Sunday 26 May 2013

A Farm Journal ~ from the 1st to the 15th February 1869 ...

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 :~
2nd Mo[nth] - 2 - 1 B[akewe]ll market slender Milk slow beef & mutton scarce
3 - 2 snow[e]d morn[in]g - stack in & thrash[e]d Cales
4 - 3 Wet morn[in]g - to Matlock M[onthly] M[eeting] Amos & Edith Griffith from America there also Edw[ar]d Brewer very nice meeting - bro[ther] W[illia]m & I with Peter Bromley [Bramley ?] by rail to Whatstandwell & then on to Wingfield to look at hogs 2 dead scour but are better then by rail to Nott[ingha]m to Sam's lodged & in morn[in]g on to Mansfield looked beasts at Davys & Millns all doing well as can expect
6 - 5 Most beautiful day home all well
7 - 6 Fine day finish[e]d plough[in]g ley - began lead[in]g manure out S.H.
1 - 7  Fine
3 - 9 Fine morn[in]g stormy aft[ernoo]n fetch[e]d 500 Strike Grains from Wharf
    
2 - 8  Showery day lead[in]g manure took B.Brayshaw to B[akewe]ll
 [The entries for the 8th and 9th February 1869 are transposed in the farm journal]
4 - 10 Showery lead manure etc
5 - 11 lead manure etc
6 - 12 Thrash[e]d Stormy snow on gr[oun]d
7 - 13 Fine Snow gone Co[u]s[in] A Cox & W[illia]m & I ferret[tin]g in dale
1 - 14 Fine but windy
2 - 15 Fine & mild B[akewe]ll market bo[ugh]t cow from Jon[atha]n Blore £17 in calf - 1 of a man £14 - calved 2 calves B Bower £33 - 1 of G. Furniss £18 10/- 
Out of interest I fed the names Amos and Edith Griffith [see the 3rd February entry above] into Google. According to the Find a Grave website Edith Price Griffith was born on the 9th May 1801 and died in February 1873. Amos Griffith on the 13th October 1794 and died in 1871. Could this be the same couple ?
The website goes on to reveal that "Amos & Edith ... were the parents of Elizabeth P Griffith Milhous. Elizabeth was the mother of Franklin Milhous. Franklin was the father of Hannah M. Nixon. Hannah was the mother of Pres. Richard Milhous Nixon.

This makes Amos the great-great-grandfather of President Richard Nixon." 
I realise that it could be another Amos and Edith Griffith but the couple referred to in the Find a Grave site were buried in Shortcreek Cemetery ... and the website goes on to reveal that this " ... cemetery was established by the Short Creek Monthly Meeting Quakers ..."
Was it therefore the great great grandparents of President Richard Nixon who travelled from the United States to Matlock all those years ago ? 
There are photos of Amos and Edith Griffith on the Find a Grave site here.

7 comments:

  1. With apologies for the spacing between lines. Blogger seems to have problems with this sometimes.

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  2. How interesting that JBB appeared to have met Nixon's forebears!!

    Any idea what 'Strike Grains' are?

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    1. I was surprised I must admit about the connection to Nixon's ancestors. I wonder what they were doing in Matlock ? Visiting relatives ?

      As for 'strike grains' I wonder if it is grain that is ready to be planted ? We need Ann to answer this one !

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  3. Yikes...don't let them know what Nixon did...
    I don't know what a strike grain is either and I also don't know why I enjoy reading these journals so much either. Maybe it is the secret glimpse into the past.

    I feel like trying to read more blogs tonight but have been in the fresh air all day fishing and it has been windy and I have a very read face, so may flag fast.

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    1. Perhaps it's just that we want to know what happens next ... even though every single person mentioned has been dead for years.

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  4. Hi Charlie,just got back from Derbyshire had a really good time.We did have some rain but also some lovely sunshine.Interesting about Nixon perhaps someone will find more about it.I don't know much about grain but we think it may be brewers grain sold in different weight to the dry grain.Ann

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  5. Thanks for the information as regards the grain Ann.

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