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, 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 ...
A Farm Journal continues :~
[There is no entry for the 1st of January 1869]
7 - 2 1st Mo[nth] 1869 Fine day snow most gone - stack in at Cales thrash[e]d & chopped by steam
1 - 3 Stormy
2 - 4 Very fine day B[akewe]ll Farmers club dinner - rec[eive]d 1st Prize £2 for swede turnips - W[illia]m Hadfield £1.10.6 for long servitude -
3 - 5 Stormy day
4 - 6 Fine Self to M[onthly] M[eeting] B[akewe]ll home to dine [2 pigs killed]
5 - 7 Fine but mainly misty - Tups away - three dead
5 - 7 to 3 - 19 Very wet or misty but mild weather - no servant have charwomen to help - plough[in]g etc sheep are not looking 1st rate too wet & grass frim* takes them off their dry food rather
- to 7 - 23 Mostly Fair today frosty with a little snow - plough[in]g ley began Seed Piece SH - sheep have chop malt combs oats & cake doing mid -
1 - 24 Very fine mild week for time of year thunder rain frequently
[There were no more entries for the rest of the month. I can't recall him missing so many days. I wonder what happened ?]
* The word is 'frim' not 'firm'. Grass is described as frim [usually] in Springtime when it is young and tender.
I wonder where the servants were,perhaps there was illness around at that time.Three dead tups! they may have been fighting and broken their necks,which does happen.Ann
ReplyDeleteEvery now and again they seem short of servants or workers don't they. Perhaps it wasn't so easy to replace them as quickly back then. It's interesting how they had to use a 'charwoman', someone who was employed to clean houses. One of my maternal great grandmothers was a charwoman ... I was quite pleased.
DeleteYes, tups can be aggressive. I can't even remember typing 'tups away' but have checked it and there it is in bolder writing.
Strange that he missed so many days at the end of the month. Are there no references to it in later entries?
ReplyDeleteI only ever read it as I type it Mitch ... I don't want to spoil it for myself ! I don't think there will be anything though. He never seems to go back or recap much does he. Those days will be forever lost.
DeleteI catch myself wondering what he would have thought of the idea that his words would have been shared virtually around the world, many years later? I hope that he would have thought it was fascinating ...
ReplyDeleteI often wonder the same thing. He would probably be horrified. Look at his bearing in the photograph above ~ eyes down and rather introspective. Unlike my great grandfather Ebenezer who looks directly at the photographer with arms folded ~ there's no linking arms with the women on either side for him. Having said all that I believe that John Bayliff Bowman's journal is an important historical source. I believe *we* have a right to know what went on in those distant days.
DeleteI agree, Charlie. It is important and we do have a right to know. You're doing a fine job of it!
ReplyDeleteThank you ... it's appreciated.
DeleteSometimes the comments are almost as interesting as your entries.
ReplyDeleteI'm pleased that this 150 year old diary is of interest.
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