Author Topic: Gipsy Dan Boswell  (Read 162389 times)

Offline panished

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Re: Gipsy Dan
« Reply #27 on: Sunday 01 November 15 21:04 GMT (UK) »
Nottinghamshire history resoures for local histories and genealogists W E Doubleday, Notts Villages: Selston, The Nottinghamshire Guardian (August 1956) Church in decay

Stretton, who was here with his notebook in 1813, described the church as in a sore state of decay. The pulpit lay in the chancel, the font lay broken in the churchyard, and the chancel, he said, was "far in decay." Subsequently, the walling developed cracks, and in 1899, the fabric was completely restored.

 

 

  The noble south porch still preserves remains of the hook and chain once used to keep cattle out of the sacred building.

 

  Until enclosures invaded the wastes and commons, this district was attractive to the gipsies who formed camps, hereabouts, especially in the rear of the pinfold at Selston.

 
Dan Boswell's grave in Selston churchyard..

At an encampment near Bestwood in 1823, their "King" Dan Boswell, died and after interment inside Eastwood and Selston had been refused, the body was buried near the tower in Selston churchyard in the presence of a large concourse of gipsies and other spectators.

According to tradition, he gave his daughter a quart measure full of golden guineas at her wedding by way of dowry.

so they had it all on to keep cattle out of the church, never mind the grave yard, that's a good bit of sound evidence, doesn't mean a cow broke the grave, but this tells you for sure they were all over the place in long gone times, merr, and here it says Dan died in bestwood, not halls green, its miles away, then they talk of eastwood, pluss the church was nigh on a reck just before Dan died, merr
one day someone will find the truth

michael

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Re: Gipsy Dan
« Reply #28 on: Sunday 01 November 15 21:23 GMT (UK) »
 
W E Doubleday, Notts villages: Bestwood, The Nottinghamshire Guardian (1942)

 Dan Boswell, the gipsy king, died at Bestwood in 1823 and his body was removed for burial
attended by a vast concourse of mourners.

























 
 

 



 
 

   
 
 .

Offline panished

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Re: Gipsy Dan
« Reply #29 on: Sunday 01 November 15 22:17 GMT (UK) »
 H. Hampton Copnall, Nottinghamshire County Records: Notes and Extracts from the Nottinghamshire County Records of the 17th Century, Henry B. Saxton, 1915

 

ROGUES, VAGRANTS, &c.

In the Records of 14th April, 1655, there is a definition of a Rogue and Vagabond as follows:


 

These persons hereunder mentioned being above the age of seaven years, are by the Law adjudged Rogues &c. &c.
 All persons calling themselves Schollers going about begging; All seafaring men pretending losses of their shipps or Goods on ye Sea going about the Country begging, having not testimoniall under the hand of a Justice of peace, or if the time limitted by the same for his journey be expired, All idle persons going about the Country begging, or useing any subtill craft or unlawfull games or player or feigning themselves to have knowledge in Physiognomy Palmaistry or other like Crafty Science Or pretending that that they can tell destinys fortunes or such other Phantasticall Imaginations; All persons that be or uttar themselves to be Proctors procurers, patent gatherers or collectors for Goales, prisons or hospitalls; All fencers bearwards comon players of Interludes and Minstralls wandring abroad. All Jugglers Tinkers Pedlers and petty chapmen wandring abroad, All wandring persons and comon Labourers being persons able in body useing loytering and refuseing to worke for such reasonable wages as are taxed, or comonly given in such parts where such persons doe or shall happen to dwell or abide not haveing liveing otherwise to maintain themselves All persons delivered out of Goales that shall begg for their fees or otherwise doe travill begging pretending losses by fyre or otherwise All such persons (not being felons) pretending themselves to be Egiptiants or wandring in ye habit form or attyre of counterfit Egiptians All such persons as shall wander upp and down the Country to sell Glasses (not being duly Licenced) are adjudged Rogues &c.

 

 

 

The Parish Constables had statutory powers and duties to place in the Stocks and to whip any Vagrants they may find, and pass them on from Constable to Constable till they reached the parish in which they were legally settled—usually the parish of their birth.

 

 

 
 

 

 

The using of forged documents for begging purposes was not unusual.

 

 

 

 

There were many Indictments of persons " for refusing to carry passports."

When the Court found a person to be an "incorrigible Vagabond" they ordered him to be burnt with the letter "R" on the left shoulder before being sent to the place of settlement. The burning took place in Court.

On 10th July, 1615, an Order was made that an incorrigible vagabond "then and there in Court with a hot burning hent a large Roman letter R be impressed the size of a shilling on his left arm."

On 10th October, 1617, an Order was made that an incorrigible vagabond "in open Session be burnt in the left shoulder with the Roman letter R of the width of a shilling."

