Saturday 4 May 2013

A Farm Journal ~ from the 13th to the 30th November 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.]

John Bayliff Bowman is fourth from the left in the photo below ...
 
The Bowman family

 A Farm Journal continues :~
 
6 - 13 to 6 - 20 Very fine mild weather for time of year lead all swedes home at S.H. & began to pit corn ones fair crop of Scotch yellows but only about 3/4 ac[re] of them
 
7 - 21 Very sharp frosty night rimed & misty dull day W. South at night & no frost cow calf dead of Speed at Cales - plough[in]g lime in Pewet Knobs - sending two cans of milk every day to Manchester 2/4 p[e]r doz[en] 11 to 12 doz[en] p[e]r day SA & children & Ann to Ashford
 
1 - 22 Very wet day
 
2 - 23 Fine
 
3 - 24 Ditto Nomination day at B[akewe]ll Cavendish & Jackson Liberals Arkwright conservatives - a crowded Bakewell & a bit of skirmishing in aft[ernoo]n
 
4 - 25 Fine
 
5 - 26 Ditto sale at Isaac Grindy's Oldhams [began to plough Intake Ley] very good sale of an excellent stock of Dairy cows bo[ugh]t 1 £12  - calves 4 mo 19 - W[illia]m bo[ugh]t 3 - sheep poorish lot but sold well
 
6 - 27 Fine day Polling day at B[akewe]ll excited day but orderly suppose Cavendish & Arkwright are the elected
 
7 - 29 beautiful day frosty night - cutt[in]g swedes in Watricle - plough[in]g etc
 
1 - 30 [no entry other than date] 
 

8 comments:

  1. I guess Isaac Grindy,lived at Upper Oldhams,( Arbor Low) it would be a handy sale for them,just across the road.Ann

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  2. The "bit of skirmishing" would have been interesting! I wonder if he employed a bit of understatement with his comment?

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    1. I suppose he might have done ... it was probably a bit of jostling with the odd punch thrown. I did look in the Derbyshire Times for that week but there was no mention of any "skirmishing".

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  3. I wonder....were the elections local or national?

    "cow calf dead of 'speed' at Cales. Any idea what 'speed' is?

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    1. I think they might have been national. Cavendish would have been the Duke of Devonshire ... or his family. As for speed, he's lost a few cattle over the year with speed. Ann might be able to tell us more ...

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  4. Hi Charlie speed is what we think is now called Blackleg,which is a Clostridium disease.Where it is a problem we think they now use a vaccine,otherwise they use an antibiotic.Ann

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