Z - Zoomer

 Well Z looks like it is going to go the same way as X, but in a much more decisive fashion.

There just aren't many occupations starting with Z, and there is no-one I am aware of who is or was a zookeeper, zoetrope maker or zincographer.

Maybe Zoom can help here. We have all become pretty proficient at zooming over the past 20 or so months. A platform most of us hadn't heard of before COVID has replaced one we all knew. Skype seems to have faded into the depths of oblivion as we all embrace Messenger, Teams, WhatsApp, FaceTime and of course Zoom.

I have been going to regular meetings since April 2020 on Zoom since COVID stopped us all attending in person. I have become part of an amazing online community born out of lockdown, COVID, a shared interest (or three) and Zoom. It started as weekly catch ups and social connection during lockdown and morphed into a fortnightly subscription get together and regularly has participants from 3 - 4 continents. During New Zealand's 2020 lockdown, I raced home on Tuesday nights and joined in the Southern Cross Electric Quiz - on Zoom. Some of us have had interviews with Zoom, attended virtual conferences, workshops and bake-a-long catch ups or shared pizza and wine with friends all from our own isolated homes.

Being a Zoomer isn't an occupation option yet, but maybe it might contribute to something in the future. None of us were Work from Homers before April 2020 either and we've all become pretty adept at that.

There you go, thought I was going to have just two sentences. But Zoom to the rescue !

Y - Yeoman

Yeoman /ˈjoʊmən/ 

First documented in mid-14th-century England, referring to the middle ranks of servants in an English royal or noble household. Yeomanry was the name applied to groups of freeborn commoners engaged as household guards, or raised as an army during times of war. 

Over time it came to mean a man holding and cultivating a small landed estate; a freeholder, ergo a yeoman farmer, farmed his own land. When it came to classes in English society yeoman were intermediate between gentry and labourers. 

There is quite an abundance of Yeomen in the families connected to my Davys family in Somerset and Devon. Some documents record them as Gentlemen, Farmers or Living on their own means.

Families include: Davys,Palfrey, Norman, Vickery, Yeandle, Stone, Williams, Surrage, Burge, Brewer, Hancock, Manning, Venn.

Farms include: Kingston, Upcott, Hurstone, Tripp, Chapmans, More, Hagley Bridge, Severidges, Chubworthy, Ashway, Giffords, Trowell, Shapwick, Cridlands, Shute, Little Knowle, Little Wilscombe, Washers, Gupworthy, Quartley, Bovey, Withey, Little Withey, Catford, Notwell, Monkham, Hellings.

Parishes include: Raddington, Milverton, Chipstable, Clatworthy, Luxborough, Treborough, Huish Champflower, Taunton, Ashbrittle, Brompton Ralph, Cutcombe, Dulverton, Withiel Florey, Upton, Skilgate, Morebath, Bampton, Tiverton, Clayhanger, East Anstey.

So how did these families find themselves in this position socially? The Davys' at least, were definitely in this class by 1719 at the start of the Georgian era when the document transferring entitlement to land at Hagley was drawn up between father and son. Had they played their cards right in a recent of historic event such as the Monmouth Uprising in 1685? Were they established in Somerset and Devon earlier than that? Did it date back as far as the Norman invasion in 1066 for some families?

We may never know.

X - Xcellent - not

 Well X has drawn a blank.

There aren't even a lot of occupations to choose from, let alone finding one which belonged to a family member. Most revolve around 20th century technology, X-ray and Xerox. I even read the X pages of the dictionary and the E pages too, specifically for words starting with Ex, hoping for inspiration. 

No Xaminers, Xcisemen, Xecutioners or Xcavators that I am yet aware of in the family.

I had thought about writing about John Davys (Davis) the Xplorer who tried several times to find the North West Passage between Canada and the Arctic, and for whom Davis Strait is named. In 1592 he discovered the Falkland Islands. He was one of the chief navigators in Elizabethan times, a contemporary of Raleigh, Cavendish & Frobisher. He was born in Devon about 1550 and there is a tenuous, as yet unproven connection to the Davys family. He also commanded a ship (for England) against the Spanish Armada and was Pilot-Major on the first voyage of the East India Company to the East Indies. He was killed by Japanese pirates on 29 December 1605 off Bintan Island near Singapore.

My other option, though more a hobby than an occupation was to find out more about my grandfather's xylophone playing musical pastime. But I didn't really consider it in time and now need to ask lots of questions to find out more.

So for this letter instead of a tick for an xcellent post, I think I will be getting an x mark.

W - Weavers

I have known for quite a while about the Weavers in my mother's family who left Belgium as Huguenots and settled in Spitalfields in London in the late 16th century.

What I hadn't fully realised is that the silk industry was operating in other centres outside London. Some of these centres of industry were due to the arrival of the Huguenot refugees. Others came later, in the late 18th century as employers in London looked for ways to evade the regulations of the Spitalfields Acts. Silk mills could be found in a number of counties,  Somerset, Wiltshire and Hampshire to name a few.

The silk industry comprised many parts including the import of the raw threads, creation of dyes, designs and the cloth itself, then there were also mercers and exporters of the finished article. There were several mills in Hampshire including at Overton and Whitchurch. The Whitchurch Mill has been restored and is a working mill today, open to visitors and tourists. William Maddick took over the Whitchurch Mill and converted it to weave silk in the early 19th century. He was a successful silk manufacturer from Spitalfields. He may have known other people in the industry in Hampshire before he arrived.

There are streets in existence today in Andover named Spindle, Silkweavers which provide clues to past industry there. The family of my great great great grandmother Mary Hammond were silk workers in Andover. In the 1841 census both Mary and her mother are listed as Silk Weavers. The work was hard, unhealthy and poorly paid and they mostly worked from home, the loom taking up a large portion of space there.

