A Farm Journal ~ the death of my great great great grandfather ...

My great great great uncle John Bayliff Bowman moved to Sandycroft Farm, Queensferry, Flintshire, in January 1870.


His father (my great great great grandfather) was Henry Bowman and his mother Mary Bowman (nee Brantingham). My great great great grandparents, Henry and Mary, are shown here ...


 
A Farm Journal continues with this entry on the 2nd August 1870 :~

Fine set No 5 up tied rakings all up & set No 1 out - self had a Telegram to say "Father was ill come at once" so I left at 2pm for Chester arr[ived] Longstone at 8pm. Lucy Ann met me in the road & told me the sad news that dear Father was no more with us in the flesh - he had died from a fit of apoplexy about 9 oclock in the morn[in]g was in more than usual health & vigor had had his breakfast & read to them from Acts - 20 Chap[ter] - & after went out to the closet where he was seized apparently quite in an instant was taken without pain or struggle he was called from works to rewards happily as we firmly believe prepared to join in the countless multitude in singing praise to him whom it had been his aim the life to serve - by the grace of God he was what he was & may it serve as a lesson to us all that amidst all our earthly ups & downs we may keep in mind the solemn warning "Be ye also ready" - died 8 mo[nth] 2 1870 in his 77th year & was interred in Friends burying ground Bakewell on the 5th of the same - we were all too late to see dear Father alive after he was taken for no one was with him - dear Mother had up to a recent date always attended him but he had got so much better that he was quite able to dress himself - this was a little cause of regret to Mother - but we must be thankful that he was spared a lingering illness & that he enjoyed life to the last - John & Maria & their 3 boys had been staying at Ashford some time & the horse was in the gig & they were all ready to start for Nott[ingha]m & [word could not be read] waiting to bid Father farewell - dear Mother did not feel able to attend the funeral so stayed at home we had a nice company of friends & all passed off comfortably - John Critchlow spoke acceptably at the grave exhorting us to live as we can die & also as to the example Father had set him & how that for 50 years he had known & watched him in his outward walk - also spoke in meet[in]g Uncle Howitt - & Uncle Brady - Jos[eph] Bottomley - a solemn meet[in]g sister Mary A[rmitage] also spoke very nicely in meet[in]g self stayed till 7th day left by 1.18pm - R.A. stays with Mother who seems nicely but of course feels the loss severely as we all do at losing so good a Father - may we endeavour so to live that some may not fear to die whensoever the call may come 

A Farm Journal ~ from the 16th to the 28th 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 ...

 

 A Farm Journal continues :~

 

3 - 16 Fine A.Cox & Wm & I ferret[tin]g here to dine

 

4 - 17 Wet lead[in]g manure

 

5 - 18 Thunder rain showery - fin[ished] lead[in]g man[ure] S.H.

 

6 - 19 Fine day Truck of Grains in spread[in]g man[ur]e etc

 

7 - 20 Fine

 

1 - 21 Frosty

 

2 - 22 Beautiful day 

 

 3 - 23 Ditto stack in & chopped at Cales last stack

 

4 - 24 Wet aft[ernoo]n plough[in]g Watricle etc - stop[pe]d sending milk

 

5 - 25 Stormy began to make 2 cheeses p[e]r day 18 cows E.B.* sends his milk still

 

6 - 26 Very fine but cold & windy Co[u]s[in] Eliza SA & I & all went to Ashford to dine & tea**

 

7 - 27 Very stormy snow & hail at times - plough[in]g etc

 

1 - 28 Very stormy indeed Snow 6 in[ches] deep & drifted

 

 

* I assume 'E.B. refers to JBB's brother Ebenezer Bowman.

 

** It is likely that this meant a visit to my great great great grandparents Heny and Mary Bowman [the elderly couple in the photograph above] who lived at The Elms, Ashford in the Water.

  

A Farm Journal ~ from the 1st to the 15th September 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.]

A Farm Journal continues :~

3 - 1st 9 Mo[nth] Fine day lead[in]g manure at Cales sold Large Mountney 11 fat sheep off rape £2 each

4 - 2 Fine & hot self to B[akewe]ll early to join Father Lucy Ann & Co[u]s[in] Eliza to Chest[er]f[iel]d M[onthly] M[eeting] & home even[in]g

5 - 3 Ditto weather  John Kirkam [sic] to look at lambs but not sold - sold 4 fat pigs Jim Harrison - F[ather] & M[other] came to tea & stayed till 7 day even[in]g

6 - 4 Fine & hot F[ather] & I went round the farm in morn[in]g

7 - 5 Ditto Dipped 93 lambs on the rape so pested [sic] with fly dip[pe]d as a protection - the turnips & rape are up but advance slowly frosty nights & hot days - want rain along with the hot weather -

to 3 - 15 Mostly cold N.E. winds filling pudding pie in Willow field & lighted Self to Nott[ingha]m Q[uarterly] M[eeting] and back

The photograph shows Lucy Ann Bowman. She was born on the 19th December 1849 at One Ash Grange. She would have been 18 years of age when she travelled to Chesterfield Monthly Meeting with her grandfather , her Uncle ... and Eliza. 

A Farm Journal ~ from the 1st to the 28th February 1867

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.]

In this photo John is fourth from the left. My great great grandparents, Ebenezer and Hannah Bowman, are the third and fourth adults from the right. John and Ebenezer were brothers and their parents are the elderly couple in the middle, Henry and Mary Bowman.

"A Farm Journal" continues :~

6 day 1st Fine day Thrash[e]d Cales - & grinding

7 - 2 Fine - grinding at Cales fetch[e]d bl[ac]k tartar seed oats fr[om] Bakewell 27/6

1 - 3 Fine 

2 - 4 Wet day morn[in]g fine aft[ernoo]n B[akewe]ll market & on to Ashford [in the Water] to d[ine] & t[ea]

3 - 5 Showery

4 - 6 M[onthly] M[eeting] B[akewe]ll - very wet morning - on to Middleton aft[ernoo]n Snow & blow - home at night

5 - 7 Stormy

6 - 8 Very wet morn[in]g fine aft[ernoo]n Thrash[e]d at Cales

7 - 9 Fine & spring like

1 - 10 Showery Bowman & Fanny Blore to dine Bowman & I to Chelmorton to visit W.Dawson by appointment

2 - 11 Fine at Cales cleaned boiler etc

3 - 12 Ditto finish[e]d plough[in]g fallow in Pewet Knobs & began ley in Kiln Close S.H.

4 - 13 Fine & spring like Bentley here mending carts

5 - 14 Raw S.E. misty rep[airin]g carts etc stack in S.H.

6 - 15 Ditto - wet evening S.E. - stacks in at Cales could not thrash boiler not in order - to Sheldon in evening to see R. Brocklehurst * - ewe dead at Cales - M.A.Bagshaw died yesterday

7 - 16 Fine did the engine at Cales to 5th day 28 most fine last two days frosty - finish[e]d plough[in]g ley Kiln Close S.H. began Far Piece - Irish Bullock choked with a turnip at Cales - we tried to force it down & so injured the throat - it died  - in future put a stick in the mouth & turn out - dried & ground oats at Cales


 * 'R.Brocklehurst' could well be Richard Brocklehurst who would have been aged 37 or 38 in 1867. According to the 1861 Census Return he was an "Engine Driver also Lead Miner".