Iron founder goes to Brussels

[Kate]

I have an iron worker in my tree who, with his wife and several children went to Brussels and was there in 1866/7. I know this because the youngest daughter was born there, so obviously his wife had gone with him.
I asked the descendants if they knew any more and they, like me, assumed it was for work. A birth record for the child had not been found. Maybe the language barrier made it difficult.
The industrial revolution would have been well underway in Belgium, but would they have needed a worker from the Midlands of England? How would he have known where to go and presumably the job was organised before he left home.
Any comments would be welcome. Thanks

 

[peter]

I have an iron worker in my tree who, with his wife and several children went to Brussels and was there in 1866/7. I know this because the youngest daughter was born there, so obviously his wife had gone with him.
I asked the descendants if they knew any more and they, like me, assumed it was for work. A birth record for the child had not been found. Maybe the language barrier made it difficult.
The industrial revolution would have been well underway in Belgium, but would they have needed a worker from the Midlands of England? How would he have known where to go and presumably the job was organised before he left home.
Any comments would be welcome. Thanks

Perhaps he worked for a British firm which was expanding into Belgium? British workers were sent out to the Americas to help establish businesses there (such as railways), so why not Belgium - which is much closer?

 

[Kate]

That's a possibility, thanks

 

[Stuart]

The were close connections between the iron and steel industries of Belgium and England. Early on, both might claim to be leading the world - the modern blast furnace was developed in Belgium. After the political disruption of the French revolution, Belgium caught up technically and in terms of capacity; by 1900 it was producing as much as England.

There was a lot exchange of ideas and of people between the two countries, e.g. John Cockerill, who was born in England, became one of the biggest industrialists in Belgium (not just in ironmaking). So someone could have moved to work for the same employer (maybe a specialist contractor), or for another locally based on contacts made via others making such moves.

The 1860s was when Bessemer converters came in, and started the shift from iron to steel. In fact Cockerill set up the first one in Belgium in 1863, though his works was at Seraing which is near Liege, not Brussels. But that's exactly the kind of thing specialist contractors would be needed for.

There were major strikes in the coal and iron industries in Belgium in the 1860s, and it's possible outsiders were brought in as strike-breakers. However, I can't find any mention of that actually happening. But overall there are plenty of reasons for someone to make such a move.

 

[Kate]

Thanks for this information. I'll pass it on to the lady I am in touch with as I think he's her great grandfather. This forum is full of people who know things!