Andover had grown with the wool trade and was one of the smaller towns where a thriving community of silkweavers became established. Mary's father John, was recorded as a weaver on the marriage certificates for some of her siblings. Mary had nine brothers and sisters and at least seven of them are recorded at some stage as weavers. England at this time, early 19th century, was facing some unrest. Age old methods were changing on the land and through industralisation. The early years of the century and the war with Napolean made imports difficult and pushed up the prices of food. New machinery meant less men were required to work the land, and for the weavers the larger mechanised looms were too large to have in their homes and could produce silk more quickly than those working at home.

On 20 November 1830 about 300 labourers marched into Andover demanding better pay and conditions for farm workers. They destroyed a large amount of property at an iron foundry which was manufacturing some of the new agricultural machinery. These riots took place in a wave across southern England and became known as "Swing Riots". Several of the ringleaders were arrested and tranported to New South Wales. Despite this unrest, seven of Mary's siblings chose to take their families from Andover and move to the overcrowding, disease and pollution of Spitalfields. Maybe they hoped there might still be the chance of employment in the historic centre of the silk trade in England.

Between 1823 and 1856 two mills operated near New Street in Andover employing up to 90 women. It is possible that Mary, her sister Ann and their mother worked at one of them. 

Henry VIII had hoped to be able to produce silk in England and had many Mulberry trees planted, however the variety which was suitable for silk worms was not suitable to the English climate. Raw silk was imported from India and parts of Europe. The cocoons needed to be unravelled and wound into skeins. Children were often employed to do this as they had smaller, more agile fingers to unknot the thread if required or to re-tie broken filaments. 

The skeins were then placed into bales and taken to the mill to be processed. Here the silk would be cleaned, twisted and wound on to bobbins. Silk throwing is the process where the filament from the bobbins is given its full twist, doubling is when the filaments or threads from three or more bobbins are wound together.  These last two steps can occur more than once. Often the process as a whole was referred to as silk throwing, or as twisting and spinning. 

Some of Mary's brothers were recorded as Silk Throwers, sometimes this referred to the Master, and sometimes to a child.  The role was originally a hand process relying on a turning wheel that twisted four threads while a helper (who would be a child) ran the length of a shade, hooked the threads on stationary pins and ran back to start the process again. The shade, similar to a rope walk, would be between 23 and 32 metres long. Supposing that twelve rolls were made in a day, the child would run about fourteen miles barefoot. 

By Uploaded by User:ClemRutter. 04/2012 - THE PENNY MAGAZINE, VOL XII No. 711. 1843., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18941167

V - Vine Dresser

The Becker family left Rudesheim, on the banks of the Rhine, and travelled to Hamburg and board an emigrant ship in 1852 to make a new life in Sydney, Australia. Friedrich and Elizabetha had four young children, a fifth had died two years before they left aged four. The Caesar Godeffroy sailed on 17 August 1852 with 230 emigrants on board and arrived in Sydney on 11 December. How different that first Christmas must have been compared with their past ones in Germany.

The passenger list records Friedrich's occupation as Vine Dresser. The steep banks of the Rhine and fields around Rudesheim are filled with rows of grapevines, even today. A vine dresser was responsible for pruning and cultivating vines. Pruning removed dead, diseased or stunted fruits to make way for new growth and ultimately lead to a healthy and productive vine. I expect vine dressers also played an integral role at harvest ensuring the fruit was picked carefully without damaging the rootstock and vine. At the time that Friedrich and Elisabetha married in 1845, Friedrich's father was recorded as a Wine Grower.

Did that mean that different families each had their own small vineyard ? Or was it a collective arrangement shared by all of the residents of the town ? Whichever it may have been, there wasn't much call for Vine dressers in the colony of New South Wales when they arrived in Sydney.

Governor Arthur Phillip brought vines with him from the Cape of Good Hope on the First Fleet in 1788 and a number of vineyards were established in the area that is now Sydney, including the first on the site of the Botanic Gardens. Lutheran settlers from Prussia and Silesia settled in the Barossa Valley in South Australia escaping religious persecution in their homeland. Groups also settled in the Riverina district in New South Wales, many had brought vines with them and set about trying to establish vineyards.

Friedrich and Elisabetha raised their expanding family in Sydney, living in Potts Point and Surry Hills. Friedrich became a stone mason and builder, quite a different occupation to the one he arrived with.

U - Unemployed

Occupations have been included on all English and Welsh censuses since 1841. Prior to that census not even names were recorded, just tally marks for sex, age group and what type of industry. Over time the details collected has changed and the statistical way that occupations are grouped and categorised. In 1841 there were 877 different occupations recorded

By 1851 occupations had begun to be categorised with 17 types of work and 91 sub categories. From 1861 the use of "apprentice" and "journeyman" began to be used correctly. Prior to this census, workers may have been recorded as an apprentice or a journeyman (one who had completed an apprenticeship but was not yet qualified to employ workers of their own), but that may not have been correct.

In 1881, additional information was added. Not only was the trade or occupation recorded, it was noted if the person was currently employed. Here we see "Cabinet Maker Unemployed", "Domestic Servant out of work" and similar entries. Before 1881, we have most likely just seen the occupation and assumed our ancestor was gainfully employed. Maybe not. How did they get by ? 

No jobkeeper payments or welfare system doling out money and food. They would have been reliant on their own means, if they had any resources, or reliant on the parish and their wider families. Many would find themselves in a workhouse, their entire family might have to be admitted too with no breadwinner to support them. Today's population seems quite entitled, in comparison, having never lived in a society without a welfare system funded by government.

