The Norman and Marshall Families - Paupers and Peasants
Introduction
In the 1870s and 1880s there was a large population movement away from the poor agricultural areas of North Dorset, South Somerset and Wiltshire and into the rapidly growing Poole-Bournemouth area.
Into this area moved my families – the Normans from Somerset, the Marshalls from Wiltshire, the Scammells from Hampshire/Wiltshire and the Allertons from East Yorkshire. They all met in the melting-pot of Poole.
The Norman and Marshall family history, along with that of the Edwards and the Bush families, is one based on the lives of poor agricultural workers, labourers and shepherds. They were living on the edge of society, amongst the poorest people in the poorest area of the country in an era of general poverty and unrest in the countryside. There is a possibility that some of the Marshall ancestors may have been Gypsies – not necessarily proper Romanies, but travellers and tinkers moving round the villages after work. It is also possible that there may be descent from slaves who came into England through the port at Bristol. It is suggested that between one quarter and one third of the population of south-west England has some slave ancestry. This may be impossible to prove without DNA testing but it has been suggested that some of the physical characteristics of the more recent Norman family members (e.g. shape of nose, hair type, dark colouring) may be reminders of our distant past. Records at the National Archives also show that one Jamaican landowner had a slave named Estcourt. This name was popular amongst the Norman families, and their relatives, the Foots, in the 19th century. No explanation for the family’s choice of this name has been found.
If you are directly descended from any of the families outlined in this article, please contact me as I have further information to share. I have not included dates or full references in this article but will be happy to exchange information with genuine researchers.
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