 

In 1623, complaints were made of the abundance of wandering vagabonds being allowed to pass by unpunished by the negligence in the Constables, and the Chief Constables of the Wapentake of Bassetlaw were ordered to send their warrants to the under Constables, keepers of the night and day watches for the apprehension and punishment of the vagabonds and wandering beggars.

 

 

Constables were fined for laxity and neglect in the treatment of rogues and vagabonds. Among the charges recorded against Constables are the following:

Because being instructed to take a certain Vagabond before a Justice of the peace he permitted him to go at large in contempt of the lord the King.
 Permitting a Vagabond to wander about unpunished.
 Permitting a Vagabond to beg in the towns of Retford, Wellough and Gamston.
 Refusing the execute punishment on a Vagabond brought to him, &c, &c, &c.

It was an offence for anyone to refuse to assist a Constable in the punishing of a vagrant, and there were presentments in respect of this offence, and also "for refusing to help Constable with Vagrant to the Stocks."

 

 

 

 

 

On 20th April, 1612, a "collyer" of Selston was presented for harbouring vagrants.

 

Fines were also imposed "for permitting wandering Vagabonds" and "for not sending away Vagabonds"; and keepers of alehouses lost their licences if they "entertained Vagrants, Vagabonds and suspicious persons" in their houses.

 

GIPSIES.

By the Statute 22 Henry VIII. c. 10, gipsies (or as they were then called Egyptians) were banished from the kingdom, and subsequent legislation imposed punishment on any person who imported gipsies into the Kingdom.

There were presentments against Constables "for permitting Vagrants called Egiptians to escape," "for permitting Vagabonds (Egiptians) to go unpunished," and "for having permitted Gipsies to remain in the townships longer than was necessary," &c.

There were also presentments against alehouse keepers "for harbouring Egiptians."

On 8th January, 1615-1616, a warrant was issued against Gabriel Elston of Chilwell "because he procured two Egyptians to deliver from custody" a man who had been arrested on a warrant.

Offline richarde1979

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Re: Gipsy Dan
« Reply #30 on: Monday 02 November 15 07:36 GMT (UK) »
Hi Michael, Hope you are well

Interesting posts as ever.

I would like to find an original newspaper report of Daniel Boswell's death and burial but so far have been unsuccessful. The burial entry in the parish register is the only real bit of evidence dating from the time he died.

It looks to me as the later sources are confusing him with Louis Boswell, who was probably Daniel's son, as he did die at Bestwood Lane eight years later, and the newspaper reports mention the quart of gold guineas given to his daughter as her dowry:

Nottingham Journal 30th January 1835.—King or the Gipsies, Died last week, at the Royal encampment, Bestwood-lane, in the parish of Basford, near this town, after a lingering illness, Louis Boswell, King of the Gipsies, aged 42. A report being generally circulated that the ‘royal’ remains were lying in state, and that the funeral would take place on Sunday at' Basford, many thousand persons visited the encampment that day, so that the road was literally crowded for many hours. The funeral, however, did not take place, as a deputation from the Gipsies of Leicestershire was expected, which arrived that evening, when it was determined to inter the royal remains in the usual burying-place, ‘No Man’s Heath’, in Northamptonshire. The coffin was made of good oak, ornamented with black furniture, and had a breast-plate, with a plain inscription of the name and age. We are informed that on Sunday night, at eleven o’clock, a procession was formed, which set out with the royal corpse for ‘No Man’s Heath’ attended by the royal princess, and a considerable train, but that circumstances afterwards occurred that induced the procession to stay at Eastwood, where the funeral took place on Monday in the presence of a vast concourse of spectators. The deceased succeeded to the royal dignity on the death of his father, which took place a few years ago in Lincolnshire, and he has left his only daughter, a fine-looking personage, a quartern measure filled with gold for  her fortune.’


Again like Dan the 'King of the Gypsies' title might have been an invention of the press or the local villagers imaginations, as he appears simply in the parish register as Louis Boswell ‘Traveller, aged 42’ buried at Eastwood, Nottinghamshire on 26th January 1835.


The father giving the bride a glass of guineas on her wedding day is also mentioned twenty years earlier when one of Henry Lock's daughters was married in Gloucestershire, though in her case it was a pint rather than a quarten (two pints):

