THOMAS JAMES' DIARY
Millom and District Local History Society have been given the diary of Thomas James (1840-1902) by a descendant, Charles Harcourt, who lives in Dorset. Charles realised there was a family connection but thought it more important that as the contents were about Millom, the diary should be shared with Millom. The diary covers the period April1897 to January 1902. It is clear from the contents that Thomas was very much involved with the Bible Christians, a breakaway sect of the Methodists which was formed in 1815 in North Cornwall by William O'Bryan. Originally there were only 22 members but they rapidly expanded, sending missionaries across Britain and abroad. They recognised the ministry of women, calling them 'female special agents.' There was a Bible Christian Chapel in Newton Street, Millom and also one in Haverigg, both have since been demolished. Thomas was a miner and came to Millom sometime between 1873 and 1876, as his third child, Samuel Harvey James, along with three other children, were all born in Millom whereas his first two children were born in St Just, Cornwall. His hand-writing is beautiful and he was clearly very literate as well as being adept at keeping financial records - much of the diary is taken up recording stories taken from books and some accounts of the local Bible Christian groups. Here is an example of how the Methodists helped to educate the working class; who would have thought an iron miner (previously tin miner) at this time in history when few could read or write, could write so beautifully? Widespread, state, education was introduced in 1870 but it was only elementary for children aged five to ten. Whether Thomas learnt his skill in Cornwall or in one of the two school rooms attached to the chapel in Newton Street is not known.There are a lot of quizzes included in the diary, and recordings of various outings, as well as references to different readings from chapel services. At the end of the diary there is a printed copy of the Order of Memorial Service for the Late Majesty Queen Victoria, to be held in Wesleyan Methodists Churches on Saturday, February 2nd 1901.
What we do know, from census records, is that Thomas and his family lived in Newton Street, and before that, Lord Street not far away from the Chapel. The diary includes 'incidents' which report deaths, births and marriages as well as locals visiting Cornwall regularly and a lot of the miners moving to South Africa, no doubt to mine there too. In the 1841 census there were only 356 people in Millom Below, this rose to 416 the following year, 621 in 1861 but in 1871 there were 3,000 - a result of the rapidly developing iron mines. Of these, 747 came from Lancashire, including the Furness peninsula; 388 from Ireland; 388 from Cornwall; 221 from Devon; 85 from Westmorland; and 78 from Wales. It is worth noting that 816 of the folk living in Millom in 1871 were born in Millom. We know from other records that many of the Millom family names can be found in manorial records and go back 500+ years. A few more interesting census statistics: By the 1911 census, incomers from Cornwall and Devon remained more or less the same, there was a huge rise in those from Lancashire, a significant rise from Westmorland but those from Ireland dropped by nearly a half, (with a much smaller drop from the Welsh). The Irish statistic shouts out for further research. We know, from the diary, that many miners moved to South Africa - could these have been predominantly Irish? It seems likely that the Cornish and Devon folk created a community within a community via the Bible Christian Chapels, with the Welsh probably congregating at the Tin Chapel as tin tabernacles were popular in Wales. Here is a link to the baptism records for the Bible Christians of Millom and Haverigg. The Society agreed to photograph the 200-odd pages then donate the diary to Barrow Archives. The following are sections of the book, roughly twenty pages or so per section, from the beginning. Binder 1