Friday 25 January 2013

A Farm Journal ~ from the 1st to the 15th February 1868

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.]

JBB's Farm Journal

A Farm Journal continues :~
7 - 1st 2 Mo[nth] - very Stormy wet & windy night & day tremendous wind - Flower cow cast calf at Cales
3 - 4 rather stormy morn[in]g - finish[e]d plough[in]g 
4 - 5 Windy but fair M[onthly] M[eeting] at Matlock bank met at Clara J. Stevens - nice meet[in]g - Tho[ma]s Hartras there & several Irish friends visitors - home with F[ather] & M[other] in their carriage - began to rebuild wall dale side of Lit[tle] Lamb pasture
7 - 8 Stormy morn[in]g N.E. with snow at times
1 - 9 Fine
2 -10 Ditto walling in Lamb Pasture
5 - 13 Fine day thrash[e]d & gr[oun]d mung etc W[illia]m at Cales doing cake breaker
6 - 14 Fine spring like day S[arah] A[nn Armitage] & Baby & I to Ashford J[ohn] A[rmitage] & Maria R.A.B[rayshaw ?] & children there
7 - 15 Rather colder north wind with hail at times get[tin]g stone lamb pasture
 

6 comments:

  1. Sounds like pretty rough weather at that time.

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    1. There's a blog coming along [in due course] which will include some photographs showing how open the area around One Ash Grange etc. is. Once that wind starting shifting across the fields up there there's nothing to stop it.

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  2. The mention of walling takes me back Charlie,it was a job I loved out in the field with no one else around.Not to good on frosty days though.Ann

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    1. I have done a bit of walling on some of our working parties and always thought I might have been pretty good at it ... if Dad had lived longer. As you say though, not good on frosty days.

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  3. Winter on a ranch/farm has daily cold chores that must always be done. The list is long of things that need to be repaired when the weather is a little warmer. But the bad weather can give an opportunity for more family visiting as on the 'fine spring day'

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    1. Even back in the 1950s Dad still had to get out and milk 30 or so dairy cows twice a day ... in all conditions ... every day. I don't think people realise what really hard work it is or the hours that are put in.

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