RootsChat.Com
Some Special Interests => Occupation Interests => Topic started by: Jan Ann on Monday 24 October 05 22:48 BST (UK)
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Hi There
My GG Grandad William Richards is listed on all censi as a Whip Thong Maker - Sounds a little risky!
Does anyone know what this occupation is and can anyone tell me if this is someway connected to gun making which is espescially connected with the Richards family.
Cheers
Jan ;)
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from a search on Google .... it is quite a specialised occupation and exactly what it says ..... a maker of thongs (braided section) of whip
Thong: Usually the braided part of the flexible bit of the whip. Some long European equestrian whips have a thong made from a single strip of leather.
..... the trade is more involved with saddelry and the Horse trade than with firearms.
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HI
Ok I was the brave one and did a search for Whip Thong Maker !!
I thought it was the part you hold and I think I was right. This is a quote from an Oz whip making site
'All whips six to sixteen plait, have a balanced
handle (balanced against the weight in the thong).'
This is the site if you are really interested !!! ;D ;D ;D
http://www.aussiewhipmaker.com/WhipMaking.htm
Cal
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I hope this link works - take a look at the picture of this whip, the white part curled round the length of the whip is the thong, this is the part your GG Grandad made :D
http://www.drivingessentials.com/whips_specialty.htm
Suey
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Hi everyone!
Thanks for the replies! This has been most fascinating!
Cheers
Jan :) :) :)
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Hi Jan, I know this is a long time ago but are you still linked to this site. William Richards whip thong maker is also in my tree as he is a nephew of my ancestor Betsy Richards Shaw.
I'd love to make contact and share some history.
Regards, Carmel
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Ok I was the brave one and did a search for Whip Thong Maker !!
I thought it was the part you hold and I think I was right.
I don't, and you weren't.
The term "thong" is still current usage for a specific part of the whip: see this link
http://thehuntingshop.co.uk/Whips-Thongs-Lashes
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Hi Jan. I see the Spooner name in your list of names and I have a dna match with Jen Lancaster who is a Spooner descendant. I am descended from another sister Betsy Richards b1820 in Nottingham. She married Thomas Shaw and emigrated to Brisbane on Sabrina in January 1856.
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Well, that was me not Jan who has Spooner ancestors ... but mine were tailors of Colchester who moved into the East End of London in the 19th century and changed their name to King and then King-Spooner to hide a case of bigamy in the 1860s ...
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An American company had this slogan "buggy whip's, s product with a future" this was in the 1890s unfortunately for them.
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The thong on a whip is what is often called the lash, it is the platted leather extension of the whip that allows the rider to open gates etc., from the saddle. It also allows riders to catch runaway horse, free hounds from brambles and a million and one other tasks all without dismounting (some rotund riders cannot re-mount without a mounting block or a handy gate etc.)
Other uses the whip/thong combination have been put to include warding off domestic dogs which where biting the mounts feet.
I still have two whips and thongs that were used in the 1950s and who knows how long previously by my family.
Cheers
Guy
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Sorry I am having trouble reading rootschat page on a new phone. I had searched for reply from Jan after getting a message to say there was a reply and then saw that list of names with Spooner and thought that must be it. That is a coincidence but I was wondering why she had Spooner if William whipthong maker is her ancestor as it is his sister who married a Spooner.
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And I thought thongs were a type of underwear
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The thong on a whip is what is often called the lash, it is the platted leather extension of the whip
Thus far I agree with you, Guy. Thereafter, though, you seem to be a little bit muddled.
The thong is "the bit that goes swish". It's not the bit that allows you to open gates and so on ... that's the stiff hooked bit, not the swishy bit.
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The thong on a whip is what is often called the lash, it is the platted leather extension of the whip
Thus far I agree with you, Guy. Thereafter, though, you seem to be a little bit muddled.
The thong is "the bit that goes swish". It's not the bit that allows you to open gates and so on ... that's the stiff hooked bit, not the swishy bit.
Yes I agree but if you are on a large horse the crop (the stiff hooked bit) is too short to reach many gates and the experience rider then uses the thong (the bit that goes swish) to extend the reach of the crop.
Incidentally the third part is the cracker which is a short flexible bit added to the end of the thong to allow the rider to make the whip crack sound.
Cheers
Guy