My 3x great grandmother found herself in the workhouse with her father and her 5 youngest children after her husband died. My 4 x great grandmother, recently widowed, died standing in line at the workhouse for food relief.

Later censuses also recorded whether each person was an employer or worker; whether they worked from home or went out to work. When the 1921 census is released for public research next year we will be able to see the address of our ancestor's workplace as well as their occupation.

Church records began recording occupations in 1812 on baptism records and later on marriage records. Sometimes curates and ministers recorded extra information, or made notes in what might have been a "judgy" tone. I came across some early baptisms recently where the minister had made additional notes. When several base-born (illegitimate) babies were baptised instead of leaving the "Trade" column blank as most were want to do, he wrote "domestic servant now of no useful trade", "no useful trade", and on others "formerly a soldier now of no use". I guess for the soldier, it might indicate that he had returned with injuries which did not allow him to return to his previous type of employment. But for the women, I felt it was a bit harsh.

T - Timber Millers

The Davys brothers came to New Zealand with their parents in 1862 and ranged in aged from 2 to 12 on arrival. They lived for a short time in Auckland before their parents moved to Thames when gold was discovered in 1867.

It is likely they assisted with bush clearing  around Thames, although the younger ones probably attended school at least part of the time as well. By 1876 their parents and uncle had returned to farming, the industry they were a part of before emigrating, in the Tuhikaramea area near Hamilton. Thomas and Walter stayed in the Coromandel and continued mining, or at least prospecting for gold. Henry also took up farming in Tuhikaramea and in the late 1880s Francis was farming at Ardmore near Papakura.

In 1890 Henry with at least one of his brothers, Fred, Albert or William, or perhaps all three established a Timber Mill at Rukuhia. They regularly advertised in the newspapers that they were situated at Messrs Williamson's bush and had a large range of timber available for order. In the mid 1890s Francis had left his farm and was also working at the Rukuhia saw mill. 

Waikato Times 6 June 1891 page 4

MESSRS DAVYS BROS.' RUKUHIA SAWMILLS

Our Tuhikaramea correspondent writes: Hearing that our enterprising fellow settlers, Messrs Davys Bros., had been going in for some extensive works at the Rukuhia mills, I paid them a visit recently, and was certainly astonished at the very complete manner in which the firm have gone to work to secure a large output of sawn and dressed timber. The new mills are fully a mile nearer the Waipa than the former works, and in reaching them from this district one has to pass through the western portion of the Rukuhia Estate, and the pity is that the whole of Messrs Williamson Bros. property is not as fertile and amenable to good cultivation as that which this road passes through. A prettier piece of rural scenery would be hard to find. The broad ridge along which the road winds is coated with a fine sward of young grass, well stocked with a herd of the white-faced Herefords. On one hand lies the extensive bush from which the mills are supplied, while on the other is a beautiful lake, the waters of which gleam in their setting of dark foliage. But as we ride onward the dull grey expanse to be seen ahead tells only too plainly that we are approaching the south-western fringe of the great swamp, the satisfactory treatment of which has, so far, proved an unsolvable problem to the owners of Rukuhia, and must with its miles of trackless bogs and waste, all bearing rates and taxes, be a heavy burden upon them, and at the same time is a serious drawback to the progress of this district. The road is in good order, and we are soon at the mill, which with men's cottages, stables, etc., forms quite a small village by the edge of the bush. A striking feature in approaching is the large stock of sawn timber (over 100,000 feet) stacked in the yards. and the careful manner in which every board is placed up on stands, or fitted in compact squares, serves as a fitting example of  the manner in which the firm carry out their business. The mill buildings are all under one iron roof, and the machinery, driven by nine horse power engine, comprises  breaking down, circulars, planing benches, etc., the timber-cutting operations being under the supervison of  Mr F, Millet, who hails from that land of timber, the Manakau, and is probably one of the best saw-millers in the colony. Being situated on the dry land at the edge of the bush, the logs are brought out by horse tram, the latter being quite a work of magnitude, the line being nearly two miles in length, and, with the heavy traffic of big logs over it, the cost of wear and tear is no small item in the expense of the mill. No doubt, the latter could have been placed more conveniently to the bulk of the timber, but its present position, which is on the main road leading through from the Waipa to the Rukuhia railway station, with the increased facilities thus obtained  for delivering timber either way, compensates for the increased length of the tramway. A walk down the line is very interesting, as showing how the logs are got out. From each side of the tramway, at intervals of a few chains, the rolling roads are cut into the bush, and along these, upon heavy skids, the big logs are jacked  until the line is reached. Some of the logs are very large, the trees near the base being as much as 18 feet in girth, and from 80 feet to 90 feet long.  A log from such a tree would yield about 2,000 feet of timber. Contrary to what might have been expected, the trees are full of heart wood. This is explained by the bush being an old one, and standing on clay land instead of the usual peat bottom. This difference in the soil is also aptly shown by the luxuriant growth of grass, which was surface sown a few months ago, along the tram line, and it is certain that when the heavy timber is removed, and the lighter stuff felled and burnt, the estate will have a grand block of grass land where bush now stands. The Messrs Davys Bros., who, by the way, do a large share of the labour themselves, have, during the past winter, opened up the bush, laid most of the tramway, and felled a considerable quantity of timber, and are now in a position to supply a large quantity of milled stuff in the ost expeditious manner, full particulars of  which will be found in their advertisement. All that is needed are timber orders, and if the opinion of carpenters generally, and others who have used the timber from these mills can be taken as a guide, such orders will be filled to the satisfaction of purchasers, whether as regards quality of timber, price, or terms.

