The Diary of Nathaniel Bryceson (Part 4)

[Daisy Loo]

Thanks guys  

Trivial or not...NB is sucking me in again!  Especially with all this new stuff.  I might just read his diary again! LOL a welcome distraction!

[Siamese Girl]

If anyone wants to tackle Pepys's diary it is being published on the net with an entry a day http://www.pepysdiary.com/about/ but it's more difficult to wade through that Nat's  I've only ever read small chunks of Pepys. I know ought to read more.

Diaries are always fascinating. Pepys was quite important political figure, but I find political machinations dull. Diaries of ordinary people are much more interesting because they tell you about real every day  life - the lives that were lived by most people's ancestors. I should have been born in the eighteenth century because that's the era that fascinates me the most and I do spend a lot of time researching the life of the diarist Parson James Woodforde, a diary kept every day from 1759-1802. You can pick up a paperback of his diary for next to nothing on http://www.abebooks.co.uk/. The problem with it is that it condenses over 40 years of diary into one volume, so you lose the flow of his life but it is a taster. The diary of Thomas Turner a Sussex shopkeeper kept 1754-1765 is a gem. He was also overseer in his village, so if you want to know about how the poor law actually worked and the lengths they went to to chase up the fathers of illegitimate babies, Thomas Turner is your man. The diary of Sarah Hurst kept from 1759-1762 is a gem. She was the daughter of a Sussex tailor and it gives a very rare glimpse into the mind of an ordinary 20 something young woman who lived some 250 years ago.

Carole

[steve_gus]

A few misc comments :

The great coal delivery rip-off read to me like the butler was involved in the deal, in which case as he was head of the servants (if it follows the lines of upstairs downstairs!) he would have been in a good position to conceal the dodgy deal.

The Bastardy order - so Labours Child Support Agency (CSA) was nothing new

Ann - I like her as a character in the diary - from the little we really know of her - but a 45 year old Charlady currently has me thinking of her as along the lines of Andy Capps wife Flo or Hilda Ogden of coronation St Soap. Perhaps 9th August will put my mind back on track. 

[Ruskie]

Thanks for explaining reason she was "Mrs" Kennington.  Yes, I saw Upstairs Downstairs and loved it.

Daisy, Carole has provided you with a lot more ideas for distractions! I must check those out Carole. I'm sure Pepys would be hard work, but his diary is famous for his eyewitness account of the Great Fire of London. Those are the bits I'd be interested in reading. I believe he wrote about his affairs in shorthand. 

Another one is the diary of William Boghurst, a doctor during the Great Plague of London. The made a rather good TV programme from it.

Steve_gus, try to think of Ann as a glamorous spinster. She was a Female Servant on the 1841 census so you might be better to think of her in this role. Whatever you do, don't google 'charwoman' images.  You might be right that 'the butler did it' regarding the great coal delivery rip-off.  (love that phrase)

[nestagj]

Been offline since this time last night - the whole exchange went down so have only just managed to catch up now - haven't you all been busy ! Withdrawal symptoms here !!!

Don't talk to me about non-conformists have just spent the afternoon at the local record office and I have three generations of my mum's family -  her grand father, his father and his father and various children and spouses - in fact all of them ! buried in a local church but we have no baptisms or marriages ! grrrrrrr and to make it even worse the children born between 1850 and 1865 were not registered either !

Ah well back to the drawing board - but it was lovely - they were the original registers - mmm the smell as you opened the register  and no white gloves !

N

[alpinecottage]

I'm sure Pepys would be hard work, but his diary is famous for his eyewitness account of the Great Fire of London. Those are the bits I'd be interested in reading. I believe he wrote about his affairs in shorthand. 
 

I had a look at Pepys Diary last night - the naughty bits were written in French/Italian/Spanish, but fairly easy to work out eg I put my mano on su cosa, where mano is hand and cosa is thing.  However, he was a lot more descriptive than NB and apparently a lot more promiscuous.  Be warned - not for the faint-hearted!  However, I did wonder if that was where NB got his idea for a similar diary from...or maybe it's just common-sense to write in some sort of code.

As regards what Ann and NB saw in each other, well, there are a few young men today who have relationships with women old enough to be their mothers, so I suppose there will always be individuals who have unconventional relationships 

[karenlee]

Yep... I married a Kiwi and that's about as bad as it gets at this time of year here in Oz... Bledisloe Cup time 

[waiteohman]

Mrs S. -> Mrs.. Schlencker (possibility m.s. Wood)
 
From the Edmonton and Tottenham Congressional Chapel conformist records, image 13 - "Miss Wood (Mrs. Schlencker's sister) married Mar 25, 1826"

On Free BMD there are potential female deaths for Mrs. Schlencker. In the 1850s there are female given names of Mary Ann, Georgina Isabella, Louisa and Margaret Schlenker in 1848. Then if she lived longer ... Anyway some potential names to start looking for.
Margaret is a good possibility - b. 1773 bur 19 Nov 1848, Parish St. Mary Hampton. Caspar Schlenker b. 1762 bur 30 Sep 1849 same parish. 1841 in Hampton, Mdx Casper Schlenker age 75 shoe maker residing Thomas St born foreign parts. Don't see Mrs S with him. Omited or out on a visit and maybe from foreign parts Caspar couldn't understand the enumerator's questions. 
x Georgiana Isabella Schlencker / Schloncker b. ABT 1832 bur. 3 Mar 1855. Now looking for Mary Ann & Louisa's burial records - not so easy to see at the moment.

Or could she have lived past the 1859s - doubtful  but possible.

Linda

[waiteohman]

Just a note the Edmonton and Tottenham Congressional Chapel conformist records I didn't view thoroughly. Maybe she's mentioned again. A bit of work looking at these records. Good night and away for the weekend. Happy hunting.