Friday 15 November 2013

A Farm Journal ~ from the 13th to the 30th June 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 :~
 
2 - 13 Fine fin[ishe]d thin[nin]g & hoeing swedes in No 2 as far as ready - cut[tin]g grass for beasts in shippon
 
3 - 14 Fine took 3 bullocks & cow & 3 store pigs to the Ermine Sale Pickerings - a poor sale could do as well at home Charles & Sidney * came - Eliz[abe]th & Polly & Nelly on to Rhyl
 
4 - 15 Fine at Potatoes flat hoeing
 
5 - 15 Ditto - Showery aft[ernoo]n Hawarden festival all went but S.A. S.F.A. came to dine from Rhyl (Joanna etc there) - went with us - left 6.40 for Nott[ingha]m
 
6 - 17 Fine - thinning swedes
 
7 - 18 Showery Chas & Sid & I to Thornton Moor to look at filly ley[e]d there - back to station C&S home by M[an]chester
 
1 - 19 Fine
 
2 - 20 Ditto SA & baby I to nurse to Rhyl to spend day with Lizzy & Co.
 
3 - 21 Fine
 
4 - 22 Fine
 
5 - 23 Showery - Nurse left
 
[No entry for 6 - 24]
 
7 - 25 Very cool N wind - thinning Swedes in No 2 - Scuffling potatoes 2nd time - tied 4 heifers up & are now feeding about 12 indoors with grass & cake
 
2 - 27 Fine Lizzy & Co home took to Chester - began mow[in]g - No 14 clover very poor crop - started Samuelson's Eclipse ** without track bond but would not work so bro[ugh]t one back from Chester started
 
3 - 28 & cut 10 ac[res] changing 1 horse worked very well - soiling potatoes & thin[nin]g swedes
 
4 - 29 Fine finish[e]d mow[in]g clover - Joanna & children here
 
5 - 30 they left Fine shower at night - Chester - Pickering  wool sale mine sold there 73 ewes Cheviot & Leicester @ 1/2 1/4 p[e]r lb & 25 Lester Hogs  
 
 
* Charles and Sidney are the two young boys in the photograph above. I believe the photograph was taken before 1870. They were two of my great great grandparents' children though not on my direct line.
 
** There is reference to some of Samuelson's implements if you click here
 
 

6 comments:

  1. I'm surprised he was feeding cattle in doors with grass,I thought that was a modern way of doing things.Ann

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    1. I'm glad John's journal entries are still of interest Ann ~ I was concerned his move to Queensferry/Sandycroft Farm might involve too many difficult placenames. So far, so good.

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  2. You are making me hungry. I want some yellow turnips mashed with potatoes RIGHT NOW. The sad thing is that I learned from the food bank that the people who need food don't know how to cook the donations in their bags, like turnips and kale and zucchini and lentils or beans or even some pastas. That is even if they have cooking facilities in their rental units. They prefer bags of rice and Kraft dinner and canned stews. OK says I, I can add those to the hampers but there is a disconnect here that need to be addressed.

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    1. You make a fair point Karyn ~ it's no good providing good produce if they don't know how to use it.

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  3. I was going to ask about the Samuelson's Eclipse, but then saw the link you provided. Some very interesting background to the 'latest tech' in those days.

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    1. It's good to be able to find this sort of information ~ it gives me some idea as to where John was, technologically !

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