Thursday 31 October 2013

A Farm Journal ~ from the 2nd to the 16th May 1870

My great great great uncle John Bayliff Bowman lived at Summer Hill, near Monyash in the County of Derby, until the end of January 1870 when he moved to Sandycroft Farm, Queensferry, Flintshire.

The Bowman family, who were Quakers, had rented 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 :~
 
No entry for the 1st May 1870.
 
2 - 2nd 5 Mo[nth] Fine dry lead man[ur]e to No 12 for Cabbage etc
 
3 Ditto - Griffiths sale at Rake - had tea & toasts in even[in]g
 
4 & 5 spreadman etc
 
6 planted Cabbage - 4 men & 2 women planted ab[ou]t 2 ac[res] masons doing fire place self to Chester for pump & pipes
 
7 Fine N.N.W. fin[ishe]d plant[in]g cabbage - pick[e]d scutch - sow[e]d rem[ainde]r of No 12 with swedes - fallow[in]g etc men doing fire place - Swedes & Mangolds 1st lot sown have been in gr[oun]d 3 1/2 weeks & are not much up
 
2 - 9 Very hot day - sow[in]g man[ur]e on Stacky[ar]d f[iel]d for swedes & fallow[in]g - borrow[e]d water cart from Wright of Copt farm to water cabbage plants gr[oun]d very dry when planted - should have put them in soil & watered & Kept till rain came - many small plants
 
3 - 10 Fine & hot sow[e]d swedes etc
 
4 - 11 Showery day W.S.E. - very acceptable - Masons finish[e]d fire place
 
5 - 12 Ditto F & I took drive out
 
6 - 13 Fine day two women picking turnip stalks off wheat & spudding thistles - fallow[in]g
 
7 - 14 Ditto 
 
1st Showery
 
2 - 16 Fine - Horse hoeing beans etc. 


I assume 'No 12' relates to a field. Were some of the fields numbered ?
  

7 comments:

  1. I hope his cabbages survived it must have been really dry,it is a back breaking job planting them you wouldn't want to start again.He doesn't mention cows perhaps they just had sheep.Looked on ancestry and his farm is 435 acres in 1881.Ann

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    1. Was there no Census Return for 1871 Ann ? I seem to recall I couldn't find one. I wonder where he was.

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    2. No Charlie I couldn't find one,but Sarah and family look as if they are visiting Mrs Armitage in Nottingham.Ann

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    3. That makes sense Ann but as for John I wonder where he was. If you know the exact date I could look it up in the farm journal.

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  2. Sounds like he realised he'd made a mistake in planting the cabbages when it was too dry.

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    Replies
    1. A fairly elementary mistake you would have thought ...

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  3. Hello, I'm interested in the Bowman family as I have recently acquired a Victorian portrait of a John Bowman painted by sister Maria Bowman and it mentions One Ash. Would be grateful if anyone has any info about her as an artist? Many thanks, Ellie

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