Welcome to The Briercliffe Society Forum

Looking for someone else, I have just come across this entry in the Colne Parish Church baptism records:

Baptism: 29 Apr 1888 St Bartholomew, Colne, Lancs.
Sarah Ormerod - [Child] of James Ormerod & Sarah
Born: 2 Oct 1887
Abode: 2 Lune St
Occupation: Labourer at Vineyard
Baptised by: W C
Register: Baptisms 1876 - 1890, Page 166, Entry 1323
Source: LDS Film 1471024

Perhaps the weather was better then!

Ruth

Perhaps he had got the sack from the treacle mines at Sabden.

Rex

I loved Rex's reference to the Sabden Treacle Mines. (More on the latter online at: http://www.treacleminer.com/Mines/Sabden.html‎)

My husband wondered if the occupation on the baptism record might be short for 'Labourer in the Vineyard of the Lord' (from the Parable of the Labourers in the Vineyard: Matthew 20:1-16), which he had noticed in an obituary as a description of a Baptist in India. This seemed plausible to me as I have recently been reading about the lives of my Nonconformist ancestors (in Rex's excellent booklets on the Haggate and Colne Baptist chapels, and in 'Benjamin Ingham: Preacher amongst the Dales, Forests and Fells by H.M Pickles).

However, the truth about the baptism entry is much more mundane. I found James Ormerod in the 1891 census, where he was described simply as labourer (so no help there). Looking up the baptisms of his other children in the household in 1891 was more fruitful, as was his 1901 census entry:

Emily (baptism not found)
Miranda, 1882, father's occupation: Skinner
Minnie, 1885, father's occupation: Jobber
James Wilmore, 1890 father's occupation: Tanner

1901 census, James's occupation was recorded as woolpacker at tanyard.

So, it seems Vineyard is a mistranscription of Skinyard!

A sad footnote is that baby Sarah died aged one at Colne in 1888 (Lancs BMD)

Ruth

Doesn't it make you wonder how they coped with the number of infant deaths back then. They were lucky if they only lost one child.

_________________
Mel

Searching for lost relatives? Win the Lottery!

Rings a bell with "her on her hols" that Roger once mentioned a vineyard in Briercliffe.

_________________
Gloria

I'd be dangerous with a brain.

Two thoughts about how older generations coped with the loss of children in infancy:
First, it was happening all the time, so it must have been less of a shock - I can't guess whether that made it any less painful
Second, there was more belief that families would be reunited in Heaven. My grandmother, born in 1877 - and one of ten children, all but the first of whom survived to become adults - had no doubt about it, and I think she was probably typical of her generation (and earlier ones)

Charon