It is human nature to take written facts of names and places, dates and occupations, however sparse, and use them to build a picture our ancestors and of the lives they led. My husband was born in London, as were his parents, grandparents and all but two of his great-grandparents. Of the sixteen in the generation previous to that only two were London born – twelve others had, between 1826 and 1872, migrated into London from all corners of England: Devon, Warwickshire, Lancashire, Northamptonshire, Lincolnshire, Cambridge, Suffolk, Essex, and Kent.
Of these twelve, three couples had married and had at least one child before migrating (two marrying spouses from adjoining countries), and three males met and married their wives in London, their birthplaces bearing no relationship to those of their spouses.
The two couples of this generation who remained in the county of their birth were a stonemason and his wife (both Shropshire-born) and a carpenter and his wife (both born in Devon).
Of these twelve, three couples had married and had at least one child before migrating (two marrying spouses from adjoining countries), and three males met and married their wives in London, their birthplaces bearing no relationship to those of their spouses.
The two couples of this generation who remained in the county of their birth were a stonemason and his wife (both Shropshire-born) and a carpenter and his wife (both born in Devon).
For this series of London migration prints, both country and city ‘portraits’ were produced for each migrating ancestor. As in life, the juxtaposition of sixteen disparate people failed to present a unified image, therefore these were variously combined and allied to relevant texts in order to create a harmonious composition.London migration I combines of country ‘portraits’ for each of the sixteen ancestors known to have migrated into London, with maps and place names of where they originated. The decision to move from one’s birthplace might be prompted by dreams of success or by harsh economic necessity.
London migration II combined city ‘portraits’ for each of the sixteen ancestors known to have migrated into London with the street names of their first known address; further information is also embedded within the image.
London migration III Names, birthplaces and occupations have been worked into this image. As well as commenting on the difficulties of unravelling such information when tracing London-born ancestors, it underlines the need to reappraise conclusions in the light of new evidence.
London migration IV is the final piece in this series and attempts to comment on dislocation and loss of identity, and the fact that while some families go on to achieve financial success, others most definitely do not.
From censuses it was seen that the fortunes of at least three families improved, since they became employers, but that one might have been better staying where he was, at least in terms of habitation. For all but one it would have been necessary to come to terms with living, and raising a family in a crowded and rapidly-expanding city while losing both family support and the possibility of solitude amidst natural beauty; that the one who migrated from the equally thrusting city of Birmingham was also by far the most financially successful might be little more than coincidence, but might not.
(All images measure 40cm x 40cm 15¾” x 15¾”, etching with soluble graphite on 250 gsm Somerset Satin)
This piece was written for the 9th issue of Language>Place> blog Carnival
