Skip to main content

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks:- Week 38. Fun and Games

 FUN AND GAMES


I have noticed that some of my ancestors, after retirement, having continued to work, but in leisurely pursuits.
Both 'Granny Swatridge's' husbands worked as deck chair attendants. Her first husband, William Richard Pitts 1876-1958, at Canvey Island and her second husband Harrison Robert Peter Swatridge, Uncle Bob at Bogner.

But for this weeks post I am writing a short post about a more distant ancestor from my 'Youell' family:-

 The Tatler 1901 'Setting Sail' Southampton Boat Pond 
History of the Boating Lake | The British Newspaper Archive Blog


John Soanes 1821-1898.

John was the eldest son of my 3x Great Grandfather, William Youell's sister Esther, who married Robert Taylor Soanes in 1820. John spent his life in Suffolk living throughout within 5 miles of the coastal resort of Lowestoft.

His occupation for much of his working life was as a hemp dresser, sometimes known as a 'hackler', this job was to seperate the coarse parts of flax or hemp with a hackle, an implement with teeth. 

 www.financialpost.com


Whilst flax and hemp was imported in the UK, the better quality from Russia, cheaper quality from Naples, it is more probable that John worked with hemp grown locally in Suffolk, although the industry was in decine by the 1840's. However a few entrepreneurial families continued to produce high value damask linens. 

Alongside his work as a 'hemp dresser' the census notes that he was also a linen spinner. By 1881 however he had become a rope maker.

All these occupations were likely to have had adverse implications on his health, so it is reassuring that in the last decade of his life he was employed as the caretaker of Lowestoft model yacht pond.

Many years ago, I did find a photo of the Lowestoft Yacht Pond, however gettyimages have put a license on the same image, Therefore the cover photo is of Southampton boat pond, related to an article in the Tatler in 1901, which stated:-

The Joy of Model Yachts

Model yachting is pastime that is growing in favour. Every Briton has an infusion of sea salt in his blood, and if he cannot afford to indulge in the expensive luxury of owning a real racing craft the model yacht offers a very good alternative.


John Soanes, worked at the yacht pond in previous decade, yacht and model boat races were a popular pastime with Victorian men, women and children.

From Lowestoft Journal 1 Nov 1890: Part of Article,




'The Superintendent of the pond - an old veteran sailor'. This does not fit with John's working life. Could this mean this is a different man or did John make up a new persona for his new job?


A letter in the Eastern Daily Press 1st Feb 1890, from Giles Hall, Hon Sec. Serpentine Model Yacht Club, Hyde Park, help authenticate that John Soanes was working at the pond at this time.

'Mr Soanes is the great friend of all the young ones - ever ready with a piece of string or a stick to heal all their little troubles, without though, trouble or recompense: and however early I arrived at the pond all was tidy, sand fresh raked, and water clear of every twig. Yes! the right man is in the right place for once and I trust he is adequately recompensed for his labours.'


Another letter in the Lowestoft Journal, 14th May 1892 from Arthur F M Smith of Upper Holloway, London, regarding upgrades/improvements to the pond, commented.

'On making enquiries of your worthy pond-keeper (who remembered me from my stay last autumn), and upon personally sounding with my stick, I was disappointed to find only 9 inches of water.....'


Both these letters help give insight into the character of John Soanes and it would appear that he was happy with this work.

Labels:

Comments

  1. Barb LaFaraSeptember 26, 2021 at 6:23 PM

    The letter in the EDP is a wonderful tribute to your cousin's character, what a find! Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. mandy perrySeptember 27, 2021 at 11:50 AM

      Thank you. For me the finding of this type of 'treasure' is far greater than a dubious link to royalty, it brings an ancestor to life.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

GEORGE ARTHUR PERRY 1851-1934: WHO ARE YOU MR P?

 GEORGE ARTHUR PERRY 1851-1934 WHO ARE YOU MR P? As with many people, my interest in genealogy started shortly after the death of my father. He had distanced himself from his family and rarely talked about them, so I really was starting from scratch. Small recollections of him speaking of an Uncle Ted, Uncle Percy, Uncle Ernie, Uncle Les and Auntie Dorrie, helped with a few of the names, whilst he also spoke of an older Uncle in Australia. Stories of his grandparents were sparce, he recalled a man, who wore a fez and smoking jacket and recalled that he had married the 'Nanny'. And so from these few snippets, so the the journey to find out 'Who are you Mr P?' began.  So where to begin with the story, well if I relayed the information as it was found, we would begin at the end and worked back to the mid 1870's until the brick wall was broken down when an incident occurred in 1881, which paved the way in finding the elusive early history due to a name change. The quest...
2 comments
Read more

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Week 48. Strength.

  FLORENCE STEWART PERRY nee ANDREWS 1882-1957 Kindly shared by JP If you have read any of my previous posts you will have perhaps noticed, I write a lot about the women in my tree. In the most part this is because many focus on the males in their tree, their occupations, their military service etc, but there are often 'strong' women beside them, caring for their children, managing on what money may or may not be coming in and often undertaking sideline home work which was so badly paid. One of those women was my Great Grandmother Eliza Pitts, but I have already written about her under the theme, 'Loss'. So today I am writing about another lady, the wife of my half Grand-Uncle, Florence Stewart Perry nee Andrews wife of John Arthur Perry. When writing his autobiographical journal, 'By Devious Paths' John A. makes this dedication:-  Dedicated to the constant and faithful companion on my Pilgrimage, 'By Devious Paths MY WIFE. Writing this I am well aware that ...
4 comments
Read more

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: 2022 Week 3 Favourite Photo. Ruth Shaw 1884-1918

  RUTH SHAW 1884-1918. Although my intention is to follow the 12 Ancestors in 12 Months version of these themes, I intend to dip in and out of the weekly prompts, when a suitable theme matches an ancestor I have a story for. In 2021, I chose a photograph of my adoptive Grandad's  mother, grandmother, aunt and 2 sisters, 3 generations of women. 52 Ancestors, 52 weeks Week 4 Favourite photo (mypynthdev.blogspot.com) However whilst sorting through my Mum's wardrobe, we found a photograph of her adoptive Grandmother, Ruth Howe, nee Shaw, whilst I would still consider the May women as my favourite photo, this was indeed genealogy treasure. Ruth was one of nine children born to William Shaw, a coal miner and his wife Rosannah nee Heathcock, both of Netherton nr Dudley in the West Midlands. She was born on 2nd April 1885 (National School Admission Register). In 1895, her mother died and Ruth left school education in May of that year, aged 11. by the 1901 census, a 16 year old Ruth is...
1 comment
Read more