Cheltenham Chronicle 25th May 1815 - Gipsy Wedding.—‘A correspondent observes, on the 16th instance, was married, at Doynton, in this County, by the Rev. Mr. Gunning, Mr. John Wilson, a resident near Stroud, Gloucestershire, to Sarah Lock, daughter of Henry Lock, a Gipsy, now living in tents near Doynton. After the ceremony the bells of Doynton and Dyrham rang melodiously; and the well known band of Dyrham and Hinton, followed by about 200 persons, attended to play the happy pair to the Bull at Hinton, where a good dinner was provided, after which a ball commenced, which was performed in a capital style by the Gipsies and the inhabitants for miles around, who attended. All was peaceful and quiet, and the punch, etc, flowed plenteously. The party broke up about 11 o’clock, the Gipsies retiring to their tents, and the rest of the company to their respective homes. Henry Lock gave his daughter for her marriage portion a pint of Guineas.’
Bellenger, Sebire, Soubien, Mallandain, Molle, Baudoin - Normandy/London
Deverdun, Bachelier, Hannoteau, Martin, Ledoux, Dumoutier, Lespine, Montenont, Picard, Desmarets - Paris & Picardy/Amsterdam/London
Mourgue, Chambon, Chabot - Languedoc/London

Holohan, Donnelly, McGowan/McGoan - Leitrim, Ireland/Dundee, Scotland/London.

Gordon, Troup, Grant, Watt, McInnes - Aberdeenshire, Scotland/London


Offline richarde1979

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Re: Gipsy Dan
« Reply #31 on: Monday 02 November 15 07:40 GMT (UK) »
The confusion of Dan with Louis can be dated back at least to 1838 when Dan's widow Sarah died. She is recorded as Sarah Boswell, buried at St Mary's, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, on 1st May 1838. Age given as 93. The reports confuse her husbands death and burial at Selston in 1827, with that of her probable son Louis at Eastwood in 1835:


‘Norfolk Chronicle 19th May 1838 - Mrs. Sarah Boswell, aged 93. Queen of the Gipsies. This is another of the illustrious of the Gipsy tribe, who is gone to that bourne whence no traveller returns. Though living as a Gipsy all her life, she has far outgone the common age for mortals; but this, perhaps, may be accounted for by the fact she was a Queen. Her marriage lines, which were seen at the workhouse, indisputably proved that she was married to the great Boswell, The King of the Gipsies, 72 years since. The King died at the gipsy-camp, at Eastwood Park, in 1835, and was interred in Eastwood Church-yard. His Queen was soon after chargeable to Selstone parish, and was sent to Basford Union workhouse, from which she came out in March last, and was received into Nottingham Union Hospital, where she was placed under suspended orders, on account of severe illness.’
Bellenger, Sebire, Soubien, Mallandain, Molle, Baudoin - Normandy/London
Deverdun, Bachelier, Hannoteau, Martin, Ledoux, Dumoutier, Lespine, Montenont, Picard, Desmarets - Paris & Picardy/Amsterdam/London
Mourgue, Chambon, Chabot - Languedoc/London

Holohan, Donnelly, McGowan/McGoan - Leitrim, Ireland/Dundee, Scotland/London.

Gordon, Troup, Grant, Watt, McInnes - Aberdeenshire, Scotland/London

Offline richarde1979

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Re: Gipsy Dan
« Reply #32 on: Monday 02 November 15 07:47 GMT (UK) »
"The noble south porch still preserves remains of the hook and chain once used to keep cattle out of the sacred building"

I agree Michael that is evidence cows were being left to roam at will through the graveyard, if a hook and chain was needed to stop them getting in the church building itself! Of course no that doesn't prove they broke Dan's stone..but still.
Bellenger, Sebire, Soubien, Mallandain, Molle, Baudoin - Normandy/London
Deverdun, Bachelier, Hannoteau, Martin, Ledoux, Dumoutier, Lespine, Montenont, Picard, Desmarets - Paris & Picardy/Amsterdam/London
Mourgue, Chambon, Chabot - Languedoc/London

Holohan, Donnelly, McGowan/McGoan - Leitrim, Ireland/Dundee, Scotland/London.

Gordon, Troup, Grant, Watt, McInnes - Aberdeenshire, Scotland/London

Offline panished

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Re: Gipsy Dan
« Reply #33 on: Monday 02 November 15 21:50 GMT (UK) »
look into the fire becca,

mam , you alright mam,

becca I,v to go soon but you know I,ll always be there, always be at your side, look to the night sky, and I,ll be there , but mam I don't want you to go,

look into the fire becca, look into the fire, tell me what do you see,
I see flames mam , dancing flames,
then look into the flames becca ,look deep into the flames, now what do you see
I see you mam, I see you , in a coffin  mam, I see you,

don't be afraid becca, I,ll always be there,

Offline panished

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Re: Gipsy Dan
« Reply #34 on: Monday 02 November 15 22:06 GMT (UK) »
hello Rich

when you talk of st marrys Nottingham, about Dans Wife, do you meen Nottingham st marrys or in Nottinghamshire, my Mother was born from st marrys and died there to but that is the old high church in Nottingham, which st marrys do you talk of,

michael

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Re: Gipsy Dan
« Reply #35 on: Monday 02 November 15 22:09 GMT (UK) »
I don't know but through time I sure hear a lot of st marrys church round Britain, I wonder does it meen anything from long ago