The Edgell Story: guest post by Peter Bathe
There are
occasions when following the trail of an ancestor that another person is
encountered who, although not related, was a colleague/friend/acquaintance of
that ancestor. It can be both rewarding and revealing to follow this person’s
life, not least because sometimes fresh discoveries can be made for the main
line of research.
One such case happened
while I followed the life of my great grandfather and I encountered John Joseph
William Edgell.
 |
| Brislington nr Bristol |
John Edgell was
born in 1850 in a small village on the outskirts of Bristol
By the time John
was six years old, the family had moved the few miles to Bath
 |
| House of Correction, Coldbath Square |
He was sentenced to spend 14 days imprisoned
at the Bath House of Correction followed by detention in a reformatory for four
years.
Thus it was that on 26 December 1861 John arrived at the Philanthropic Society’s reformatory,
the Redhill Farm School in Surrey, where he would have met my great
grandfather, George Bathe, for the first time (George had started his own
sentence there a couple of months earlier).
 |
| Redhill Farm School, Surrey |
It was the Farm School ’s
policy to encourage suitable boys to emigrate to the colonies at the end of
their sentences – particularly to Canada ,
but also to Natal and Cape Colony Durban
 |
| Passenger list of the Lord Clarendon, Natal Mercury 6 February 1866. 3rd line down shows 2 Redhill emigrants Bathe and Edgell - misspelt Bashe and Edgar. |
When the boys arrived they were taken into the care
of the Society’s agent in Durban Berea
It was John who was sent to the coffee planter – W A
Remnant at Shortlands, Verulam. John was to be an overseer of the African and
Indian workers on the estate. He worked a 12-hour day and also looked after
horses and poultry – all for £1 a month initially.
 |
| Bishop Colenso: cartoon by Pellegrini |
Over the next few years, John often wrote to the
School’s chaplain, telling him about his life on the farm and odd snippets of
news about other former pupils who were in Natal, one or two of whom appear to
have slipped back into criminal ways. He also spoke of events in the colony,
such as the gold diggings and the controversy about Bishop Colenso, whom he
described as 'a very nice man'.
However, one letter at the end of November 1866 was
to Frederick Dickinson in Durban Natal
A few months later he was again writing to Mr
Dickinson: 'My mother wants to send out one of my younger brothers. Can you get
him a place? Another has gone to friends in America
In fact, the following year, John’s mother and the
other brothers all went to live in the USA, but sadly one of the brothers 'was
kicked to death by a young colt near New York' a year later.
 |
| Coffee plantation |
John’s early years with the Remnants seem to have
been happy and prosperous. He was made manager of the estate which in 1868 'had
above 30,000 coffee trees & shall have 8 tons of coffee this year & 40
tons next. We are going to plant tobacco.' By 1870, he had an average of 70 men
and women to supervise.
The following year he wrote, 'We fielded 12 tons of it
last year. I have 100 acres to attend to. I shall get about £50 a year &
provide for myself & live in Master’s house.” Then later: “We have picked
at the rate of 1 ton an acre of clean coffee for 14 acres. From the remainder,
24 tons clean or above 300 tons in the press, & have to look after nearly
100 hands. For June I paid £52 in wages, some men having 8/-, 9/-, 14/- a mo. I
have a furnished house of my own & a horse to ride.'
He was doing so well he was sending donations to the
Chapel fund for the Redhill School and offered a half sovereign for the best
boy in his old school house, Queen’s.
But in 1872 there seems to have been a downturn in
his fortunes and he wrote: 'I am no richer than when I came only get £6 a mo
& feed & clothe myself & clothes are very dear.' Then 'I am 22
today I have no increase in my pay and can save nothing, things are dearer
than ever. I shall have to look out for another place.'
The following year, 'No increase of pay, tho I have
been here 8 years. Only brickmakers & carpenters flourish here,' and
finally, 'Crops are very poor, Coffee crop as bad as last year. Nearly all are
turning to sugar growing. My wages are very low. My brother in America
Unfortunately, I haven't copies of any of his later
letters but things may have improved sufficiently for him to marry in 1881 in
Verulam. His wife was Lucy Caroline Dawtrey who originally came from Halifax in Yorkshire .
 |
| Marriage record: John Joseph William Edgell and Lucy Caroline Dawtrey at Verulam, Natal,1881 * |
John obviously gained a good working knowledge of the
Indian languages while working at the Remnants’ farm, because in 1889 he
applied for the post of Hindustani and Tamil interpreter to The Supreme Court
of Natal. He died in 1907.
And how did John Edgell help in my own family history
research? In a few of his letters he mentions my great grandfather and added to
my knowledge of him. For example:
2 August 1870: 'I saw Bathe a month since. He has
gone with the Regt to the Mauritius
21 April 1871: 'I have heard from Bathe at the Cape .'
All I knew was that after he had left the sheep
farmer in Grey Town, he joined the army, went to Mauritius
with his regiment sometime in 1870 and then returned to the UK Mauritius
and the fact that for a time his regiment was at the Cape . But it is the personal details of his height, rank
and earnings which were particularly fascinating.
George never
returned to South Africa
Note: Thanks to Peter Bathe for the series of interesting and informative articles on these Redhill emigrants. For further posts on this topic enter Redhill in the blog search facility at top left of page.
* "South Africa, Natal Province, Civil Marriages, 1845-1955," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-266-11603-13676-65?cc=2063749&wc=M9WM-PP1:n2003075036 : accessed 13 Oct 2013), 004236412 > image 1 of 762.
* "South Africa, Natal Province, Civil Marriages, 1845-1955," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-266-11603-13676-65?cc=2063749&wc=M9WM-PP1:n2003075036 : accessed 13 Oct 2013), 004236412 > image 1 of 762.