Waikato Times 19 November 1895, page 2 www.paperspast.natlib.govt.nz 

In 1898 they advertised, calling for tenders to build a cottage in Taupiri where they had purchased another mill. The dates of advertisements seem to indicate that they continued to operate the Rukuhia mill as well. Mr Millet who had been with them at Rukuhia also relocated to Taupiri. Although the family remained in Taupiri, they became employees rather than employers, selling the mill in 1899. This may have been as a result of a fatal accident which took place there and perhaps soured their experience.

Waikato Argus 14 Sept 1899 page 3

S - Sail Weavers

There are so many things I have learnt doing this series of blogs and there are still 8 letters to go !

A small geographic area located on the border of Somerset and Dorset saw the emergence of a significant number of co-dependent and integrated active which were associated with the development and growth of sailmaking and the production of twine from the 1700s - mid 1900s. This cluster of activities would later become known as an economic cluster. Other examples in modern day of economic clusters are the Californian wine industry, shipbuilding in Clyde, motor engineering around Coventry and pockets of  IT businesses and start ups like Silicon Valley.

Anyway, back to this little spot on the Somerset/Dorset border. Clusters like this are formed in communities which are imaginative, where creative and unconventional initiatives and projects are embraced. This in turn builds a sort of civic pride and captivates outsiders. This was clearly the case for the sailmaking and rope industry in and around West Coker and East Chinnock. That it lasted for such a sustained period and evolved in an area 32 kilometres from the Dorset coast makes it even more interesting.

The small communities harnessed their assets and became world leaders, but in the end their ability to remain competitive failed. Not really through any fault of their own though. The development of power looms stopped the handloom industry almost immendiately in the 1850s. While they did attempt to diversify they weren't able to stop the demand for steam power which saw the demand for sails to decline dramatically spelling the end of Coker Canvas.

At the time of the 1841 census, just prior to large numbers of my Bartlett ancestors leaving East Chinnock for New Zealand and Australia the occupation which was most prevelant was Sail Weaver. House after house, family after family. Most likely the women folk would have been spinning the flax and the men more involved in weaving. The census doesn't tell us that bit though because of the invisible lives women led in society. I remember seeing flax plantations in New Zealand growing up, around the Manawatu & Horowhenua regions with rows and rows of drying racks in fields. Now I think I should have paid more attention to what Dad was telling me as we drove by in the car.

They must have seen it coming, the end of their industry and perhaps that is why they, their friends and families made the decision to travel to the otherside of the world in the hope of new opportunities there for their children. Staying in England, most would have had no choice but to move to the cities and hope they could do well. The population of East Chinnock  stayed pretty much the same between 1841 and 1851, but occupations had changed. There were less Sail Weavers and more Ag Labs, some Rope makers and a lot more Glovers.

Another little tidbit I didnt know before is that to the west of the East Chinnock village there is a spring with SALT water ! Known as the Salt Hole which was used for salt manufacture until the 19th century.

As well as this small pentagon shaped area of about 200 sq.km south west of Yeovil, there was another economic cluster nearby in Yeovil itself and to the north west including Montacute (where my Cooper family were also about leave from to come to New Zealand). Gloving was the business there, it had been recorded as an industry since the 13th century and it has been estimated that 50% of gloves produced in England came from Yeovil. Certainly there was a lot of sewing going on in Montacute at the time of the 1841 census - plenty of Tailors and loads of Glovers.

R - Railwayman

Thomas Kelsey, my 2 x great grandfather was the youngest of five children born to Thomas Kelsey and Sarah Hulett in Shropshire England. Thomas was born at Norton near Stockton, his elder siblings at Dawley Bank, Dawley Magna, Hatton and Kemberton where his father was employed as an Ag Lab. See, I told you every family has at least one.

Although they were in Norton on the 1851 census just 8 weeks after Thomas' birth, for each subsequent census they were living in Kemberton, Shropshire. Thomas' father was born nearby in Hinnington and his mother was from Wellington.

By 1871 Thomas and his older siblings, all bar Henry, had left Kemberton and rural life behind them. Henry remained in Kemberton most of his life working as an Ag Lab like their father and raised a family of fifteen, three times the size of any of his siblings' families. George was married, living in Dudley and employed as a Railway Porter. Harriet was married and living in Blakedown, Worcestershire where her husband was Station Master . Emily was married and living in Tettenhall, Staffordshire with her husband a Roading contractor.

Thomas began his employment as a uniformed staff member of the Great Western Railway in March 1870. He is recorded as a Shunter at Brettell Lane Goods Yard in the Railway Employment Records. On April 2nd 1871 he received a pay increase of one shilling, to 19 shillings. The date of the payrise was also census night and Thomas is recorded there as a Porter. So not just a pay increase but a promotion too.

He received another pay increase in January 1872, and another the following month when he was also promoted and transferred to Wolverhampton as a Goods Guard. His pay had now increased to 22 shillings and would regularly increase up to March 1888 when he was recieving 32 shillings. 

He first married in 1875 to Mary James. They had 2 children before Mary died at their home in Junction Street, Wolverhampton in 1878. He was earning 31 shilllings at that time. His children went to live with their maternal grandfather and it is unclear exactly when they were returned to the care of their father. Thomas remarried in 1886 to Louisa Rudd. They had three children before Louisa died in 1890.

At the 1891 census, Louisa's father and older sister were living with Thomas and his 5 children. Clara was recorded as the Housekeeper, but three years later she married Thomas and they had a daughter of their own.

His employment record includes some warnings, but no accompanying fines. On 20 November 1885 for over-carrying two wagons, in August 1891 for leaving the train and not warning the signalman - which resulted in him being left behind, and again on 19 April 1893 for overcarrying a cattle truck.

He is noted as being "Away Ill" in February 1895 and again in October 1896 with a note that he had been paid up until that date. The last notation is 19 May 1898 "Will not resume, Deceased". 

