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Topic: "... just an AgLab". JUST an AgLab ?? (Read 6982 times)
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Berlin-Bob
Global Moderator
RootsChat Marquessate
Posts: 5677
by: My Daughter. Chatting to find her Roots !
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Ag Labs. Salt of the Earth!
Found in Liverpool Family Historian June 02
Food For Thought- He must have been an Ag Lab
"Ask yourselves whether you know the gestation period for a sheep or a cow, and you can't read or write to make a note of it. The ag lab knew when the animal would calve by observing the position of the stars and work it out from that, or from the particular religious festivals being celebrated in church at the appropriate times. Reading and writing is one thing, but it wasn't necessary, numeracy however or a limited knowledge of it was essential so as to count his or his masters livestock and his own money and to tell the time. It was no good thinking that 7 o'clock came immediately after three bells had just struck on the church clock!
There was no electricity, the lanes were bad and there was no health service. The Ag lab knew how to make his own rush lights to light his home, the shortest and driest route between 2 places and which herbs to pick as remedies for his families ailments. He knew his neighbours far better than we know ours. We isolate ourselves in our cars and in front of our television sets. He relied on neighbours with different skills from his, to help him out when the need arose. He was thrifty where we borrow on bits of plastic he and his family had to make ends meet regardless or with great shame go on the parish.
Yes he could even forecast his local weatherby watching the reactions of wildlife and plants to changing conditions. He was far better at it than any of us from our centrally heated homes and offices. He knew how to thatch and how to get straight straw for thatching whereas we send for experts to fix a cracked slate.
He was tough. He could walk for days behind a plough, pulled by a team of horses, and still walkmiles to church each sunday. A 20 mile walk laden with produce or purchases to and from market each week was also the norm for some. No fancily equipped gymnasium for him, yet he was fitter than today's health freaks who maybe should take a lesson or two from his ancestors.
Can you use a sickle or scythe from dawn to dusk, in all weathers? Can you snare a rabbit for dinner or cut beanpoles from a hedge in a manner that will promote further growth? Can you mix your own whitewash, or train a dog to hunt or round up sheep for you? Come to that can you milk a cow or slaughter and butcher a sheep or pig?
So-called ag labs were no fools. they survived and very few of us would be here to read this if they hadn't !
Leave your car at home and walk to work tomorrow, even if it is five miles, your ancestor did!"
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Searching for Coleman, Moore, Kallnung in London; Margulies, Remenyi in E. Europe; Ancestors of Hessie Stevenson-Coleman-Baxter (Ireland, 1861) and, of course, any other ancestors for my web-site. All Census Data included in this post is Crown Copyright (see: www.nationalarchives.gov.uk) |
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Hackstaple
RootsChat Aristocrat
Posts: 2676
Family researcher
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An aglab was travelling by train and someone in the carriage said they wondered how many sheep there were in the field they were passing. after a minute or so he said "849". Astonished, his companion asked how he did that and he replied "I counted the legs and divided by four". 
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Southern or Southan [Hereford , Monmouthshire & Glos], Jenkins, Meredith and Morgan [Monmouthshire and Glos.], Murrill, Damary, Damry, Ray, Lawrence [all Middx. & London], Nethway from Kenn or Yatton. Also Riley and Lyons in South Africa and Riley from St. Helena. Any census information included in this post is Crown Copyright, from www.nationalarchives.gov.uk |
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kmo
RootsChat Senior
Posts: 431
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The old skills haven't been lost, there are just less of us around to practise them.
I don't need to know the position of the stars to tell how far a cow is off calving. I just look at her a**e.
kmo
nnnnth generation ag lab
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Boongie Pam
Global Moderator
RootsChat Aristocrat
Posts: 2497
Pa is Scottish, Ma is Welsh, Nose is Roamin'
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One thing to note is that "Ag Lab" as a category hid a number of very skilled jobs.
One of my ancestors Thomas Cork of Clayhidon was an Ag Lab on a number of census but he was actually a wheelwright.
P
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All census look up transcriptions are Crown Copyright
~~~~~~~~~~~
Dumfrieshire: Fallen, Fallon, Carruthers, Scott, Farish, Aitchison, Green, Ryecroft, Thomson, Stewart
Midlothian: Linn/d, Aitken, Martin
North Wales: Robins(on), Hughes, Parry, Jones
Cumberland: Lowther, Young, Steward, Miller
Somerset: Palmer, Cork, Greedy, Clothier
Currently offline due to work reasons- sorry for the silence!
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teddybear1843
RootsChat Veteran
Posts: 680
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This post just endorses my plea to people to look into their family HISTORY, not just their family TREE.
Find out how your ancestors lived, how much they were paid, how many they slept to a room (often no bed), how they travelled, what they ate, what furniture they had, what their most prized posession was, how they wiped their bottom (before newspapers), how their toilets worked, what did women use, ............................the list is endless
Teddybear
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Bear, Burrows, Burroughs, Goll, Mayes, Yull, Bacon, Harvey, Fenn, Youngman, Jary, Lake, Chesney, Yaxley, Freestone, Briggs, Carrington, Frarey, Blaxter, Bennefer, Gosman, Howard, Wildman, Woodbine, Jessop, Taylor, Walpole, etc etc all in Norfolk. Weasenham village history and families connected to the villages of Weasenham All Saints & Saint Peter in Norfolk. Happy to carry out research in Norfolk. Please PM for details. http://norfolktours.110mb.com/ |
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Biker
RootsChat Honorary
RootsChat Marquessate
Posts: 4625
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Bob, thanks for posting that, puts things in perspective a bit.
teddybear I agree, the people and history are important. When I first started 'doing' my family, my goal was to find as many as possible but now it's more to do with trying to understand who they were a bit, as difficult as that is. I'm curious if other people experienced the same process.
