BEFORE THEIR TIME EMPLOYMENT AND FAMILY FORMATION IN A NORTHERN TEXTILE TOWN, KEIGHLEY, 1851-81 Submitted by Eilidh MacGillivray Garrett for the degree of Ph. D. Department of Geography, University of Sheffield September 1986. Abstract This thesis studies the phenomenon of low fertility amongst mid- to late- nineteenth century textile workers by examining fertility behaviour in the context of one contemporary textile town; the worsted centre of Keighley, in Yorkshire's West Riding. The high level of women's work, both before and after marriage, to be found in the textile districts has long been said to lie behind the low levels of fertility there. Using the census enumerators' books returned for Keighley in 1851,1861,1871 and 1881 the fertility levels and patterns of various occupational and class groups were calculated in order to assess the effects of the town's high level of female employment on its inhabitants' marital fertility. The measures used, however, are shown to give a distorted impression of fertility behaviour due to the point-in-time nature of the census data. With the aid of a computer Nominal Record Linkage was undertaken to gain a clearer picture of the family building strategies of different individuals, and various groups, over time. The patterns which emerge from the two types of analysis suggest that women in Keighley could, or would, not work when they had several children. They further suggest that the low fertility levels in the town during the early years of the study period were the result of younger married women not achieving a normal fertility potential, rather than older women limiting the number of their children in a parity specific way, which became an increasingly common practice by the 1880s. A debate is conducted as to whether the lack of fertility amongst young married women was deliberate in order that they might elongate their work-span, or whether it was the result of long years of work having adverse consequences for the female textile workers' reproductive systems. Acknowledgments It was once remarked that when this thesis eventually arrived in a library it would be catalogued under "GARRETr, E. M. (ed. )". I hope the finished product disproves this forecast but nevertheless many people have contributed to the finished product in their own special ways and I would like to take this opportunity to thank them all. Special thanks are due, however, to the following: - the ESRC for their award which allowed the project to be undertaken. helPedand - all the librarians and archivists who directed me through their stores of local history records, especially Mr I. Dewhirst of the Reference Section, Keighley Public Library for his help and encouragement as well as his permission to reproduce some of his collection of photographs of Old Keighley. - the Data Processing team, the Computer Services Department, University of Sheffield who began to dread my weekly appearance with yet more census data but never failed to supply me with more boxes than I could carry of accurately punched cards in return. - the several advisers from the Computing Services Department who dealt with my computing queries over the years with particular thanks going to Richard Brown whose programming expertise and understanding of verbal, rather than numerical, problems were invaluable to the study. - all my contemporaries on F-floor who provided support, advice and encouragement when needed, but could also be relied on to create diversions which would put work back into its proper perspective again. - Andrew Hinde for taking the time to pass on much of his demographic knowledge and for the use of his FERTILITY programme, both of which were much appreciated. - Araya Redda for his guidance through the intricacies of the PRIME computer. - Stewart and Lyn Kemp for fitting me into their household. - Charles Pattie for acting as a sounding board for ideas and arguments. - My Mum and Dad for their concern and support and for their assistance in producing the finished product. - Mrs Ruby Heath who turned a much-tippexed, dog-eared, scrawl of a manuscript into an immaculate typescript. - the SCELI team at the University of Aberdeen. - Dr. Paul White, my second supervisor, for his help and encouragement and his belief in the humanistic aspects of the study, which acted as a great antidote to the sea of numbers in which I sometimes found myself immersed. Finally, and most especially, I would like to thank my supervisor, Dr. Bob Woods for his guidance and enthusiasm. Without his "terrier tactics" the preparation of this thesis would have been considerably protracted, and without his patience and good humour my years at Sheffield would not have been as enjoyable as they were. i Contents paw List Tables of v List of Figures Xiv Chapter 1. Introduction. 