Thomas died at the Stafford County Asylum from General Paralysis (syphillis). Not an uncommon predicament in Victorian times. Those periods of illness recorded on his employment record might be indicators of when his condition began to deteriorate. His wives don't appear to have suffered from it, in fact Clara lived until the age of 80. The children too don't seem to have been affected. Two died young, one as an infant from measles and the other from pneumonia aged 21 years. 

The growth and expansion of the Railway networks offered new opportunities for travel, to transport goods and to help develop the growth of towns and cities. DNA suggests that Thomas may have had other relationships, and his occupation provided the opportunity to be in other locations around the country. He certainly had a bit of time between 1878 -1886 when he was single, as well as prior to his first marriage. It might take some unravelling yet.

Q - Quarantines

Q is by far the trickiest letter yet to find an occupation for.

When I saw Quarrel Picker in a list, I thought is this a person who fights for their rights, who rallies against injustices ? There are a few people like that spread through the family tree I thought I could focus on. 

But no. A Quarrel Picker (apparently) was someone who cut and installed glass windows. Who knew ?

Quilters, Quizzers, Quidditch players, there aren't many occupations to choose from with this letter.

No Queens either, although one ancestor did proclaim she was the Queen of Spain - but that is another story.

Queen is really a title rather than an occupation anyway. An interesting fact I happened across was that about 15 million people emigrated from Great Britain between 1837 - 1901 (Queen Victoria's reign), mostly to the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

Quarantines were Customs officials, in a role introduced from 1728. They had the responsibility of watching quarantine hulks anchored offshore to ensure nobody left them before their period of quarantine had expired after arriving from abroad. Some ports had quarantine stations situated just inside the harbour, as in Sydney, or on offshore islands as in Brisbane where I imagine guards, possibly still called Quarantines, were employed to ensure nobody left before their time was up.

A lot of the time they were the last point of defence stopping smallpox, typhoid and cholera from infecting the resident population. In 1919 it was the Spanish Flu they tried to halt. Quarantine camps were set up with tents or rudimentary wooden huts and patrolled to ensure nobody left.

Today Quarantines would be the equivalent of Managed Isolation Quarantine and Hotel Quarantine workers protecting the citizens of their countries while ensuring returned travellers serve their mandatory quarantine period to avoid the spread of COVID-19.

As there were in 1919, there are breaches and slip ups today. That's why half of Australia and all of New Zealand are in lock down again right now. There are other similarities too in the management of the crisis. Just as has occurred over the past eighteen months, Australia ignored their Federal structure of government and each State closed their borders and introduced management policies including closing all schools and making mask wearing mandatory.

I don't know if anyone in the family works in MIQ or Hotel quarantine, or whether anyone was involved in a similar manner for earlier pandemics, but you never know. Pandemics aren't going to go away, so there is every chance that in the future Quarantines will find themselves once more in the preferred job search stakes.

This document from the Royal Australia Historic Society has some interesting information and guides for finding original documents related to the 1918-1919 Influenza Pandemic and was produced for the centenary of that event.

https://www.rahs.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Research-guide-final-version.pdf 

P - Pet Sitter

Pet sitting is a relatively new thing in the scheme of occupations. In years gone by pets weren't as pampered as they are today. They had a purpose; cats were mousers, dogs were assistants for shepherds or for hunting.

Wealthier ladies may have had lapdogs as early as the 1500s but this practice was often ridiculed in satirical cartoons as a frivolous behaviour. Mary Queen of Scots is reported to have had a lapdog. Clothes were even designed to have hidden pockets to secret a small dog, apparently.

However, it wasn't until the late 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century that pet keeping became more culturally acceptable. Pet ownership began to be seen as character building, teaching children to be caring and responsible. Victorians were interested in the home and domestic life, raising children was seen as very important for creating the right sort of morality in society. Keeping a pet was seen as a way for children to develop morality.

Pets, mostly dogs, began to be included in photographs with their owners, or with family groups. Queen Victoria kept a pet dog. Even poor working-class families might capture wild birds like linnets, thrushes and blackbirds keep them in a cage and feed them scraps. Middle class families, to signal their higher status might have bought more expensive pets, like pedigree dogs.

Dogs were very popular as they embodied values that Victorians admired; loyalty, steadfastness and courage. Pedigree breeding started to become popular at this time as well. Monkeys and exotic parrots were imported from the colonies and the wealthiest families may have kept these, not seeing anything immoral about keeping them as pets as we would today.

Rabbits were popular, giving boys (particularly) the opportunity to build a hutch and care for them single handedly. Cats however were still viewed more as a utility animal, their main purpose to be keeping the vermin under control. Their traditional association to witches didn't help either, and it wasn't until the 20th century that cats started being accepted wholeheartedly as a pet to pamper.

When we were younger if we went away on holiday, or for a weekend, a neighbour would feed the cat and we would do the same for theirs in return. Even now, that happens - staying at a friend's house to look after a pet or making daily visits to feed and play with them. In the 1970s boarding kennels and catteries began to open. Hotels for pets. Paid pet sitters.

For a few years from the mid 1990s to the early 2000s my sister-in-law was a Pet Sitter. Proprietor of Purrzazz Cattery on Cambridge Road until another opportunity came along. 

Juggling the drop off and pick up of "guests", feeding, cleaning, shopping for the business with the demands of raising a young family. Many guests became return customers, school holidays and Christmas were crazy chaotic times booked out months in advance. Some of us became assistants when we visited for our holidays. Our pet Sparkle came once, all the way from Wellington. I don't think she was very impressed about the whole ordeal, but like every guest at Purrzazz she was treated like the VIP she was accustomed to be.