Cheers
Jonathan
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Keith Bateman
RootsChat Marquessate
Posts: 3824
.....The Cheshire Cat
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Yes I agree it's nice to be able to work out your family's lives as well as their dates.
Seeing some of your websites - I thought I would start by putting something down about my Great Grandfather.
From census, occupations and children's birth dates and places lived.
Even tho no one else will probably read it I wrote 4 pages and when I read it back to myself I felt I really knew about him, far more than just dates.
But he was never an Ag Lab !!
Cheers
Keith
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Berlin-Bob
Global Moderator
RootsChat Marquessate
Posts: 5677
by: My Daughter. Chatting to find her Roots !
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Hi Léagen,
there are some good descriptions of Ag Labs here: http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=29238.0 merged
but -- sorry, Juddee, I don't know the difference between Ag Lab and Farmer's man
I did find this through Google: http://homepage.ntlworld.com/colin.higgins/forester/plough-t.htm
It's a forester's plough play,
Plough Plays are the type of Mummers' play found in the East Midlands region of the UK. They are distinguished from Mummers' plays both by the fact that they are performed on Plough Monday (the first Monday after Twelfth Night), and by the names of the characters in them.
and contains this verse spoken by the "Farmer's man"
In comes I the farmer's man
Don't you see my whip in hand
As I go forth to plough the land and turn it upside down
How straight I go from end to end
And never make a baulk or bend
And all my horses I attend
As they go marching round the end
Whoa, back Bob.
Me ?? A Horse ?? Nay !!
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« Last Edit: Saturday 07 July 07 08:57 UTC (UK) by Berlin-Bob »
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Searching for Coleman, Moore, Kallnung in London; Margulies, Remenyi in E. Europe; Ancestors of Hessie Stevenson-Coleman-Baxter (Ireland, 1861) and, of course, any other ancestors for my web-site. All Census Data included in this post is Crown Copyright (see: www.nationalarchives.gov.uk) |
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Carmela
RootsChat Senior
Posts: 344
BelindaStevenson
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Hi Juddee,
This may be a bit confusing, but I am going to take a shot at this farm worker question.
There are three common terms for farm workers in the 19th century , "ag.lab.", "farm servant" and "farmer's man", as well as individual skilled jobs such as "cowman", "carter", etc. On census returns the generic term "ag. lab"tended to be used for all of them and this term seems to have been adopted by family historians.
Properly speaking, "ag.labs." were lower down on the totem pole, did unskilled jobs and moved around quite a bit and were usually unmarried. They were paid by the week or by the job. Whereas,
. permanent farm workers, often called "farm servants" or more often, by their job title, "shepherd" or whatever.. These men, usually married, lived in a cottage on the farm or in a nearby hamlet, were skilled workers and were paid a quarterly or yearly wage. The terms "farm servant" and "farmer's man" were often used interchangeably, therefore sometimes a "farmer's man" may have been a shepherd, carter, or cowman.
Sometimes the term, "farmer's man" was used to describe a young man learning a skilled farm job such as that of shepherd or even general farm management (a sort of farm apprentice) or it could be applied to a boy or an old man doing odd jobs around the house and farmyard. The term could even be applied to someone with great responsibilities, for example a bailiff or steward.
I have seen the term in wills and guessing that farmers, even fairly big ones, did not employ valets or man servants, I did a little research to find out just what they meant by "my man".
I am afraid that there is no way of knowing what a particular "farmer's man" actually did for a living without knowing a lot more about him, his background, education and other jobs, etc. and the social hierarchy
on the farm where he worked.
Hope my explanation was not too confusing.
Cheers,
Carmela
P.S. Leagan, ag.lab.= agricultural labourer
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Census information is Crown Copyright, from www.
Current obsessions:
OXF: Rose of Wheatley and Holton 1700s
BRK: Stevenson of East Hanney 1600-1880s
BKM: Woodman of Wing
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slightlyfoxed
RootsChat Senior
Posts: 322
Rev John Hornblow 1743?-1816
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sounds as life was pretty hectic! Anyone who thinks that city life was busier than in the country obviously never lived on a farm! What a lovely way of life to lead though! Although I have never personally made the acquaintance of one, I rather like pigs too. They seem great characters. Much maligned beasts. I used to be nurse in a nursing home so I know that you get used to the smell!
Dont know if you are interested in English history but the book I mentioned gives a wonderful insight into rural England in 19th C and if you have time to read you should see if you can get a copy. I know you'd enjoy it.
I am now an illustrator and I dip into the book for inspiration as it has wonderful word pictures of the English countryside before the industrial revolution changed it for ever.
all the best
Annie
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Pomeroy in London & Liverpool , Pomery near Launceston Cornwall, Shearer of Thurso, Moore in Colchester and Hornblow in Braintree Essex, Machin & Cook in Herts, Campbell, Sutherland, Mackay, Brotchie, Gunn. Cadle in South Africa.
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