Disintegration

Not all the houses in Waratah are still looking good. This one has seen better days. Wonder when it was built?
It was bigger than the Doe house and had paint on both the roof and walls. I should have taken a closer look. I am not sure whether it is lathe and plaster or hessian interior walls.
 After touring the town, we moved on to the cemetery. Not everyone lived for a long time in the early days. Often a family lost several members over only a few years. The most noticeable thing was that so many stones were illegible, a product of the wild, inclement weather on the west coast. Only a couple of inscriptions were clear and these were on headstones sheltered by huge trees overhanging the graves. We were looking out for snakes too. With long grass and broken concrete and marble lying in haphazard piles there were plenty of homes for reptiles. many of the graves here had iron railings around them, now rusting, bent and broken. was this to keep wild animals (tassis tigers) away or perhaps grazing cows.
We left in time. The weather was hot and sunny but overnight turned cold, wet and wild. It wouldn't have worried the miners so far underground but think of all those wives trying to get the washing done!

Waratah

I am back from a few days in Tasmania's north and made a visit to Waratah. Roland and Billy Doe, grandchildren of Ephraim lived here with their wives and families: Roland till the early thirties, Bill for longer. It was different then. They were mining for tin at Mt Bischoff and the greenery and timber had disappeared. No conservation efforts were made in those days. It seems that there was electric light into the mine but the work was hard, dark and dirty. We looked for the spot where the Roland Doe house was, before it was transported to Wilmot and think we found it. So much for waratah however, the place was over run with gorse and broom. There used to be lots of tin in those hills but the gold is from the weeds. There are some great photos in the museum, taken in the early 1900s and the twenties. They had a picnic attended by 2500 people! That is a lot of tablecloths and crystal butter dishes to cart around! Knowing my family, everything would have been done properly.

Fishy Business

When you go out on the town, you should not be wearing someone else's kerchief. Ephraim visited this, the Dolphin Inn doing just that. Obviously, designs were fewer in 1839. Of course, our gallant ancestor had made off with a few other articles as well: wheat and oats and a pony and cart to carry them. The Dolphin Inn didn't look like this in his day. The shutters are a recent addition and a google search (Dolphin Inn, Wortham) shows that it has had a coat of Dulux as well. There are Dolphin Inns all over Britain and most are probably as far away from the sea as this one. Maybe it took its name from a dish on the menu! That would not go down well nowadays.
And, who was the "detective" who decided that Ephraim was wearing a borrowed accessory? Did someone accuse him on the spot or did they squint their eyes, give a nod of the head and file away the information for future reference? It didn't really matter, because Ephraim had finally managed to get himself a berth on a ship to Van Diemen's Land. I hope he enjoyed the beer!

Fly the Flag

Tomorrow is Australia Day and time to look at a few flags. This one was designed by the Anti Transportation League in 1851. The original is held in Launceston and has a white border with Anti Transportation League written around the outside.We are not really sure whether Ephraim would have flown this from his front verandah or not as he did thank the judge when he finally got his ticket to Australia.  Of course, that was three years after he had rioted in Kenninghall and he still had a couple of court appearances to go (for future misdemeanours) before he was to set sail.
By the next Christmas (1836), he was back behind bars. Maybe they served a good meal but I doubt whether it was turkey.  Christmas bon bons would have been in short supply and definitely no party hats.

Gaols

A google search showed me that Ipswich gaol was much bigger than I imagined, in fact, rather more majestic than any place I have ever lived. In the 1820s, the cells were considered good and the bedding was laid on slabs of Yorkshire stone, fixed in supports from the floor and a thick straw mat laid on the stone. I am pretty sure that Yorkshire stone would have been just as hard as any other. There was no mention of bedsprings or other luxuries. The main job for the men was picking oakum. This was not a fun job, pulling old ropes to pieces so that the fibre could be reused. It would have been better to have been picking flowers or raspberries but they were not given that option.

Today, I visited another of Ephraim's gaols, Port Arthur. When the sun is out and the gardens blooming it is hard to take in the fact that it was such a harsh place. The Model Prison had had a face lift and I even found evidence of Ephraim ,  a tiny copy of his photo on one of the walls. I was pleased to learn that servants and better classes of prisoners ( as he became) were able to wear the more upmarket single colour suit instead of the magpie suit. I am sure that yellow was never his colour. The hat they wore was really strange, somewhat like two circles joined together at the sides and a crown on the top. Was it representative of his life - going round in circles and always ending up in gaol?

The cap on the right was made of leather and the circular sides were turned up

What has eight legs and walks on water?

There he was, in a cold and dank cell, shared with insects, rats and vermin and no doubt decorated with a cobweb or two. Any little beastie which dangled down to greet him would have looked gentle compared with Dolomedes plantarius, the Lopham raft spider living in the Fen between Lopham and Redgrave, his home villages. If he had ever come across one of these, it would have been the scariest moment of his life so far. The biggest spider in the UK, would not be officially discovered until 1956 but you can bet it was lurking around when the Does went to cut the rushes for their thatch.