The cattery is no longer there, the land now forming part of an interchange on the Waikato Expressway but google still has pictures which is lucky because I don't know where my actual photos are right now - and I am sure I still have a business card somewhere. 

O - Outlaw

Ornithologist, Optometrist, Obstetrician, Oncologist, Orderly, Orchardist, Ostler, Overseer, Outworker, Outlaw, Owler

A tricky letter, but now that I have been thinking, one that actually has quite  number of occupations to choose from...just nobody in my tree that fits the bill. When I frst saw Owler in a list I thought BINGO that's the one, possibly something to do with Owls and perhaps the collection of. But no, foiled again. Owlers were sheep smugglers, not admirers of those night time feathered friends.

Some of my Somerset ancestors had orchards of apples, but I don't know enough to be able to say they were Orchardists. They described themselves as Farmers and the apples I suspect became cider and most likely for their own use.

Perhaps Outlaw is the one to follow, not that Mary Brown was truly an outlaw in the sense of Robin Hood or Ned Kelly.

Mary Ann Brown was born in London about 1811.[1] It has been suggested by other researchers of this family that she was baptised at St Giles, Cripplegate; the daughter of Thomas Brown and Emma nee Newman.[2] However, this is unconfirmed. Mary was 5’ 2” tall with brown hair, light hazel eyes and a freckled, pockmarked complexion in the earliest record found describing her physical features.[3]

On 17^th December 1828, at about 4pm she visited the house of Edward Scott on Holborn Hill, where he also ran his shoemaking business.[4] She was with Mary Cannon a kitchen maid, who at nineteen was two years older than her.[5] While left briefly unattended in the parlour of Scott’s house they each secreted a parcel containing two pairs of shoes beneath their arms.[6] They would have likely been wearing cloaks which will have aided their cause, as it was noted that weather was wet.[7] One of Mr Scott’s servants noticed something amiss and alerted him.[8]

They were apprehended outside the house next door by Mr Scott and other witnesses who came to his aid.[9] Mary Cannon fought and tried to make her escape, but Mary Brown remained calm and protested her innocence.[10] They were taken to the watch house, and then to Newgate Prison.[11] It is not clear where the watch house was, but Newgate was a relatively short walk from the scene of the crime.[12]

Figure 1. Map of London 1851 – Cross’s London Guide. Source: Map and Plan Collection Online, London1851. Accessed 27 May 2018. http://london1851.com/cross13b.htm

They were tried at the Old Bailey on 15^th January 1829 for simple larceny; stealing four pairs of shoes. Mary Brown’s statement of defence was again that she was innocent, while Mary Cannon begged for the mercy of the court.[13] Neither of the Marys had a previous sentence recorded on their Convict Indent but both were found guilty and sentenced to seven years transportation.[14] They spent three months in Newgate and were transferred to the Sovereign before 27^th March 1829.[15] It sailed on 15^th April with a cargo of 119 female convicts, 22 children and 10 passengers.[16]

On arrival in Sydney on 3^rd August, Mary was assigned to Mrs Milson of North Shore.[17] Her husband James had been in Sydney since 1806 and in the early 1820s was granted a lease of 50 acres at North Shore.[18] In 1826 a bush fire destroyed many buildings and rebuilding was still underway when Mary arrived.[19]

The Milson’s new home Brisbane House, a grand home which looked over Lavender Bay, was not completed until 1831.[20] Their other home, Grantham, a sandstone bungalow stood on the site where Greenway Apartments and the James Milson retirement village now stand.[21] Both houses were demolished in 1925-26 during the construction of the harbour bridge.[22] On her Convict Indent, Mary’s trade was described as “Allwork”, she may have worked in the kitchen, or as a general maid.[23]

Figure 2.‘BRISBANE HOUSE’ ABOVE LAVENDER BAY, NORTH OF CLARK PARK (DEMOLISHED MID-1920S) ‘Brisbane House’ was possibly the first substantial stone house built in North Sydney. Source: At Home in North Sydney, ‘Brisbane House’, Accessed 27 May 2018. http://www.athomeinnorthsydney.com.au/brisbane-house.html.

On 10^th January 1831 Mary appears in the Gaol Entrance Books, admitted for making a false charge about her mistress.[24] She was sentenced to ten days in a cell and returned to service.[25] A few months later, she appears again. This time, 23^rd August 1831, for being frequently drunk. Her punishment was 3^rd class for 6 weeks and returned to Government due to abuse of her master.[26]

In April 1832 Mary was reassigned to Mary Dell of George Street.[27] This assignment was not published until October 1832 by which time she may or may not have still been in service with Mary Dell. She next appears in a list of absconded convicts in December 1832, described as having absconded from the Factory under a Colonial Sentence.[28]

After this, her trail goes cold for a few years. The lack of surviving records from the Parramatta Female Factory leads to conjecture as to her whereabouts. Again, similar to the speculation regarding her birth and parents, it has been suggested by fellow researchers that she may have been assigned to the man who became her husband from the Factory, or selected by him to marry.[29] However, there is no record of a marriage in the Applications to Marry records, nor at New South Wales Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages.

