]

Agricultual labourers tended to be contracted by the farmer for only one year. At the end of the year, there would be what was called a 'hirings fair' in the nearest town, where everyone would go and farmers could go round picking out the labourers they wanted - a little like a cattle market! This meant that labourers were often constantly moving between farms and villages, although they would mostly remain in the same area, surrounding the town where the fair was held. This practice continued into the middle of the 20th century in some parts of England.

[estd1759]

HI, Am i right in thinking that Ag labs would move around from village to village following work? I seem to have picked it up some where but i don't know eher from or if its true!

some of my ancestors were ag labs and his children seem to have been born in various places in the same area of herefordshire, for example, Richard Turner was b ledbury, his wife Hannah b Linton, the children were born in Linton, Stanford Bishop & Whitbourne. Is this normal?!
Farm to farm in the area, my mother attended 8 different schools (leaving school at 14) the church calendar is the guide for when they moved - mostly feast days i.e. Michaelmas- after harvest time. Tracing my tree - virtually all ag. labs I have been intrigued to find only 1 milk maid and she was retired, the women doing a great deal of the work and not payed for it, nothing changed much there.