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My Genius Has Been Recognised!
Chiropody at Trentham
I’ve finally managed to scan some of my grandmother’s photos that I brought back from my holidays.
This one appears to be a photograph of a sketch:
On the back, my grandmother has written “Done by Charles Buchan during WWI. He was in medical unit doing chiropody“.
Charles BUCHAN was my grandmother’s father. She had written a letter to me years ago, when I first became interested in family history, in which she told me:
“Dad had a slight heart problem (valve) so had not been accepted for active service & ended up in medical corp & it was there that he did his training (or experience) in CHIROPODY (lots of feet there to practice on) & on returning to NZ, decided to set himself up as CHIROPODIST much to Grandma Reid’s disapproval. ‘Why on earth would he decide to out on his own, when CLUFFS (or whoever) would have been more than happy to re-employ him?'”
Grandma REID was Charles’ mother-in-law, who seemed to be a rather stern sort (maiden name – Janet HUNTER – grandaughter of James BROWN). I’ve tried to research ‘Cluffs’ and its variations but came up blank (any help from New Zealand would be welcome).
While trying to find out more about Trentham Military Camp, imagine my surprise when I stumbled upon this page from Archives New Zealand :
There was no mention of Charles by name or any further information on his drawing but a look around provided me with another World War One sketch by my ancestor:
I had never seen this picture before and got very excited. I will be contacting the archives to see if I can obtain a copy of the second image or at the very least if they will credit the images to Charles.
More Antenuptial Fornication
This is almost a continuation of my post about antenuptial fornication but I have decided to post separately as I am still not sure whether this is the same person.
In the Dumfries Kirk Sessions of 1822 (which are searchable online), James BROWN was “named as the father of Jean Smith’s child; [and] gave satisfaction for this in the parish of Applegarth” (Archive Ref: CH2/537/12). I believe ‘gave satisfaction’ (in this sense), meant that the father gave monetary compensation to the parish for their support of the child.
So was this James BROWN my ancestor, who appeared in the Dunscore parish records 6 years later for antenuptial fornication? With such a common name I cannot be sure but I can assess the likelihood of it being the same man for future reference.
First, was he old enough to be involved in this? Although I don’t have his birth record, the 1851 census suggests he was born in 1801, which means he would have been 21 at the time – a prime age for this kind of crime. 😉
(Interestingly, their neighbour, Andrew Lorimer (appearing at bottom of image above) was the certifying physician on James’ death certificate.)
Next, was he near enough to be involved? Applegarth is roughly 20 miles from Dunscore and about 30 miles from my James’ home, Glencairn. Not a short walk, but not impossible distances.
So I can’t rule out my James Brown as the father of Jean Smith’s illegitimate child and I have kept hold of this genealogical tidbit. To get any closer to proving this, I would need to check for further information in the Kirk Session records and the Applegarth parish records for any further information on Jean SMITH and her child.
Next Steps:
- Check for further information in the Kirk Session records
- Check Applegarth parish records for the child’s birth
Update: Checked Applegarth, Dunscore, Glencairn and Lochmaben parishes (via ScotlandsPeople) for any birth with Jean SMITH as parent (between 1800 – 1825) and any SMITH birth (between 1816 – 1825) – no likely entries found (all have listed fathers).
Related posts:
Antenuptial Fornication
A post by The Professional Descendant reminded me of my own ancestor’s indiscretion.
It’s easy to think that people were more chaste in the past. This may be true, but a journey through the parish records shows that people back then also indulged in sex before marriage or as the Victorians preferred to call it, ‘antenuptial fornication’.
Whilst looking through the Dunscore parish records for births and marriages, I found an entry for James BROWN’s proclamation of banns, for which he paid 3 shillings on June 10, 1827. (James was originally mentioned in this post).
I believe the next entry for June 16, shows his marriage although the bride’s name appears different. In January the next year, the couple were blessed with their baby girl, Jane.
Someone must have done the maths though, because two weeks later James paid 3 shillings and 6 pence as a fine for antenuptial fornication.
Janet would have been about 2 months pregnant when they announced their intentions to marry back in June. It is possible that Janet did not know she was pregnant but I think they were both aware when they decided to marry. I wonder what must have gone through their heads – were they fearful of their secret being discovered? How did their families react? Apart from the church fine, did they suffer any other repercussions or did it not matter now the child was legitimate?
Punishment Book
I am fortunate enough to have access to the log books for Rayne School in Essex. Although I have no ancestors from these parts, they still make for fascinating reading. One is ominously labelled, ‘Punishment Book’ and contains genealogical treasures within. Unfortunately, quite a few pages are missing but the pages from May 1923 to May 1933 survive and record the names of children and their offences.
The majority of punishable behaviour seems to consist of persistent inattention, talking and unspecified ‘misbehaviour’. But sometimes a tiny bit of detail is given for our amusement. William Childs, for example, received 2 strokes on the hand with a strap for ‘Damaging Phyllis Gilder’s hat’. Lucy Yeldham ‘deliberately’ broke a ruler and promptly received 2 strokes. Thomas Coe, Leonard Carder and Harold Dawes each got 2 strokes on separate occasions for ‘Wasting Time’ (this one particularly makes me chuckle).
The same names tend to keep cropping up. Often in trouble, William Livermore at one time received 4 strokes for throwing a lighted match at a girl. This didn’t seem to deter him as he was given 2 more strokes a month later for ‘Striking matches’. The Livermores seemed to be a difficult family as Stanley Livermore (possibly William’s sibling) was once given 2 strokes for biting J. Newman and Ernest Livermore was also punished a few times.Another repeat offender, Albert Olley got 2 strokes for ‘Squirting dirty water over girls on way home from school’ and then two more the next day for ‘Again interfering with girls on way home from school’, among many other offences.
I plan to catalogue the names in this book and will probably list them here for any one researching family in Rayne.