Mary must have met Mowbray Bessell in 1834, or early 1835 as their first child was born in October 1835.[30] A second child was born in June 1837 and both were baptised in Sydney on December 25^th.[31] Baptism records for their third, fourth and eighth children record them as married but for Caroline and Emma born in 1849, Mary appears as Mary Brown.[32] Perhaps though, the minister recorded her maiden name in this instance.[33]

Mowbray was born in Mitcham, Surrey in 1803. [34] His background was vastly different to Mary’s. His father had been a Captain in the Horse Guard and was the first Secretary of the General Steam Navigation Company.[35] His grandfather had been a translator at the Old Bailey and his brothers were established in business in London and in China.[36] He arrived in Sydney on the Countess of Harcourt in September 1828 with a detachment of the 63^rd Regiment.[37] In 1834, when a newly arrived passenger on the British Sovereign advertised in the newspaper enquiring as to his whereabouts, he had left the regiment and found employment as an upholsterer.[38]

They relocated to Wollongong between 1838-1839, where Mowbray found employment as a brickmaker and where they remained for the rest of their lives.[39] It is noted as Mary’s place of residence on her Certificate of Freedom in 1840, so there must have been some formal record that has not survived, which allowed her to reside there.[40] Their third child was born and baptised in Wollongong in 1839 and they can be found on the 1841 census at Garden Hill.[41] On the census Mary is recorded as “Arriving Free in the Colony”.[42] Whether this was an error or an attempt to bury her past is unknown.

Figure 3. Robert Marsh Westmacott, ‘Wollongong from the stockade, April 20^th, 1840’. Watercolour on paper, National Library of Australia. Source: University of Wollongong, ‘The Story of the Illawarra Stockade’, Michael Organ, Accessed 28 May 2018.  https://www.uow.edu.au/~morgan/stockade.htm. 

There had been a stockade in Wollongong since 1829 and the settlement was officially gazetted in 1834.[43] Dairying dominated the economy and mining began in 1849.[44] The family lived in Garden Hill, Church Street and Crown Street and for a time farmed near Dapto.[45]

Married life, companionship and motherhood must have agreed with Mary. She only appeared once more in court, in January 1865, as the plaintiff though rather than the defendant.[46] Together they raised a family of five daughters and one son (two other daughters died in infancy); when she died in 1873 she had seventeen grandchildren.[47] She and Mowbray are buried, with no surviving markers, in the Wollongong Cemetery.[48] Bessell Avenue, North Wollongong is named in honour of her son’s family.[49] His home stood on the corner of Bessell Avenue and Bourke Street, now the site of the Normandie Motel and Function Centre.[50]

[1] Old Bailey Online, 'Mary Cannon, Mary Ann Brown.', https://www.oldbaileyonline.org/browse.jsp?id=t18290115-50-off234&div=t18290115-50#highlight, Accessed 27 May 2018.

[2] Ancestry, Baptism Mary Ann Brown, 'England, Select Births and Christenings, 1538-1975 [database on-line].',Original data: England, Births and Christenings, 1538-1975. Salt Lake City, Utah: FamilySearch, 2013. Accessed 27 May 2018.

[3] Ancestry, Mary Ann Brown, Australia Convict Record Index 1787-1867, State Library of Queensland; South Brisbane, Queensland, Australia; Australian Joint Copying Project. Microfilm Roll 89, Class and Piece Number HO11/7, Page Number 41 (23), Accessed 2 May 2018.

[4] Old Bailey Online, 'Mary Cannon, Mary Ann Brown.'

[5] Old Bailey Online, 'Mary Cannon, Mary Ann Brown.'

[6] Old Bailey Online, 'Mary Cannon, Mary Ann Brown.'

[7] Old Bailey Online, 'Mary Cannon, Mary Ann Brown.'

[8] Old Bailey Online, 'Mary Cannon, Mary Ann Brown.'

[9] Old Bailey Online, 'Mary Cannon, Mary Ann Brown.'

[10] Old Bailey Online, 'Mary Cannon, Mary Ann Brown.'

[11] Old Bailey Online, 'Mary Cannon, Mary Ann Brown.'

[12] Old Bailey Online, 'Mary Cannon, Mary Ann Brown.'

[13] Old Bailey Online, 'Mary Cannon, Mary Ann Brown.'

[14] Old Bailey Online, 'Mary Cannon, Mary Ann Brown.'

[15] Ancestry, Royal Navy Medical Journals, Sovereign, 'UK, Royal Navy Medical Journals, 1817-1857 [database on-line].', Original data: Admiralty and predecessors: Office of the Director General of the Medical Department of the Navy and predecessors: Medical Journals (ADM 101, 804 bundles and volumes). Records of Medical and Prisoner of War Departments. Records of the Admiralty, Naval Forces, Royal Marines, Coastguard, and related bodies. The National Archives. Kew, Richmond, Surrey. Accessed 27 May 2018.

[16] Ancestry, UK Royal Navy Medical Journal, Sovereign.

[17] Ancestry, Convict Record for Mary Ann Brown.

[18] Dictionary of Sydney, 'Milsons Point', https://dictionaryofsydney.org/entry/milsons_point, Accessed 27 May 2018.

[19] Dictionary of Sydney, 'Milsons Point'.

[20] Dictionary of Sydney, 'Milsons Point'.; North Sydney Council, 'Walking', https://www.northsydney.nsw.gov.au/Library_Databases/Heritage_Centre/Leaflets_Walks_Publications/Local_walks/A_Place_to_Work_and_Play.pdf, Accessed 27 May 2018.; At Home in North Sydney, 'Brisbane House', http://www.athomeinnorthsydney.com.au/brisbane-house.html, Accessed 27 May 2018.

[21] Dictionary of Sydney, 'Milsons Point'.

[22] Dictionary of Sydney, 'Milsons Point'.

[23] Ancestry, Convict Record for Mary Ann Brown.

[24] Ancestry, Gaol Entrance Description Book Mary Ann Brown, 'New South Wales, Australia, Gaol Description and Entrance Books, 1818-1930 [database on-line].', Original data: State Archives NSW; Roll: 855. Accessed 27 May 2018.

[25] Ancestry, Gaol Entrance Description Book Mary Ann Brown.

