St John: from hand sewing to machine sewing

One of Cornwall’s smaller parishes, St John is found nestled on the coast in south east Cornwall. While around half of the households in the parish in 1861 were headed by farmers or farm labourers the local economy was relatively dispersed. As in the neighbouring parish of Sheviock, there were some navvies probably working on … Continue reading St John: from hand sewing to machine sewing

Truro: The life of servants, part 2

Despite the number of domestic servants at work in Truro, only two 11 year old girls from our database who were living in Kenwyn in 1861 and have been traced through to 1891 were working as domestic servants in 1871. Disappointing but not surprising as domestic servants with no family present to help track them … Continue reading Truro: The life of servants, part 2