Migrant ancestors
It is surprising how mobile our ancestors were, and although some families stayed within a relatively small area, this would have included a number of townships or parishes. Economic necessity, employment, trade, even simple buying and selling would mean people moved about their own country (as they would have called their region), however small, to maintain their livelihoods. With the industrial revolution and the improvements to transport, employment opportunities increased and the means to travel further made migration more common. One of the best sources for the movement of people around the country are the ten-yearly census returns from 1841 to 1901. The returns are held on microfilm at the Family Records Centre, and most county record offices and local studies libraries have returns for their own counties or regions. The 1841, 1851, 1861, 1871, 1881, 1891 and 1901 censuses can be searched on this website: From 1841 places of birth are given, normally the parish and county for those born in England and Wales, usually just Scotland or Ireland if born there, although sometimes a town or county may have been given, and country if born overseas. From the returns of families with children you can roughly track movements across the country.
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