On the 1841 census at Keetons Hill, Sheffield, there is a Lucy Bower aged 15yrs and a
Joseph Bower aged 1yr.
They are living with the Marsden family, Head of household is John Marsden, aged 46yrs and
he is a gardener and his wife is Mary Marsden aged 46yrs.
On the 1855 census in Franklin, Mass., USA there is a Henry Bowers aged 35yrs (1820), he is
a labourer born in England.
I can't make out the name of his wife, and there are also 6 children all born in Mass.
Janice
While looking at your problem I wondered how and why a cutler from Sheffield with a large family would travel to a specific place in Massachussetts in the 1840s. How could he afford the fare for himself and all his family members? Why Franklin county Massachussetts?.
They could not have randomly set off from Sheffield for USA. When they set off they must have known where they were going.
The answer in fact is very simple. In 1834 a man called John Russell built a cutlery factory called Green River Works on the Green River in GREENFIELD, Franklin County Mass. This was one of the earliest cutlery factories in USA.
When cutlery manufacture in USA was in its infancy in 1830s/40s, the factory owners were desperate for experienced cutlers, but there were none in USA. They had agents in Sheffield who would persuade experienced cutlers to emigrate to USA by paying the fares for them and their families, and when they got there they would pay them higher wages than the local employees.
In the case of John Bower and family, the John Russell Works was getting the already experienced John Bower, his experienced 19 year old son Henry and also Charles (16 so with about 6 yrs experience) and 13 yr old Thomas with about 3 yrs experience. That seems to me like an excellent investment.
I note that Henry Bower married (bigamously) Huldah Carey in Vernon, Vermont in 1843. Vernon is just a few miles north of Greenfield on the Green River.
Crossing the Atlantic at that time was a perilous journey of 6 weeks or more and disease was rife. It is possible that John may have passed away on board.
I think you can be pretty certain that Edwin Poulton became part of this family in USA.
Dave
I hope this article explains why someone may have moved to Buckland MA.
11/5/2017 greenfield recorder
Beginnings lamson and Goodnow company ---
The cutlery began on the Shelburne-side of Shelburne Falls, off Deerfield Avenue, in 1837. It was started by Silas Lamson, the inventor of the curved scythe snath — an innovation that allowed a worker cutting grass, grain or other tall crops to stand fully erect, making it easier on the back. In 1837, his two sons and Abel Goodnow were interested in making knives, which is the origin of the Lamson & Goodnow name.
The company grew steadily, adding new buildings in Shelburne Falls. Experienced cutlery workers were recruited from both Sheffield, England and Solingen, Germany. Descendants of these European workers were still employed by the company in 2009.
In 1851, the company moved to more spacious grounds, on the Buckland side of the Deerfield River, and by 1852, it employed 200 people, according to the Shelburne town history. The Lamson & Goodnow website says the company employed at least 500 workers during the Civil War and added tableware to its line of agricultural cutlery.