1 Section 1.1. Why Study Nineteenth Century Fertility? 1 Section 1.2. Why Study Textile Workers' Fertility in the Nineteenth Century? 3 Section 1.3. Why Study Textile Workers' Fertility in Nineteenth Century Keighley? 15 Section 1.4. Summary. 22 Notes for Chapter 1.25 Chapter 2. The Philosophical versus the Physiological; Fertility and the Textile Worker. 26 Section 2.1. Introduction. 26 Section 2.2. Assorted Theories about Fertility Decline. 27 Section 2.3. Some Caveats to the Interpretation of Historical Evidence. 35 Section 2.4. Life and Work in Nineteenth-century Mill Towns. 41 Section 2.5. "If of Children You Wish to be Rid... " 60 Section 2.6. "And Corpse the Incipient Kid". 71 Section 2.7. Work, Health and the Reproductive System. 76 Section 2.8. Conclusion. 85 Notes for Chapter 2. 90 11 Page Chapter 3. Nineteenth-Century Keighley. 94 Section 3.1. Introduction. 94 Section 3.2. The Story as Far as 1851. 95 Section 3.3. Divisions of Labour, 1851-1881. 100 Section 3.4. The Occupations of Married Couples, 1851-1881. 124 Section 3.5. The Origins of the People in Keighley, 1851-1881. 139 Section 3.6. Health and Well-being in Keighley, 1851-1881. 154 Section 3.7. Summary. 177 Notes for Chapter 3. 179 Chapter 4. Sources. 185 Section 4.1. Introduction. 185 Section 4.2. The Census Enumerators' Books, 1851-1881. 185 Section 4.3. The Parish Registers. 198 Section 4.4. The Wages Books of Robert Clough & Sons, Ltd. 207 Section 4.5. Miscellany. 217 Section 4.6. Summary. 230 Notes fo r Chapter 4. 232 Chapter 5. The Measurement of Fertility in Keighley, 1851-1881. 234 Section 5.1. Introduction. 234 Section 5.2. Defining Whose Fertility was to be Measured. 237 Section 5.3. Model Schedules of Marital Fertility. 254 Section 5.4. Modifications to Coale and Trussell's Standard Schedule. 261 111 Page Chapter 5. (Cont'd) Section 5.5. Calculating Age Specific Marital Fertility Rates from the Census Enumerators' Books. 266 Section 5.5. A. How Many Live Children were Missed from the Child-woman Ratios? 268 Section 5.5. B. How Many Children did not Live to be Enumerated? 275 Section 5.6. The Fertility Behaviour of Occupational Groups in Keighley, 1851-1881. 280 281 Section 5.6. A. M, m and MSE. Section 5.6. B. Total Marital Fertility Rates. 322 Section 5.7. Conclusions. 366 Notes for Chapter 5. 371 Chapter 6. Nominal Record Linkage -a Magic Lantern for the Census "Stills" Section 6.1. Introduction. 377 Section 6.2. The Choice of Basic Method. 37g Section 6.3. Use of the Brown Computer-Assisted Linkage System. (BCALS). 382 Section 6.4. The Choice of Who was to be Linked. 388 Section 6.5. "Movers" and "Stayers": the Differences. 415 Section 6.6. The Fate of the "Stayers". 424 Section 6.7. Women's Work and the Building of Families. 437 Section 6.8. Individual Fertility Histories. 448 Section 6.9. Conclusions. 480 Notes for Chapter 6. 483 Chapter 7. Before Their Time or Sacrificed to Progress? -a Re-assessment and Some Conclusions. 487 iv Page Appendix A. Coding the Census Enumerators' Books from Microfilm to Computer. 513 Appendix B. Coding of Occupations from the Census Enumerators' Books. 519 Appendix C. Fertility Measures by Place of Birth. 537 Appendix D. Program SEARCH11. F77 548 Appendix E. I. Couples' Living Arrangements 1851-1861; "textile wives". 554 Appendix E. 2. Couples'Living Arrangements' 1851-1861; "housewife wives". 603 Catalogue of Sources. 613 Bibliography. 616 V List of Tables Chapter 2. Rage. 2.1. Legislation enacted by 1850 in favour of women, children and young persons working in textile mills. 39 2.2. Percentages of males and females signing marriage registers with a mark, England and Wales, registration counties, 1841, 1861,1881 and 1901.51. 2.3A. Church provision in the West Riding of Yorkshire: 1851.55 2.3B. Church provision and attendance on March 31st, 1851, Keighley Registration District. 55 2.4. A precis of the Birth Control movement as far as 1877. Some notable publications and the methods of family limitation recommended. 67 Chapter 3. 3.1. The Singulate Mean Age at Marriage for both males and females; Keighley compared with England (less Monmouth), 1851-1881.122 3.2. The percentage of single women aged 15-29 working in textiles, Keighley 1851-1881.132 3.3. The average weekly wages paid to, and hours worked per week by, those in various trades in Bradford and District: 1835-45 compared with 1875-1885.140 females (B) 3.4. The percentage of all males (A) and all born in various areas, Keighley 1851-1881.141 3.5. Irish migration into Keighley, 1851-1881.143 3.6. The percentage of all men married to women aged less than 50(A) less and the percentage of all married women aged than 50(B) born in various areas, Keighley 1851-1881.145 vi 3.7A.