Monday 5 November 2012

A Farm Journal ~ from the 1st to the 15th June 1867

My great great great uncle John Bayliff Bowman lived at Summer Hill, near Monyash in the County of Derby.
The Bowman family, who were Quakers, had three farms, One Ash Grange [which John Bayliff Bowman often referred to as O.A.], Cales and Summer Hill [which he usually referred to as S.Hill or S.H.]

In this photo John is fourth from the left. My great great grandparents, Ebenezer and Hannah Bowman, are the third and fourth adults from the right. John and Ebenezer were brothers and their parents are the elderly couple in the middle, Henry and Mary Bowman.

The Bowman family

"A Farm Journal"continues :~
 7 day 1st 6 Mo[nth] Ditto weather wash[e]d some sheep - was ordered to take the sheep out of Lanes - Co[u]s[in] Frank & Annie Howitt came to tea

1 - 2 Fine morn[in]g - wet aft[ernoo]n to O.A. to tea & down dale

2 - 3 Very thoro' wet but fine growing day - F & A left for Ashford

3 - 4 Fine day finish[e]d washing sheep

4 - 5 Very wet early SA & I to Ashf[or]d to Breakf[ast] & then on to Chesterf[ield] M[onthly M[eeting] & on to Eckington aft[ernoo]n to Chas Dyson's found Chas very poorly stayed all night & on to M[an]chester morn[in]g B & RA's all well

6 day to J B B Edmondson's to tea

7 day to look at his factory & home 9 p.m. Very showery all the time

1 - 9 Fine day

2 - 10 D[itt]o B[akewe]ll fait bo[ugh]t 12 pigs 22/- - Middleton to tea Co[u]s[in] E.G. came

3 - 11 Fine sow[in]g turnips

4 - 12 D[itt]o finish[e]d Pewet Knobs

5 - 13 D[itt]o home hoeing swedes - Martin thinning @ 10/- p[e]r ac[re]

6 - 14 Showery & cold W[ind] N[ortherly] fallow[in]g etc

7 - 15 Showery day D[itt]o sow[e]d corn turnips on Stone Pit close S.H. Lizzy & L.A. here

6 comments:

  1. What factory was he looking at on 7? Do you know?

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    1. It looks as though Ann may have found something out Mitch ~ see below.

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  2. I love the way he drops in a family name,makes it easier for you to trace your family tree.As for JBB Edmondson there was one who printed train tickets in Lancashire.Could this be him?.Ann

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    1. I agree it is interesting how he drops facts into his journal ... and sometimes I find out little snippets of information. It looks as though you mahe beaten me to it as regards Mr. Edmondson though Ann.

      Having looked at the journal it does look like 'J.B.B. Edmondson' but the 'J.B.B.' is squeezed together and as we know JBB [John Bayliff Bowman] didn't always get it exactly right. I think you may have got it right ~ there can't be that many J.B.B.Edmondsons or J.J.B.Edmondsons with a factory in the north in 1867. Well done !

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  3. Your Journal entries always make me want to go to the kitchen and make a pot of tea and get some digestive biscuits for dunking in it (if the Queen is not watching). The 'facts' he drops in just show his intelligence and observations that intrigued him. At least he was literate, which must have been a blessing in those days.

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    1. I am so pleased that his Farm Journal appeals to a small number of you. It may not be devastating stuff that he [I nearly wrote "blogs about"] writes about but the information in the journal builds steadily until I feel [to some extent] the pressures that a 19th century farmer must have had to endure.

      When I read the journal before blogging about it I don't believe I finished it. Blogging a fortnight at a time has helped me enjoy it more.

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