Mike,
Ayrshire and Renfrew had coal mines from quite an early date, they are
counties on the south side of the Clyde and Ayrshire contains the estate of
the Campbells of Loudoun who were there from the fourteenth century.
Because coal mining was a skilled trade, it is highly likely that coal
miners from Ayrshire or even Lanarkshire to the east of Glasgow, would have
been encouraged to become miners in Nova Scotia, given a chance to emigrate.
Although Lowland for many centuries and with many branches to the family,
the Campbells of Loudoun did originally come from the same O'Duine family in
Argyll.
For example in Colorado (where I worked for a while) there were many 19th
century mines, for lead and silver and gold. There, many of the miners came
from the tin mines of Cornwall in England (also Celtic peoples). They were
very "kin conscious" like the Highlanders. When another miner was needed,
they would tell the foreman they would "send for their cousin Jack". This
meant that the larger mines (run by companies rather than individual
efforts, of which there were many), were often sometimes mostly staffed by
men from Cornwall and they became known as "cousin Jacks" in the trade. I
would think that Scots miners in Nova Scotia very likely operated in the
same way.
There were also Campbells whose families had gone over to take up land in
Northern Ireland in the 17th century and younger sons who later came back to
Glasgow to find work as they would not inherit the farm, who could well have
been employed as 'help' in the mines in Ayrshire and Lanarkshire and, I
think, Renfrewshire. So those would be the counties I think in which it
would be most likely you should look first. Other counties with mines but
with fewer Campbells would be Stirling, Clackmannan, Fife and the Lothians.
Although some people did change trades, say from farming to mining or
farming to factory work or weaving, it is curious that many in the 19th
century would rather not learn a new trade once they were an adult - very
different from today. Obviously earning a living while going back as an
apprentice was not easy once you were married. So it was parly the long
apprentice system which made changing trades difficult. But I think that it
also ad to do with unimaginative employers who would not hire people who did
not have experience, although many 19th century employers did gradually
become aware that employee training was a good idea. Today, although in the
technical trades employers want experience, many are growing to realize that
it is fairly simple to train people of their attitude and education make
them easily trainable. But apart from that I do think that in the 19th
century the attitude was once a miner, always a miner. There was also a
pride in the dangerous work which helped a sense of 'family' among the
trade.
My one of my great grandmothers had a father who was a coal mine
'supervisor'. But she was not a Campbell, only married one. But it means I
have fread a bit about the history of coal mining in Scotland, which goes
back many centuries.
I hope that answers your questions.Good luck with your search.
Diarmid
----- Original Message -----
From: "Mike Campbell" <brainiac(a)nbnet.nb.ca>
To: <CAMPBELL-L(a)rootsweb.com>
Sent: Sunday, June 29, 2003 4:13 PM
Subject: Looking for some historical background...
Diarmid et al:
Tracing my Campbell family tree has led me down some obscure and
strange, though admittedly rarely boring paths.
I come from a line of coal miners, beginning in this country at Albion
Mines [Stellarton], Nova Scotia, sometime after 1828 [ My g-grandfather
Joseph was born there in 1844], and ending in my direct line with my
father in the Cape Breton coal fields at Dominion.
I'm curious. From what areas of Scotland would the Pictou collieries
have recruited the miners who arrived here from 1828? I'm thinking in
terms of Campbells, but I have a great curiosity about when the men of
the clan left their crofts and went down into the deeps to moil for
coal. And, though I'd like to thump my chest and claim a Highland
heritage, however humble, I strongly suspect that my roots, bone deep,
are of the Lowlands.
Any thoughts you are able to share on the subject of coal-mining origins
and traditions within our clan history?
Yours, aye
Mike Campbell
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