Swinhope Burn Families

This database contains information on my NATTRASS family ancestors and their collateral lines who resided in the Swinhope Burn area, of Allendale, Northumberland, England. It is centered around the sixteen families of lead ore miners who emigrated from Allendale in 1849 to Illinois, after a labour dispute with their employer William BEAUMONT, the Lord of Allendale. Also included are the miners families who remained in the dale after their departure, and the emigrant miners new connections in the United States.

Blacklisted Miners

In January of 1849, Allendale experienced it's first and only labour strike against W. B. Mines of Allenheads. Traditional lead ore mining practices had been used in the dale for decades. In an attempt to increase ore yields, new management had enforced new policies causing a disagreement between management and the miners. In protest, all of the miners united and went on strike. After five months, negotiations reached an impasse resulting in management replacing the miners with labour from the neighbouring mines in Alston, Cumberland. Tensions escalated into a confrontation against the 'black leg' miners which resulted in the mine managers of Allenheads and other surrounding mines blacklisting the striking miners from any work in the northeast.

In this very tight knit community, this conflict had pitted families against each other to the point of death threats. Under duress, the blacklisted miners and their families left their homeland and sailed from Liverpool via the emigrant ship Guy Mannering. They landed in New York harbor on the 28th of June 1849; -- their destination was the town of Galena, in Jo Daviess Co, Illinois, and other lead ore rich areas of southwest Wisconsin & northeast Illinois. This area was chosen because other Allendale families were already residing there, and mining work was available due to the recent exodus of labour to the gold fields in California. 

During the course of my research, I discovered that all of the families in the group were directly related to each other and could be included on one family tree. Some of the names include;

 CHATT, DAWSON, GRAHAM, LEE, NATTRASS

NOBEL, PEART, PHILIPSON, REED, VICKERS

Of particular interest in this group is my immigrant ancestor Jacob NATTRASS and his family, who first settled in the town of Vinegar Hill near Galena, in Jo Daviess Co, Illinois where Jacob and his nephew Thomas NATTRASS worked in the local lead ore mines. By 1850, they had migrated to the town of Shullsburg in Lafayette Co, Wisconsin and settled into a community which included his niece Hannah NATTRASS and her husband George PATTINSON, and many other families from Allendale and the northeast of England. 

America offered many new opportunities for the immigrant miners and their families. Shortly after their arrival, they  can be found on the US census of 1850 residing within 50 miles of their landing at Galena, Illinois. After quickly establishing themselves with mining jobs, the majority stayed in the area and later became farmers or merchants in their respective communities. A few stayed briefly and sought their fortunes in the gold fields of California and Australia.

Even though the miners left their homeland under stressful circumstances and with few resources, they quickly prospered in their new homeland. They worked hard and saved to purchase land and establish businesses. Their children attended the local schools, served their country in the military during the Civil War and became civil servants in their communities. Ironically, the families that they left in Allendale would shortly be faced with their own economic challenges. Because of the decline of the lead ore industry in the northeast of England, many of their families would also be exiles from their beautiful homeland of Allendale, forced to leave the area to find work to support  their families.