[26] Ancestry, Gaol Entrance Description Book Mary Ann Brown.

[27] 'List of Female Convicts Assigned Between The 1st And 30th April, 1832', New South Wales Government Gazette, 17 October 1832, p344.

[28] 'Principal Superintendent of Convict’s Office’, Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser, 27 December 1832, p2.

[29] Terri Bryan to Claire Becker, email, 14 January 2003, original in author's possession.

[30] Birth Certificate of Eliza Bessell, born 20 October 1835, Registry of Births, Deaths & Marriages New South Wales, 286/1835 V1835286/21.

[31] Birth Certificate of Jane Bessell, born 15 Jun 1837, Registry of Births, Deaths & Marriages New South Wales, 287/1837 V1837287/21.; FamilySearch, Baptism Eliza Bessell and Jane Bessell, ‘Australia Births and Baptisms, 1792-1981’, database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XTCR-4S4 : 11 February 2018), FHL microfilm 993,952. Accessed 27 May 2018.

[32] Ancestry, Baptisms Mary Anne Bessell and Charles Bessell, 'Sydney, Australia, Anglican Parish Registers, 1814-2011 [database on-line].', Original data: Sydney Diocesan Archives, Anglican Church Diocese of Sydney. Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Accessed 27 May 2018.; Ancestry, Baptisms Emma Bessell and Caroline Bessell, 'Australia, Births and Baptisms, 1792-1981 [database on-line].Original data: Australia, Births and Baptisms, 1792-1981. Salt Lake City, Utah: FamilySearch, 2013. Accessed 27 May 2018.

[33] NSW Registry of Births Deaths and Marriages, 'Registry Record', http://www.bdm.nsw.gov.au/Pages/family-history/registry-records.aspx, Accessed 27 May 2018.

[34] Ancestry, Baptism Mowbray Bessell, 'London, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812 [database on-line].', Original data: Church of England Parish Registers, 1538-1812. London, England: London Metropolitan Archives; London, England; Reference Number: DW/T/6871. Accessed 27 May 2018.

[35] Karen Hill to Claire Becker, letter, 28 May 1990, original in author's possession.; Bryan to Becker, email, 14 January 2003.; Claire Becker to Terri Bryan, email, 15 January 2003, original in author's possession.; Anne Ingram to Claire Becker, email, 23 February 2003, original in author's possession.

[36] Hill to Becker, letter, 28 May 1990.; Bryan to Becker, email, 14 January 2003.; Becker to Bryan, email, 15 January 2003.; Ingram to Becker, email, 23 February 2003.

[37] 'Shipping Intelligence', Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser, 10 September 1828, p.2.

[38] 'Mowbray Bessell', Sydney Herald, 22 September 1834, p.1.

[39] Ancestry, Baptisms Mary Anne Bessell and Charles Bessell.; Ancestry, Baptisms Emma Bessell and Caroline Bessell.; Ancestry, Baptism Juliana Bessell, 'Sydney, Australia, Anglican Parish Registers, 1814-2011 [database on-line].', Original data: Sydney Diocesan Archives, Anglican Church Diocese of Sydney. Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Accessed 27 May 2018.; Ancestry, '1841 New South Wales, Australia, Census [database on-line].', Original data: New South Wales Government. 1841 Census: Abstract of returns. CGS 1282, Reels 2222-2223. State Records Authority of New South Wales. Kingswood, New South Wales, Australia. New South Wales Government. 1841 Census: Householders’ returns and affidavit forms. CGS 1281, Reels 2508-2509. State Records Authority of New South Wales. Kingswood,  May New South Wales, Australia. Accessed 27 May 2018.; Death Certificate of Mowbray Bessell, died 9 May 1865, Registry of Births, Deaths & Marriages New South Wales, 6453/1865.; Death Certificate of Mary Bessell, died 30 May 1873, Registry of Births, Deaths & Marriages New South Wales, 7454/1873.

[40] Ancestry, Certificate of Freedom Mary Ann Brown, 'New South Wales, Australia, Certificates of Freedom, 1810-1814, 1827-1867 [database on-line].' Original data: New South Wales Government. Butts of Certificates of Freedom. NRS 1165, 1166, 1167, 12208, 12210, reels 601, 602, 604, 982-1027. State Records Authority of New South Wales, Kingswood, New South Wales. Accessed 27 May 2018.; Principal Superintendent of Convict’s Office’, Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser, 4 November 1840, p1147.

[41] Ancestry, '1841 New South Wales, Australia, Census [database on-line].'.

[42] Ancestry, '1841 New South Wales, Australia, Census [database on-line].'.

[43] Aussie Towns, 'Wollongong, NSW', http://www.aussietowns.com.au/town/wollongong-nsw, Accessed 27 May 2018.

[44] Aussie Towns, 'Wollongong, NSW'.

[45] Ancestry, Baptism Mary Anne Bessell and Charles Bessell.; Ancestry, '1841 New South Wales, Australia, Census [database on-line].'.; Ancestry, Baptism Juliana Bessell.; Death Certificate of Juliana Bessell, died 11 April 1854, Registry of Births, Deaths & Marriages New South Wales, V18541335/41A.; Ingram to Becker, email, 23 February 2003.

[46] 'Local News, Court of Petty Sessions', Illawarra Mercury, 17 January 1865, p.2.

[47] Death Certificate of Mowbray Bessell, died 9 May 1865.; Death Certificate of Mary Bessell, died 30 May 1873.

[48] Death Certificate of Mowbray Bessell, died 9 May 1865.; Death Certificate of Mary Bessell, died 30 May 1873.

[49] Mona Montgomery to Claire Becker, letter, 14 April 1991, original held in author's possession.

[50] Montgomery to Becker, letter, 14 April 1991.