I am the last male in the line of the JAMES family.
Apart from my father and me the James' male family members were all miners.
My Great great grandfather John JAMES JAMES was born in Pontesbury Hill around 1810 and all of his sons were miners, one of which Thomas JAMES (married to Judith ROGERS; b1837 d:1921) moved to Brownhills Staffordshire to work as a miner in the newly opened South Staffs coalmines
I have traced all this information back to 1837 but I need to look further back to uncover the records of John JAMES and his immediate family and my question is how can I do this
I am assuming as a miner his family must date back to South Wales
Also I am interested in the history of the South Staffs coalfields (my grandfather on my mothers side also worked down the pit) and how it relates to the mining industry in Pontesbury and in particular what was the reason why my great grandfather Thomas left Pontesbury
I would appreciate any input
David James
There are a lot of resources, some free and some that cost, to help with your research,
Birth, Death and Marriages are covered by FamilySearch, the best free resource on the internet.
So this would be John James' baptism....
| Name: | John James |
| Gender: | Male |
| Baptism/Christening Date: | 25 Oct 1807 |
| Baptism/Christening Place: | PONTESBURY,SHROPSHIRE,ENGLAND |
| Birth Date: | |
| Birthplace: | |
| Death Date: | |
| Name Note: | |
| Race: | |
| Father's Name: | Thomas James |
| Father's Birthplace: | |
| Father's Age: | |
| Mother's Name: | Mary |
| Mother's Birthplace: | |
| Mother's Age: | |
| Indexing Project (Batch) Number: | P01905-1 |
| System Origin: | England-ODM |
| Source Film Number: | 166168 |
| Reference Number: |
So you immediately know his parents names.....
Next logical step would be to see if his parents married in the same parish and if he had any siblings...
No marriage but plenty of siblings....
Samuel James
England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975
christening: 27 Apr 1794 PONTESBURY,SHROPSHIRE,ENGLAND
residence: Shropshire, England
parents: Thomas James, Mary
Willm. James
England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975
christening: 26 Mar 1797 PONTESBURY,SHROPSHIRE,ENGLAND
residence: Shropshire, England
parents: Thomas James, Mary
John James
England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975
christening: 25 Oct 1807 PONTESBURY,SHROPSHIRE,ENGLAND
residence: Shropshire, England
parents: Thomas James, Mary
Sarah James
England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975
christening: 13 May 1804 PONTESBURY,SHROPSHIRE,ENGLAND
residence: Shropshire, England
parents: Thomas James, Mary
Elizabeth James
England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975
christening: 13 Jul 1800 PONTESBURY,SHROPSHIRE,ENGLAND
residence: Shropshire, England
parents: Thomas James, Mary
Mary James
England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975
christening: 29 Jan 1792 PONTESBURY,SHROPSHIRE,ENGLAND
residence: Shropshire, England
parents: Thomas James, Mary
From the earliest birth you get and idea of the wedding year for the parents, about 1792.
There are way too many marriages for a Thomas James and Mary around that time so you will need more information, Looking at the original parish register or the Bishops Transcripts might give you more details on the baptisms.
That is the starting point and since the parents did not marry in the parish of their childrens baptisms and James is such a common surname you will need to rely in Parish Registers and other church records to trace them back
Hi David, Have been looking at the current "Who do you think you are?" monthly magazine today and there is an article regarding mining. They give the following website & I have looked at some. There are endless possibilities and endless information. These are the ones I have looked at:
www.cmhrc.co.uk (coal mining history)
www.dmm (Durham mining)
www.projectsexeter.ac.uk (Exeter University projects website)
These should give you a good overall view and you may track down something specific to your research.
Failing that they will keep you glued to the computer for hours. Hazel
There was coal ming in the area stretching south-south-west of Shrewsbury from at least the early 18th century, starting with bottle pits. By the early 19th century the activity, with deeper shafts, had spread to various places in the large parish of Pontesbury and the adjoining parishes of (Church) Pulverbatch, Hanwood and Westbury.
A good source book is called Mining in Shropshire - or similar. I have read it but don't hold a copy. In comparison the large-scale mining in south Wales was johnny-come-lately (and I have the great "Davies the Ocean" as a close ancestral cousin!).
Hello. My names Mark Restall. Tel 0758 1276515. My third great grandfather was John JAMES born 1807 Pontesbury, married Mary ASTLEY in Pontesbury in 1830. They had a son Thomas who married Judith ROGERS in 1856. The information you have matches my own research. Interested? Give me a call. Regards Mark Restall. Grandson of Edward JAMES. Born 1898 Cannock. Son of John and Eliza JAMES Regards Mark Restall
Hi My name is Pam Hansard I'm wondering if we are the same family as the history sounds almost identical. . My Great Grandfather was Evan JAMES born in Pontesbury who moved to Staffordshire and worked at the colliery in Brownhills and then moved to Cannock where he was a fire fighter and involved in early pit rescues my Grandmother Beatrice Sarah JAMES was born there.. I wonder if anyone has managed to find where out where in Wales the family came from.
Hello,
I know this is an old thread but I thought I would give it a try.
John JAMES ( ~1810) is my husband's 3rd great grandfather and Thomas and Judith JAMES are his 2nd great grand parents. Thomas and Judith's daughter Elizabeth is his great grandmother.
I was wondering if any of you have had any more success with reasearching the family. I was just about to order Judith's birth certificate and try and figure out which of Thomas JAMES' sibling certificate to order to try and figure out John JAMES's wife's name.
I would love to hear from you
Ingrid
Hello Ingrid
I have emailed the above contributors to bring your posting to their attention.
Mike (Admin)
The email to Pamela Hansard has bounced - mailbox unavailable.
There appears to be a thread here starting with Thomas JAMES and Judith ROGERS getting married and the male side of the family sharing working as miners in Pontesbury and South Staffordshire collieries
I have a picture of Judith JAMES (nee RODGERS) taken in Brownhills in 1926 I believe; I also have her birth certificate
Please call me David James on 01827 383782 to share our heritag
I found the picture of Judith James taken not in 1926 but 1915 at the age of 78
If you give me a call I can send you a copy
Cheers
David James
01827383782
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Hi David,
Don't assume anything, especially with regard to mining. There was not only coal to mine but many other minerals, eg Cornish tin. My husband's family have a long line in the North Wales/North Shropshire border coal mines, but worked for many years at Talke Pitt, Audley, Staffordshire, and I couldn't find them on the census. But when I widened my search to England, there they were.
Good hunting. Hazel