Was Ephraim a conservationist, observing in quiet fascination, a shrieker, trembling in desperate terror or was he a squash and stamp monster, flinging them to the ground and grinding them into oblivion with his heel?

Lopham linen was woven in a special spider web pattern some years before the spider was discovered, so it was certainly around.

White Horse Inn

Did his mother say "Don't be late home or have you brushed your teeth?"when Ephraim left home in February 1836. Maybe he thought a long walk was good for him as he was in Kenninghall, Norfolk when he fell into trouble, or maybe he barged in as fast as he could go. The rioters were singing out "It's bread we want and it's bread or blood we will have." I am pretty sure he knew the taste of bread after spending the next three months in gaol. Blood is the main constituent of blackpudding and I am pretty sure I would rather the bread than be fed on blackpudding. Besides, it spits all over the place when you fry it and I am sure the gaolers wouldn't be wanting to clean that up.
For two hours, they kept up a barrage of stones. That is a pretty good workout and makes you wonder how they managed to find that many missiles within carrying distance. Was each one on a string so it could be pulled back and reissued?
The car in this photo is a pretty good indication that it (the photo, not the car) was taken somewhat after the event (about 1992). The prices on that noticeboard would have skyrocketed too. If you look around on internet you can find a 1910 picture which looks rather less glamorous. There are subtle changes to the doorway and windows, but then they had to be replaced after the glass was broken in the riot.

Time for a Party

We could help Ephraim celebrate his birthday if we knew when it was. A law was passed in England in 1837, to record all births, marriages and deaths. He came on the scene a bit before this and it does not make it easy to track him. He obviously did not get an “A” for maths either as he could not add up the years very well. In March, 1832, he was 18. In April, he was 19. In Feb, 1836 he was 23. So far, so good. However, in March 1839, only three years later he was 28. This does not add up! Worse is to come. In 1850, he was 32. In 11 years, he has only gained 4. (should be 36) In 1867, he is suddenly 60. (my count, 53) If you had just killed somebody, by accident or design, it would probably age you too. I read somewhere once that if you were 60 or more, you did not have to go into solitary on arrival at Port Arthur, so there were good reasons to be that old. When he died, his age was given as 88. He could not be responsible for this one; after all he was deceased. Someone else, bad at maths had to fill in the form. I think he was really 78 or 79.

We have to decide when we are going to break out the party hats and whistles because, sometime in the next couple of years, he is going to be 200 years old! We could all go to Sheffield where he is buried to celebrate with him. Seats are already provided. He is under the toilet block!

Smock

Fashionista

When Ephraim arrived in Van Diemen's Land, he gave his occupation as farm labourer. This doesn't tell us a lot. One relative wrote to me and told me that he had told her grandfather that in England you had to break the ice off the top of the swedes before they were pulled from the ground. Apart from swede pulling, he probably ploughed, cut wheat sowed seed and looked after animals.

My research into fashion tells me that in the regency period 1810-20), red suits were the “in thing” for boys. I wonder whether he had one of those. Farm labourers in East Anglia (Norfolk and Suffolk) wore smocks. I hadn’t really imagined him in something as pretty as that but he was probably all done up in embroidery and frills when he went off to do his work for the day.

My big question is, "Where , in a little cottage did they find enough space to lay out all that fabric so it could be cut properly."

Was the meal held up till the task was finished, no matter how late as it is in my house? And patterns? Did they admire something that the fashion icon of the farm was wearing and go home and tell Mum or the wife about it? Was there embarrassment when Grandma made it from a piece of left over from her stash and you had to smile while being presented with last years design?

Actually, these things have a lovely earthy look about them and are much more interesting than a tshirt and jeans. Have a look here
http://www.gurteen.co.uk/our-story/

 

Pollard tree

I have been out to Richmond/Campania(Tasmania) to buy some apricots. It was a beautiful warm, still day, trees dripping with fruit, vines beginning to develop pinpricks of grapes, buildings releasing their history as they fall to ruins, others standing stout and strong, not willing to give in to time. Ephraim and his Irish wife Bridget were married here in 1850.
 Fifteen years earlier, the temperatures would have been different back in Suffolk. December brings cold and a fire brings warmth. Ephraim gathered some wood from a pollard tree and won himself 6 weeks in gaol. No central heating there either, you can bet.
When I was small, Dad used to feed the chickens pollard which was like" puree of pellets." It was not the sort of glam dish you would see on a menu but it turned those cute little yellow furballs into blotchy teenagers with spiky white feathers sticking out at odd angles till they grew smooth and white all over. It seems that a pollard tree was also for food for animals. You trimmed it back to keep it at head height and fed the branches to animals or used them as firewood.
Is it called a pollard because you half cut the branch off then pull 'ard to get the rest of it free?

