Shropshire Routes to Roots

6. Personal sources

Introduction

Using information such as maps and the census can give us an idea of what an area would have looked like, and the types of people who lived there. From the bureaucracy of local government, we can determine how people dealt with the state and government in their daily lives. But what did it feel like to live in an industrial society in the 1850's?

There are a number of sources we can use to find out. The following extracts give some examples of how we can analyse pieces of text to work out how the people who wrote them were feeling. You can find more examples of letters on the Exploring industrialisation: More online sources page.

Personal reports

By the middle of the Nineteenth Century, the government was becoming increasingly concerned about the exploitation of women and children in industry. They ordered a commission, The Children's Employment Commission, to gather evidence about the conditions in which children around the country were working. Children gave evidence, which was collected and published in the 'First Report of the Commissioners: Mines (1842)'. Follow the link below to read two extracts from the report, about the use of the 'girdle' in the mines:

• Extracts from the Children's Employment Commission, p.67 (Opens in a new window)

Diaries

Diaries offer excellent first hand evidence. They are more personal than the records of the government administration. They record private concerns and give an idea of people's feelings, pastimes and lifestyles. Thomas Boycott, who lived in Coalmoor, kept a remarkable diary from 1803 to 1805:

• The diary of a Shropshire man (Opens in a new window)

Letters

Letters to the Overseers of Poor Relief give us an idea of the difficulties experienced by people in dealing with the state. However, it is possible to get a lot of information about a period by looking at the tone of a letter, as well as its content.

Read a heartfelt and desperate letter, written by a poor collier, by following the link below:

• Letter from a sick collier (Opens in a new window)

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