Millbank Holiday Farm

The luxury of a room with a view? Probably not. Cold stone walls, no tea and coffee making facilities , no ensuite. The service in this place left a lot to be desired. At least it wasn't lonely, as long as you didn't mind rats for company. Talking to another human was not allowed. And it was near the water, the water running across the floor in your cell, that is. Sailing paper boats might have been fun if there had been any paper to build them from. Then again, there was a Bible, provided for reading and educational purposes and prisoners were pretty good at reassigning the pages and turning them into all sorts of things. Before Ephraim's time there, the diet was gruel for breakfast, soup for lunch and thin soup for supper. Let's face it, soup does not sound all that great on a regular basis but just how much can you water it down? These guys needed a pizza or two to put some pizzazz into their lives, or a trip down to the golden arches.
Ephraim decided that this place didn't make the grade and he decided to check out early.

Not Forgotten

No reseach today. Just a memory of my brother Pip who left the earth 24 years ago on January 13, 1988 and set the stage for the beginnings of my look into the past.

River Cruise

In 1832, Ephraim took it upon himself to go stealing wheat from Mr George Blofield. Risky Risky Risky. What did he think he was doing? George Blofield did not like people who stole from him. He prosecuted a few and was quite in favour of the death sentence. Again, this was in Suffolk but a little further from home.
How did Ephraim feel when he was sentenced to transportation? He may have been anxious to go and might not have realised that he was going to spend a few months on a cruise going nowhere. Hulks were dirty, smelly and crowded and you can bet that the menu card was a bit short - no starters or entree. Prices were cheap but you had to do your own washing up. The beds, well there were none, just hammocks. Who invented such a strange way of sleeping? I suppose they swayed with the movement of the ship so saved a bit of sea sickness.
Then it was off to the waiting room of Millbank Prison

Visiting ancestors.

This is my first photo upload and the scanning and filing took ages. I need practise.
Several amongst these are members of the Bowell family. The yellowish one at the back belongs to Levi who may have been Ephraim's brother. When you visit North Lopham, you will be able to visit.
I am sure he will appreciate your bringing flowers. Gum boots might be a good idea too.

What is in a name?

We know him as Ephraim Doe alias Bowler. When I found a marriage for Ephraim Bowell and Charlotte Doe it seemed a pretty close match for a set of parents, even though the marriage seemed to be a year after Ephraim was born. If he was born before they marrie, it sems natural that he may have taken his mother's name. When I told Auntie Bett, she said, "That's funny, father always used to say that our family name was really supposed to be Bowl but we thought he was only romancing.
Mum said, "But he used to pronounce it Bowell. What a dreadful name that would have been."
So it looks as if there was some evidence there all along but nobody believed it!
The Suffolk/ Norfolk border was his haunt as he spent his time turning the world upside down around there. The next question I have to ask myself is. "Was he a street kid?"  He missed the 1841 census (on holiday in Van Diemen's Land), so I can't check to see where he lived. Wherever it was, I would be pretty sure he slept under a thatched roof.
The Does were thatchers and the Bowells were weavers. Together they could have made some beautiful roofs.
Do an image search of Lopham, Redgrave Worthing or Botesdale.

He was a teenager once!

In October 1830, Ephraim spent 6 weeks in gaol for assault. He would have been about 16 by my reckoning. This happened in Ipswich so it looks as if he were already spending his time in Suffolk. Just imagine, nowadays, he would have been thinking about going off to College at this age. What courses would he have taken? Outdoor education, agriculture and seamanship would have helped in his future life.Then again, he was a cook at Port Arthur for a time so maybe a few basic cooking lessons learning to make a pizza or a risotto could have been fun.
Gaols in those days did not necessarily separate inmates so he probably learned a few more interesting and less lawful lessons. What would the food have been like? Probably lucky to get any. Bed? Probably a hammock or a straw matress on the floor and the old bucket in the corner would have had to suffice as a toilet. Hot water and showers were luxuries for the future. He probably did not have one in his whole life. Did he even know what soap was? Did he have a fashion sense? Was he into those little things teens do to their clothes: wearing his cap at an angle, collar turned up, fancy braces, a bit of a swagger?
Did anybody visit him or welcome his release when his time was up? We will never know.

Ephraim Doe lived here

We are  not exactly sure where Ephraim began his life journey. He certainly lived around South Lopham, Botesdale and Redgrave and was a bit of a wanderer. It took me some years to find records in England. Professional researchers did not find the clues. What a waste of money that was! It took a relative of a relative to find the the first concrete clue. A determined friend is a wonderful asset, especially one who is not on limited time. I had found a marriage of two likely looking parents (well I don't know exactly what they looked like) but I still haven't been able to positively connect them with him. I guess it was not a priority in the early 1800s to register every baby's birth or Christen him. I guess his mother was more worried about getting the nappies dry and finding somewhere for him to sleep. At least she gave him a name which stands out like a beacon. Thank goodness she didn't call him John or William. With a name like Ephraim, he is easy to spot. Ephraim spent the rest of his life making sure he was going to be remembered. Newspapers, court records, gaol records; it did not matter to him.
I don't think I would rush out and shake his hand if I was offered the opportunity to meet him. Apart from the fact that it would be all wrinkly and tobacco stained, he seems a bit scary. I would be warning Little Bo Peep to keep her sheep under control too. Sam Kekkovich would have to be careful too, especially with Australia Day coming up!